ESPN Men's Basketball

I miss Arthur Ashe. The former tennis champion, author and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient finished first in his high school class before graduating from UCLA, and he was a vocal proponent of education and high academic standards for athletes.

Ashe believed that it was of vital importance to finish school and maintain a lifelong dedication to learning. Ashe believed that for every hour you spend on the court, you should spend two hours in the library.

Former sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro believes quite differently, as is his right. But it would be great to have Ashe's dignified and thoughtful perspective in the debate over whether a young prodigy should drop out of high school to pursue a professional basketball career.

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