"You make your money in college" - 2X NCAA champ Cheryl Miller weighs in on one and done rule for women's basketball

College women's basketball has seen a boom in the past few years, primarily due to the rivalry of former LSU Tigers star Angel Reese and Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark from the 2023 national championship game. The duo has carried over their popularity into the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, respectively.

Despite its traction, the women's game still differs from the men's game. The latter can declare for the NBA draft after one season in college while the former must turn 22 during the year of the draft, graduate from a four-year college or complete their college eligibility before declaring for the pros. International prospects must be at least 20 years old during the year of the draft.

During Thursday's segment of the "All The Smoke" podcast, two-time national champion Cheryl Miller was insistent that the current rule for women's basketball should stay in place to protect the financial futures of student-athletes.

"It's a God bless that that rule is there," Miller said."Yes, it needs to stay there until they're set financially. If you are a top five, you make more money in college. You're hurting your brand going pro early. Wait. This is your foundation. This is where your money is for right now. It's kind of backwards where for you guys, the regular season was where you made your money, but the playoff is where you made your fame."

Legendary coach supports women's basketball rule

The eligibility rules for the WNBA that govern women's basketball have been a divisive topic over the years among fans and coaches. During a segment of the "UnSportsmanLike" podcast, legendary UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma broke down the reasons why he supported the rule.

"It depends whether you want the game to grow or you want to kill it," Auriemma said. "If you want to kill it, then let the kids leave after freshman year. On the men's side, it's become transactional. Everybody's a free agent.

"I don't know that our game can continue to move forward if all of a sudden our guys are gone. So I like the rule, and the players decided the rule. So if they change the rule, God bless 'em, but I think it'll ruin the game."

The most popular player in women's basketball and the projected No.1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers, bucked the trend and opted to return to Storrs for an extra season despite being eligible for the 2024 draft.