Who's the Aggie Now? Correction to Bennett Bashing

Upon further review, Martellus Bennet is apparently better advised than I am. A discussion with the Angry Pirates' departing 3rd baseman Joe Matetich last night sparked us to do some research on the NBA's draft eligibility rules. Andy Katz of ESPN.com authored a timely piece on May 19, 2005 that details exactly the situations we considered.

As an high school player, Martellus Bennett is allowed to declare for the draft one time prior to enrolling in college. If he does not sign with an agent, it does not matter whether Bennett is drafted or not - he retains his amateur status and NCAA eligibility. If he is drafted, the drafting team retains his rights for one year. After enrolling, Bennett gets two more shots at declaring (if he does not retain an agent the first time, of course). So really, Bennett had nothing to lose by declaring for the draft, and neither does any high school player who does not sign with an agent. As Katz mentions, no high school player has gone into the draft without retaining an agent to this point, making the rule moot thus far.

So now my question is, why doesn't Bennett stay eligible for the draft this summer. Who knows, maybe he'll get drafted in the lottery, and if he doesn't (and he doesn't retain the services of an agent), then he's lost nothing!