Poll
Should the NBA have an age restriction for rookies?
Your vote has been counted, thank you for voting.
Sixteen years ago this week, Shareef Abdur- Rahim wrestled with a decision that most 19-year-olds usually don't have to make.
Stay at Cal for his sophomore basketball season or enter the 1996 NBA draft.
A two-time high school Player of the Year in Georgia, Abdur-Rahim was the first freshman in Pacific-10 Conference history to be named the Player of the Year. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 21.1 points and 8.4 rebounds, leading the Bears to the NCAA Tournament.
He liked his coach and teammates, and he enjoyed college life.
But the lure of the NBA was too great, and Abdur-Rahim tearfully said goodbye to Cal in a news conference. A week later, there was another news conference – he was staying.
And like a kid torn between his two favorite ice cream flavors, Abdur-Rahim changed his mind again and turned pro. He was drafted third overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He had a successful 12-year career and is now the assistant general manager of the Kings, the team he finished his playing career with in 2008.
But before leaving Cal, Abdur-Rahim promised to return and earn his degree. Today, at 35, he will walk across a stage in Berkeley and receive a sociology degree after earning a 3.8 grade-point average.
He made the right decision.
What to watch
NBA, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m., TNT: It's Game 1 in a much-anticipated showdown.
What to do
Baseball, River Cats vs. Iowa, 7:05 p.m., Raley Field: As the weather warms up, the Cats try to stay hot.
Today's poll
Should the NBA have an age restriction for rookies?
• The current 19 and one year out of high school.
• It should be 20 and two years out of high school.
• No restrictions.
Vote above or leave your comments in the comments field; or go to www.sacbee.com/sports
Weekend poll results
Who will win the most games this season?
• A's: 49%
• Giants: 51%
Total votes: 184
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Victor Contreras
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.