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| Nerlens Noel's torn ACL served as a reminder to many of the stupidity of the NBA's age limit. |
By Joe Parello
Kentucky freshman sensation Nerlens Noel tore his ACL in Tuesday night's big game against Florida, and with that ligament likely went the Wildcats' chance to make a run in March.
But, more importantly, it got people talking about the NBA's age limit, or what sports fans casually call the "one and done rule."
To enter the NBA Draft, you have to be 19-years old, or out of high school for at least one year. On its face, that seems like an arbitrary number. In the United States, where all but one of the NBA's 30 teams reside, you become a legal adult when you turn 18. You then become a "real" legal adult when you turn 21 and can consume alcohol, but that's neither here nor there.
So why, in a nearly entirely American professional sports league, do we choose the age of 19, and not 18 or 21?
