Greg Weintraub wrote:
> I can't help but question a STUDENT-athlete leaving school a month before
> completing a degree.  It really drives home a point that college sports
> are really just farm teams for many players.  Seeing players leave for
> the pros after 1 or 2 years is something with which we have all
> learned to live, regrettably IMHO.  To me, having players leaving DURING the
> academic year only looksworse.  Next thing we know, a player will start the
> season on fire and sign a pro contract over New Year's in the middle of the
> season.
>
> As a fan of the Terriers, I cannot complain. There is no disservice to
> the school - Jay has completed 4 seasons under scholarship.  Rather, it
> is my disappointment as a fellow student.  To stop SO CLOSE to a college
> degree is a major disservice the student does to himself.
>
> If there is
> anyone in college hockey who knows how fragile a hockey career can be, it
> is Jay Pandolfo.
 
I think this last line provides the perfect rebuttal.  A hockey career is
extremely fragile and if you're given an opportunity like Pandolfo was, it
makes sense to grab it.  Deron has pointed out that for someone who has been
serious about their education to that point and is set to graduate, they merely
have to complete their courses in the summer.
 
The choice seems to be:
        a) Maximize your pro opportunities and still get your degree by the
           end of the summer.
 
        b) Fail to maximize your pro opportunities so you can get your degree
           in May.
 
I don't see that if Pandolfo made choice "b" instead of "a" that he would be
any more valorous.  If he were my son, I'd tell him to go with "a".  That isn't
turning college hockey into a farm system for the pros, or bringing into
question his scholarship, or any of that stuff.  It's just making what seems
like the intuitively obvious decision.
 
DaveH
 
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