Since 2006, the NBA has placed an age limit on the draft, forcing most league hopefuls to play at least one year of college basketball before making the professional leap.  Contributors to ESPN The Magazine reached out to 39 NBA players and revisted their decisions to leave school prematurely for the NBA.  Four members of the Sacramento Kings shared their thoughts.

J.J. Hickson (2008, NC State)

 ”Looking back at it, I think that year was very helpful to me. I learned a lot of things under coach Sidney Lowe. He coached in the league so he runs like a league offense and he coached like a coach in the NBA, so I learned a lot from him. And I gotta say college helped me a lot with my transition. I got bigger, faster, stronger, I learned a lot about the game of basketball.”

Donté Greene (2008, Syracuse)

“I would stay in school one more year. I love Syracuse, bleed orange, still go back, love the city, love the fans. I would’ve stayed one more year and been with Jonny [Flynn], Scoop [Jardine] and Rick [Jackson], and all the guys. I think we would’ve won a national championship for sure. Those guys went far, but I would’ve gotten them over the hump. Just being able to be young and not have responsibilities … once you leave college, it’s real life out there. You have bills. You have responsibilities. Not saying I wasn’t ready, but it would’ve been nice to have another year to be a kid. That said, I’m still in the league, still getting paid. There are guys from my class, at my position, that are out of the league right now and fighting to get back in. Guys that were drafted ahead of me.”

Tyreke Evans (2009, Memphis)

“I was talking to my brothers. They were the ones who pretty much helped me with my decision to go to school, so after my season at Memphis, which I thought I had a great year, we sat down and talked: Should I leave or not? We came to an agreement that it was okay for me to leave, a good time. I had a good chance of being a top pick. We sat down as a family and said: Let’s do it. And that’s what happened. I got drafted No. 4. It was a great moment for me.”

DeMarcus Cousins (2010, Kentucky)

“I was in middle school when the rule came about. When I first learned about it, I had mixed opinions. In a way, it’s good because a kid needs that college experience — to go through those changes and being closer to being an adult and learn that responsibility at the college level. At the same time, I don’t believe the rule should be put in place because it’s predicting somebody else’s life — you should be able to make your own path because you never know what that person’s situation may be at home or with their family. By the end of my first year in college, I was seriously thinking about coming back. I loved playing for Kentucky so it was a tough decision but at the end of the day, I had to do what’s best for me and my family.”

The players they interviewed for this story make up roughly 10 percent of the NBA and many of them are still under the age of 25.  Think about recent college grads, those who have graduated in the five years since the NBA implemented the age restriction.  A lot of them are underemployed, struggling to find jobs in their fields of study.  Maybe Cousins and others who think the NBA should do away with the age restriction have a point.

Editors Note: This interview took place on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 before the NBA locked out their players.

This is the third and final edition of the Cowbell Kingdom summer interview series with Coach Paul Westphal.  In today’s edition, we talk about last year’s second round pick, Hassan Whiteside, as well as new comers Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas.  Loaded with potential, a bum knee wiped out almost the entirety of Whiteside’s training camp last season.  After playing four minutes in the season opener, the young seven footer out of Marshall never saw the floor again at the NBA level and later admitted to being more injured than originally thought.

Honeycutt and Thomas both fell hard on draft night, slipping into the second round where the Kings gladly scooped them up.  With so many young players on the roster, Westphal answers how this group fits into the Kings’ rebuilding blue print.

James Ham: Hassan Whiteside is a similar player to Samuel Dalembert on the defensive end – a shot blocking defensive specialist.  How is he progressing?  How is his recovery from last season’s knee surgery?

Coach Westphal: Well, his recovery is coming along well, but it takes a long time.  He’s just starting to shoot baskets and move around a little bit.  He can run on a treadmill like a champ.  He’s been working hard.  He’s an intriguing player, but it’s hard to even say what his progress is because there is no measurement of him competing in basketball to define progress.  He’s been around watching and trying to pick up as much as you can by watching.  He’s been working on his body.  So much of what’s going to happen with him is going to depend on how completely his knee heals and how much he can pick up what the NBA is all about.

Defensively, it’s funny, he can be compared to Dalembert in some ways because they are similar size and shot blockers.  But Dalembert usually blocks his own man’s shot.  Hassan is a weakside shot blocker.  Their style is very different even though they have similar body types.  It will be interesting to see how Hassan is able to bring his skills to the NBA.

Read more after the jump.

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Jimmer Fredette isn’t the only Kings rookie to have a documentary filmed about his journey to the NBA.  The Kings other new point guard, Isaiah Thomas is the subject of his own movie as well.  From SLAM:

From training in Las Vegas at IMPACT Basketball Academy, to the Chicago Pre-Draft Combine, to working out back home in Tacoma/Seattle, to being selected by the Sacramento Kings in the NBA Draft, this project reveals his entire process from beginning to end.

Here’s Thomas talking about the documentary’s filmmaker earlier this month in his draft diary for Dime:

I also had my man T.J. Regan following me around and documenting the process for me. He’s a young, but accomplished, filmmaker who has directed music videos for artists such as Wiz Khalifa and Nipsey Hussle. Together, we’re working on a documentary of my draft process and potentially first couple of years in my NBA career. It’s something that is fun and kind of different at the same time because he’s capturing the ups, downs, highs, lows, etc. It will definitely be interesting.

The film releases this December.

Quite a 24-hour period for the newest members of the Sacramento Kings.  Upon their arrival in California, rookies Tyler Honeycutt, Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette were greeted by hundreds of eager fans yesterday at Sacramento International Airport.

Video:  Jimmer and company’s arrival at Sac Interntional (via Kings.com)

Then today, they were formally introduced to the local media and appeared at a rally at Arden Fair Mall.

Notes, more video and a photo gallery of today’s events after the jump.

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From the rally at Arden Fair Mall. Not really in focus, but I think you get the picture.  And yes, this really happened.

Tyreke Evans wrapped up the second day of his two-day basketball camp at the Dr. Ephraim Williams Family Life Center in Oak Park.  If you recall, we were unable to get Evans’ comments on the trade to move down from the seventh pick and reacquire forward John Salmons yesterday, as the trade wasn’t made official until the second-round of the draft.  So with the moves officially consumated, the Kings guard was able to share his take today.

On Jimmer

• Evans complimented Jimmer’s ability on offense, saying the newest King can “shoot from anywhere.”  He also wasn’t too concerned about the knocks on Jimmer’s reputation on defense.

On Salmons

• Both Philadelphia natives, Evans didn’t play with Salmons during the Kings forward’s first tenure in Sacramento.  But Evans noted his familiarity with Salmons, having teamed with him on a few pro-am teams in Philly.

Bonus video: a recap of Evans’ basketball camp

Jimmer Fredette will be arriving at the Sacramento airport Friday at 4pm. It’s time for Kings fan to open their arms and embrace the Jimmer. Let’s give this young man a Kings welcome folks.

After the final pick of the NBA Draft was made tonight, Kings Vice President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie and Head Coach Paul Westphal addressed the local media at the Kings Practice Facility.  Updated (12:45 am) with video.

Geoff Petrie

Audio: Right-click, save-as here.

Paul Westphal

Audio: Right-click, save-as here.

We just got off the phone with 35th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft and newest Sacramento King, Tyler Honeycutt.  As far as his new teammates go, he said he’s most excited to play with Tyreke Evans.  And though he was unhappy to slip out of the second-round, he said the wait was harder on his mom.  Listen to his comments below.

No flash? Click here to download or play.

We’re still waiting on Jimmer, who’s still going through the interview circuit in New York.

Tyler Honeycutt from his Kings visit

With the 35th pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select sophomore small forward Tyler Honeycutt out of UCLA.  Expected to go in the first round, Honeycutt slipped on draft day and was unexpectedly available when the Kings picked the first of their two second-rounders.  Honeycutt teamed with Jimmer Fredette workout here in Sacramento, where he was pitted against Tobias Harris of Tennessee.  More of a defensive-specialist at this point in his development, Honeycutt needs to work on his perimeter shooting and add weight to be successful at the NBA level.  But he was way too good of a prospect to pass at no. 35.