Marketing Shaq vs Kobe, Round 8
With LSU making the NCAA Final Four, I got to remembering how a young Shaquille O’Neal and Stanley Roberts ruled the post for LSU some years back. Then I was thinking, did Shaq graduate from college? How about Kobe? I know Kobe went to the NBA right out of high school, but did he earn a degree in his off-seasons? So as supposed role models for today’s youth, this round looks at the education of the two marketable stars.
Doing research using Google, I discovered that Shaq did indeed earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Business from LSU in 2000 after leaving LSU after his junior year. Then in 2005, Shaq got his MBA from the University of Phoenix, saying:
Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else.
I got some very different results looking up the terms “kobe bryant” and “education.” Many results link to his accused rape case and how this case reinforced rape education. Whoa. His SAT scores is 1080, but I can’t find any indication of further education. Then I found this analysis about an alarming trend in the NBA. It seems like 46% of players drafted right out of high school have been arrested for DUIs, rape, and disorderly conduct. Double whoa.
As a marketable star influencing tomorrow’s generation, which would you rather have?
or 
Round 8, Education goes to Shaquille. (Kobe 4, Shaq 4)
Round 1, Team Jersey Sales (Shaq)
Round 2, Kicks (Kobe)
Round 3, Team Attendance, 3a Shaq, 3b Kobe
Round 4, Build a Bear Team Jersey (Kobe)
Round 5, The Makeup (Kobe)
Round 6, All-Star Game Balloting (draw)
Round 7, Likeability (Shaq)
Technorati Tags: Kobe Bryant, NBA, Shaquille O’Neal