By now you've probably heard a bit about high school basketball phenom Brandon Jennings. He was all set to go to Arizona next year until grades got in the way. And since he was too young to declare for the NBA Draft, it looked like he was just going to be sitting around for a year. But no longer, Jennings had been toying with the idea of going abroad to play basketball professionally for a year before entering the draft and yesterday he made his intentions clear.

He's likely going to Italy to play professional basketball for a year.

And I couldn't be happier. Why? Because Jennings has finally poked a real hole in the NBA age requirement set up by dictator David Stern.

And let me just say this. The NBA age requirement is the dumbest, stupidest, most asinine rule in professional sports. And it's blatantly illegal. Is that clear enough for you?

Stern has hit us time and time again that the age requirement is good for the kids. He says a year in college makes them more mature, it improves their game, and it hopefully provides them with some education.

He's lying to you. The real reason there's an age requirement has nothing to do with education or maturity, or whatever crap Stern throws at you. It's in place for one simple reason: the NCAA is a completely free minor league for the NBA. It's a perfect system after all. The NBA gets to evaluate talent right here at home and it doesn't have to pay anyone squat. And because the US has a weird concept of combining sports with academics (while Europe does not), most people, including sportswriters, buy the lies.

The worst thing though, as I said earlier, is that the NBA age requirement is blatantly illegal. If you're an American, and 18 years old, you have the right to seek employment in the US and not face age discrimination. But age discrimination is exactly what's written into the NBA's bylaws. Players must be at least one year removed from high school and 19 years of age (by the end of that calendar year) before entering the draft. It doesn't get anymore blatant than that. Obviously, David Stern hates America.

So what Jennings is doing will hopefully create a trend, which is that top tier recruits will suddenly realize, "Hey, you know what, I can get paid really well for a year instead of busting my butt for nothing at some college." Plus, this system is actually better for scouts, as the competition in countries like Italy is far superior to the NCAA.

Are there risks? Sure, some foreign coach may sour on an 18-year-old kid. Or the kid may struggle in a new environment. But there are risks going to a US college as well, namely you might blow out your knee your freshman year and never collect on NBA millions. At least if you do that abroad, you've put some money in your pocket.

And don't kid yourself either. Foreign teams know the value of these guys. Jennings was the top point guard recruit in the US. He won't be playing for $100,000. He'll be playing for a lot more than that.

So I wish Jennings the best and hope he's the first of many recruits to go abroad. Basketball is, after all, a business. And if you can't do business at home, then go where you can do it.

And if it totally demolishes David Stern's NBA age requirement argument in the process, so much the better.