Would the Age Limit Have Saved Livingston?

Just when you thought there was nothing left to say about Shaun Livingston's injury, a columnist saves the day. As you've likely heard, the promising Clippers guard is now looking at one, maybe two, lost seasons, and a major financial loss. The public has been overwhelmingly sympathetic, but I'm guessing a lot of them had never heard of Livingston before-or at least not know just how injury-prone he has been.

This gross-out spectacle was the culmination of a long run of, well, getting hurt. Over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Gary Washburn wonders if it's not all Livingston's fault:

The difference between Livingston and former Duke standout Jason Williams, whose career was cut short by a serious motorcycle accident, is that Williams has his degree from Duke. The NBA is a man's game and Livingston obviously wasn't physically mature enough to keep up.

Perhaps a couple of years at Duke would have allowed Livingston to build his body without a rigorous 82-game schedule and the pressure of attempting to meet high expectations. No question Livingston had NBA skills coming out of high school, but was he NBA ready? No.

I decided not to file this under FanHouse Hyperbole Watch because the degree thing makes some sense. Not that attending Duke for a year would have convinced Livingston to stick around and graduate, but if you go pro as a high school athlete...after that, it's pretty much do or die. The body thing, though? If you listen to college basketball fans, they'll say that their game is a lot more physical and tough than the NBA. I guess the bodies are of relative size, but it's not like the floors are different in the NCAA, or the car doors that much smaller.