The business element of the age minimum is the most comfortable platform from which to defend its merits, but the rule is attacked most often from a civil rights angle.

"I look at it as age discrimination," Rep. Cohen said.

It is not at all uncommon for race to be introduced, as Rep. Cohen does when he cites that sports such as tennis and golf, in which the majority of players are white, have no such age minimum.

Elmore is comfortable countering that approach, as well. He believes if teenaged athletes see college as their best avenue to the NBA, they'll be forced to pay greater attention to compiling more presentable scholastic records.

"The burden of failure uniquely falls on young people of color," Elmore said. "That's our biggest problem right now. Far more kids are hurt by having these false hoop dreams than the ones who actually make it, and the reason is clear. They have this so-called path to the NBA, and it goes directly from high school to the league. How many guys have fallen off that path?

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"Maybe it's paternalistic, but that's been a problem in our community for the last couple decades. We haven't had enough paternalism."

Since the NBA introduced its age minimum for the 2007 draft, 25 players entered after a single year on campus. Not every one left a hugely positive impression on his college program, but for every Kosta Koufos there was a Greg Oden, for every J.J. Hickson there was a Kevin Durant. Only two of these 25 players — 8 percent — became enveloped in NCAA scandal. College basketball wasn't entirely clean before the "one-and-dones" arrived, and they haven't necessarily made it less so.

Before the age of the age minimum, many players stopped by college for but a single season: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dajuan Wagner. There is one way to legislate against that: a 20-year age minimum. If "one-and-done" is the problem, there's your solution.

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