Rick Pitino believes high school players could jump to the NBA soon

In an interview on Sportscenter last week, ESPN’s Marty Smith asked Rick Pitino his thoughts on the one-and-done system, and he had quite the loaded answer.

Pitino said that he doesn’t mind the system, and that he is still searching for his first one-and-done at UofL. He mentioned having top 10 and top 20 picks, but never a one-and-done player.

On top of that, he credited John Calipari and Coach K for “mastering” the system and spoke about how hard it is to play with freshmen, especially defensively.

But arguably the most interesting part of the discussion happens near the end. Pitino mentions that at Kentucky, he had seven guys tell him that they wanted to come play at Kentucky, but instead opted to enter straight into the NBA.

Which doesn’t add up, because only four players made that jump during that time span. Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Jermaine O’Neal. If I’m missing someone, feel free to drop their name in the comments section.

And at the end, Pitino adds that he believes that high school players will have the ability to jump straight to the NBA and bypass college in the next two years.

We know that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is not a fan of the rule, but could it happen in two years? I suppose its possible.

You can check out the full clip here.