Looking ahead to the NBA draft, there are rumors flying that four of the top seven picks could come from the high-school ranks.

	Eddy Curry of Thornwood High in Illinois reportedly will take his chances in the NBA draft.

The four high-school players are: Eddy Curry out of the Chicago area; Kwame Brown, who was scheduled to attend Florida; DeSagana Diop from Oak Hill, Va.; and Tyson Chandler from California. All are big men who would be drafted on potential. That's right, Mr. Potential strikes again!

Certainly, someone like Shane Battier could contribute right out of the gate and should be a 10-year NBA player. He could provide valuable minutes and make a positive contribution right away. In rolling the dice, an NBA general manager has to make a decision: Does he want the immediate impact of a Battier or a long-term project who may have the potential to supercede Battier?

It is not an easy call, because your gut feeling plays a part as well. Nobody can get into the mindset of these youngsters. What will happen when these kids get all of that cash? Can they adjust to the lifestyle of an 82-game schedule, playing on the road so often? It's tough to project how these kids will perform down the road.

But if you pass up one of these high-school kids and they do become a superstar, fans would be in an uproar.

There is a double standard between the college player and the high-school athlete entering his name into the draft. A college player can remove his name from the pool, as long as he doesn't hire an agent. The high-school player forfeits his college eligibility once he enters his name into the equation.

To me, that is ludicrous and absurd. The high-school kid has no opportunity to change his mind. The college player doesn't really have anything to lose by throwing his name in and finding out what the pro scouts and evaluators are thinking. Why not learn about your value?

The soap opera keeps going on and on -- and the latest names expected to enter and check out their status are Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans. At least that reportedly is their plan.

It gets bigger and wackier. NBA commissioner David Stern, NBA players union chief Billy Hunter and NCAA president Cedric Dempsey have to get together to end this insanity.

What about the veteran NBA player who loses his job because some kid has to sit on the pine? It doesn't seem fair to them, either.

I just have to wonder -- when is this all going to come to an end?