Way back in 1997, teenager Tracy McGrady was the best high school basketball player in America. A relatively late bloomer, McGrady stood out at the Adidas ABCD Camp the summer before his final year at Mt. Zion Christian Academy, won several Player of the Year awards, and upped his draft stock enough to become a viable preps-to-pros entrant into the NBA draft. With several teams uncertain about gambling on a largely unproven talent, McGrady slid to ninth to the Toronto Raptors. Along with Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, T-Mac helped prove that a lack of preparation in NCAA basketball did not need to be a barrier to NBA stardom. Sixteen years later, McGrady is a 34-year-old benchwarmer for the San Antonio Spurs. His best seasons are well behind him, but his career has been an qualified success: seven All-Star selections and All-NBA selections (two on the First Team), two scoring titles, and $162 million in salary. Yet high school basketball stars can no longer follow in his footsteps, because the NBA's age limit dictates they must spend at least one season elsewhere between their high school graduation and rookie season. Despite his life experiences, McGrady does not think this is an injustice. In fact, he believes players should have to spend at least two seasons in college. From Alex Kennedy for USA Today :
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