College Basketball Players Dream of Playing Professionally, But Is It Worth The Risk?

Whether it’s women’s or men’s basketball, each group of players dream of playing professionally. Having the opportunity to continue to go beyond college basketball and make money playing a sport you love, is just priceless. Recently, Diamond DeShields was faced with the option to continue playing college basketball or begin her professional career. She decided that beginning her professional basketball career was more appealing than to finish her last year of eligibility in school. However, this decision doesn’t seem very logical because she can’t even go to the WNBA, yet.

Diamond DeShields has been a great collegiate player for the past four years, beginning her career at North Carolina University. During her freshman year at North Carolina, she was the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie, First Team All-ACC Selection, and the ESPNW National Freshman of the Year. Right away she could make a name for herself as a threat in women’s basketball. As a freshman, she averaged 18.0 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. The name, Diamond DeShields began to be a household name around the country. Especially, when she made the decision to leave North Carolina in 2014 and head to the University of Tennessee.

While attending the University of Tennessee, DeShields led the team with 17.4 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game during her final season with the Vols. DeShields was more than influential to the Lady Vols, she was key. A great deal of success that Tennessee has experienced, comes from the hard work and determination of Diamond DeShields. Not only has DeShields proven that she can compete with some of the strongest basketball players, she has also accomplished the goal of receiving her degree. As a result of DeShields leaving North Carolina, she had to sit out a year to comply with the NCAA transfer rules. This left DeShields with three years of eligibility to play at the University of Tennessee which allowed for her to obtain her degree in communication studies and still have a year of eligibility remaining.

Most people in this situation would have just finished that last year of school and begin their studies in a graduate program, it makes the most sense. However, this is not the decision Diamond DeShields made. She wants to play professional basketball, which is understandable, but what’s one more year? She has made the choice to go pro and can’t even enter the WNBA for another year. She could have used that year towards helping the Vols win a NCAA tournament, improving her game, and furthering her studies. What does she plan on doing to stay in game shape and improve on her skills? Whatever her plans are for this upcoming year, they can’t compare to fighting for a chance to win the NCAA Tournament.

I completely understand wanting to be done with school after receiving a degree, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. Just like Diamond DeShields, I had to sit out a year for transferring and I will acquire my degree within four years and still have a year of eligibility remaining. The difference is that I’m in no rush to leave college to chase my basketball dreams. This is the story for many other female basketball players, such as Kelsey Mitchell and Mercedes Russell. Both of these players had a great possibility of entering into the draft and being picked within the top five. Although playing professional and experiencing another level of fierce competition sounds great, these ladies felt that school was more important. They didn’t want to just leave the program without finishing the job and giving it their all. They wanted to continue to build on the things that they’ve already accomplished, this will give them, even more, experience and toughness that they will need for the next level of play. The irony in the stories of DeShields and Russell is that they were teammates at Tennessee. But, Russell made the decision to stay her fifth year of college.

Someone could argue the fact that Kaela Davis is a player who transferred and made the choice to not complete her fifth year. This is absolutely true, however, Kaela Davis decided to leave the University of South Carolina, only after winning the NCAA Tournament. There is nothing more fulfilling than being number one in the country. Davis accomplished her goal of gaining a title in college and showed her worth and hard work when it counted. Currently, the University of South Carolina are number one in women’s basketball, there’s no bigger way to leave. Davis has left a mark on college sports like no other before she made the decision to play professionally.

If Diamond DeShields would have stayed and finished her last year of college, there’s no telling what other accomplishments she could have earned. Not to mention, a chance to further her education while playing a sport that I’m sure she loves. This would definitely be a different story had DeShields decided to enter the WNBA Draft immediately after the season, but she didn’t. Now, she’s just waiting around for her big opportunity to come, rather than chasing her big break.