Its all about windows of opportunity and good decision making.  UCLA is not going anywhere, KL's and RW's health and talent is perishable.  You can always go back to school, but you can't always get loads of money playing professional sports.

Most of the book knowledge you gain in college is never used; perspective and maturity are the true gifts of a college education.  If you already have those attributes as well as a willing employer, there is no reason to stay.  You can always pick up that esoteric math lesson after earning enough money to support you and your family's future.

In theory, communism works! -Homer Simpson

Honestly though, this is a real tough question. People forget that "leaving" is actually "dropping out of school," rarely an acceptable strategy.

Personally I feel the problem is with NCAA rules. The fact is, college players are unpaid professionals. Yes they have scholarships to pay for school, but that is very different from getting a salary. The NBA millions are tough to turn away, not only because of the monetary value, but because it is entry into "real" life with a "real" job. Schools like UCLA pay graduate students ~$25,000 to go to school--I don't see why you can't do this in basketball, as long as the value is standardized by the NCAA so schools don't have advantages. Schools would be more than willing to pay, as basketball programs make them most of their athletic $s. Probably people will say this idea is crazy. But for guys like Luc and Aboya, it would make the decision much easier, and even in some cases for guys like DC and RW (probably not KL).

KL: I wish he would've stayed for sentimental reasons, but he's such a mature individual. All he could gain from more college is better bball skills, and that can be done in the NBA.

DC: He should stay. He's a junior, one more year and he graduates, and his stock will not drop next year, because frankly "he's too small" isn't going to change and neither is "3 final fours." In DC's case, I agree w/ your point 100%.

Luc: Same.

Aboya: Aboya is done already, so what can be said? If he likes bball and wants to play, he should come back. Otherwise, not. Sounds like his life is kind of stressful, so taking a year of a few grad courses and playing bball might not be a bad idea, but that's his choice.

Instant wealth is usually the focus of discussion when a elite college player makes the decision to go pro before he has used all his college eligibility.  While I am not so naive to believe that money isn't a big factor in the decision making process, going pro is not always just about the money.  Thriving on competition is instilled in every successful athlete.  Wanting to compete on at the highest level is therefore an important goal.  Being able to test yourself against the best players is also a highly motivating factor in why these players leave college. Given the choice, would you rather play against the University of Kansas, or Memphis, North Carolina or the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, etc.?

Come on, be realistic.  I posted this before.  How many of you are making $100,000 / year at your corporate job?  After taxes (~30%) that's $70,000 / year disposable income.

Now let's say you can play pro ball and sign a $4,000,000 / year contract.  Assume taxes are 50%.  That's $2,000,000 / year disposable income.

2 Mil / 70K is over 28 YEARS!!!  You make 8 MILLION in 2 years and that's more than the above-average Joe Bruin will make in his entire working career.

So, yes, MONEY IS EVERYTHING!!!  It is very, very, very, VERY stupid to turn away millions of dollars just for an overrated "college degree."  Street smarts is much more important than a piece of paper hanging on your wall.  Seriously, in the corporate world no one cares that you went to UCLA or JC then transferred to Cal State.  It's just a piece of paper like everyone else has.

And for those who enjoy the college basketball experience, they might consider foregoing a year in the pros to continue to play in college.  I wonder whether the Florida players who chose to stay in school and win another championship when they could have been high draft picks regret their decisions?  They enjoyed playing together as a team and it would be hard to put a dollar amount on the joy that they had playing in college for another year and repeating as national champions.

The NBA is a grind - 82 regular season games on top of training camp and preseason games.  Then the "real" season begins for those teams that make the playoffs, and that can amount to an additional 28 games (I think) if a team plays the maximum possible games in the playoffs.  There is a lot of travel involved, which I'm sure gets old very quickly.  College basketball is a cakewalk by comparison in terms of games and travel.  The downsides, of course, are that the players don't get (legally) paid and might have to go to a class or two.  There is also the risk that by staying in college a player could suffer a career ending injury, which rarely happens, or that the player could be exposed as not being very good, which would diminish the player's marketability.

I can relate to Bruin100NCAA's post because when I was a law student, I just wanted to make money like his classmates.  But when I joined a large corporate firm and realized what a grind it was, I realized that my time and control over my life were more important than making the most money I could.  I ultimately transitioned into a job in the legal profession where the work is more pleasant and where I have more time to do other things.  I may have sacrificed several million dollars in doing so, but I don't regret the decision.  I make enough money to live comfortably.

Now, my decision is not for everyone.  Many of my friends and others that I know work their tails off as lawyers and make scads of money.  Many of these people also really enjoy their work.  They are the lucky ones who can enjoy their lives and make a lot of money at the same time.  I think the same is true for basketball players.  Some may not particularly care for the college experience and may want to jump to the pros as soon as possible.  Others who enjoy it might be better off to enjoy their college basketball careers and stick around for awhile.  While they can always go back to college to get a degree, they cannot go back to college to play college basketball.  As a spectator I think college basketball is a lot more fun than pro ball and I imagine for many participants the same is true.  

I want Love and DC and RW to stay.  I want all the other guys to go.  That sort of development would enhance the possibility that we would pick up banner number 12 next year.  This desire on my part has nothing to do with the players or what's good for them.  In fact, if we could figure a way to get AA1 and Farmar back, I would like that to.  And probably, even at his age, Kareem Abdul Jabbar would probably still be a force around the basket, and I'd like him to come back, too.

But if I were Love, I have to say that I would go.  Financial security for me and my family for the rest of my life is something kind of difficult to turn down.

O'Bannon would not have stayed 4 years, except that he had his major injury before his UCLA career started. He would not even have been a Bruin if Tark had not been called out at UNLV.

O'Bannon's injury clearly cost him lots of money (certainly on a present value basis, if nothing else).  It also enabled him to have an incredible experience being the leader of a championship team.

And now we cite O'Bannon as an example of what these players should do. Don't get me wrong- I graduated in 1971, so got to see a lot of great players wear the UCLA uniform.  But Ed O'Bannon will be near and dear because of all the class which he came to epitomize.  And this would never have happened without his injury.

It is real easy to second guess whatever decision these young (most except for $C less than 21) kids make.  "They should stay in school- they're students".  "They would be crazy to turn down the cash know- they're stars".  It just seems that there are so many random variables that there is no one size fits all answer.

At the end of the day, all we should ask is that the players comport themselves with class while they are here (hopefully for 4 years, but for however long they happen to stay), and that they bring credit to the institution after.  That is the same goal I would ask for any student who comes to UCLA.

but you kind of step on them too - for example, you said that a guy can get hurt in the NBA and not be remembered but have money. What if he gets hurt in college? Then he doesn't have financial security, AND no one remembers him! Double whammy!

Look, you're right. Money isn't everything in life. But money opens other doors - it gives you the opportunity to pursue what you want to do rather than do something because it pays for your life expenses. And in many cases, money sets up a player's family financially for life. It's not just for himself - otherwise why would every athlete say "when I sign my first pro contract, I'm gonna buy my parents a Mercedes/new house/something expensive that they couldn't afford before." When you get right down to it, if it's between making people you don't know happy or    setting up your family for life, it's not that hard of a choice. It's not like we don't remember and love Arron and Jordan.

I'm not trying to rag on you here - the opposite, in fact. I'm just trying to say that while money isn't everything in life, it's certainly important, and given the choice between family and people you don't know, it's ridiculously hard to not choose family.