I am philosophically opposed to the requirement that basketball players must spend a year in college (or overseas in rare cases) before they can become eligible for the NBA Draft. I find it outrageous that an 18-year-old is old enough to die for his country in Afghanistan, but not old enough to make a living playing in the NBA, even if he has the talent to do so.

Nonetheless, the best argument for the mandatory year in college was wearing the #5 jersey in red, white and blue over the last month in Turkey. As he led the Americans to their first world championship since 1994, Kevin Durant broke just about every U.S. individual scoring record imaginable. Over the last three games, Durant put up a jaw-dropping 99 points.

Off the court, Durant earned rave reviews from his teammates and Coach K, who gushed, “He’s a special player, but he’s as good a person.”

Durant’s performance this summer was only the latest in a string of impressive feats over the last year. He led his Oklahoma City Thunder to a monumental improvement in the standings as they went from 23-59 in 2008-2009 to 50-32 and a playoff berth in 2009-2010. Durant became the youngest NBA player to win the scoring title, and his Thunder came within a Pau Gasol tip-in of forcing the eventual champion Lakers to a do-or-die Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs. And on July 7, Durant quietly announced via Twitter that he was signing a 5-year, $85 million extension with Oklahoma City.

On the next day, LeBron James broadcast an hour-long special on ESPN announcing that he was leaving his hometown franchise to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach.

As Durant has won over Americans’ hearts, LeBron has become one of America’s most reviled athletes.

Why does Durant seem to do everything right and LeBron seem to do everything wrong?

Here’s one potential explanation. Durant went to college. LeBron didn’t.

Think of the types of flaws we’ve seen in LeBron James. No one seems to think he’s a genuinely bad person. The knock on him is that he’s immature. His entourage gives him bad advice. He doesn’t understand how his actions will be perceived. He doesn’t know how to properly handle all the attention that comes his way.

And in some ways, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all, this was an 18-year-old high school senior who suddenly was thrust onto the national stage, in no small part because everyone knew he would be going straight to the NBA. The month after he graduated from high school, he was selected first in the NBA draft, signed a multi-million dollar contract and was asked to single-handedly save a franchise with a history of heartbreak. Most adults would crumble under that kind of constant attention and pressure, let alone an 18-year-old kid.

Three years after LeBron arrived, the NBA instituted a rule that prohibited players from declaring for the NBA draft until one year after their high school graduation. This meant that Kevin Durant didn’t have the option of going straight to the pros. He spent a year at the University of Texas, where he was downright dominant.

But listen to how he described his year in Austin in an interview he gave as a college freshman.

“I’ve learned so much about myself as a person and grown up so much since I’ve been here. My parents have told me I left home as a boy, but now I’m becoming a man. I believe coming to college is one of the best things that has happened in my life. I’m meeting people from all different backgrounds here in school and getting more comfortable in different situations. I’m just loving life right now.”

Think of how many of us here on the Hilltop, or for that matter on any college campus, could say the same thing. We grow up at college. College is a stage of our personal development and an experience that has value far beyond numbers such as GPA and credits, or points per game and turnovers on the basketball court.

Durant didn’t exactly have a normal college experience, but he had to do many of the same things that we all have to do. He had to go to classes with new people and new professors and worry about exams. He had to make new friends and adjust to life away from home. He had to grow as a human being, not just as a basketball player.

A common argument for requiring years in college is that high school athletes “aren’t ready for the NBA.” Too often we think of that statement in terms of size, strength and skill. But there’s a more important aspect of that readiness-the readiness to become an adult, an employee and a professional. For college basketball players, the “basketball” experience they get is important, but the “college experience” they have may be even more crucial.

While nothing can alter my philosophical opposition to such a requirement, the experiences of Durant and James have shown me that a mandatory year in college may in fact be a good thing for everyone – the fans, the

players and the game itself.