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A year ago, when Bruin freshman Trevor Ariza was contemplating whether to declare early for the NBA Draft, perhaps the biggest proponent of Ariza staying in school was UCLA head coach Ben Howland.

Howland advised Ariza prior to the draft that he needed to stay at least another year in college to hone his skills and elevate his draft status. Apparently, Howland did not get his message across to either Ariza or anyone else.

Not only did Ariza turn pro, but a new NBA collective bargaining agreement requires athletes to be at least 19 years-old or one year out of high school to be eligible for the draft.

The agreement does not do much to change the current status of the college game, which has allowed elite prospects like Ariza to use the college level as a mere stopping gate before moving onto the NBA.

Instead, the new agreement simply continues the trend. Coaches, who in past years have overlooked top tier recruits because they were going straight to the NBA, still have to make the tough decision whether to recruit a top prospect for only one year or go after a player who’s likely to stay at the program for all four years.

Aside from Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony, recent history has shown that having elite freshman for only one season does not translate into postseason success.

Thus, coaches such as UCLA’s Howland and Arizona head coach Lute Olson feel the agreement has little meaning. “There are not a whole lot of guys (freshmen) who can lead teams to national titles,” Olson told Scout.com.

More important than the recruiting aspect, however, is the fact that the policy further dilutes the idea of the student-athlete.

Freshmen who know they will be around for only one season have no incentive to attend classes after their season finishes, knowing they will soon be out of school and preparing for NBA Draft camps. This makes the academic responsibilities of a highly scouted basketball prospect even more of a joke than it already is.

The UCLA basketball program alone has had numerous problems with athletes failing to meet academic standards, resulting in probation.

And the new agreement does not change the problem. Athletes who used to file for the NBA Draft because they did not academically qualify for universities will now attend prep schools, where they stay in oblivion for one more season before being eligible for the NBA Draft. While an additional year in a prep school has some value in preparing kids for the NBA, it does not compare to the college game, where athletes are constantly scrutinized and exposed on a national level.

These prep schools are greatly enhanced by NBA scouts and general managers, who would much rather draft a promising athlete out of prep school instead of an accomplished four-year college senior.

Just look at UCLA graduating senior and NBA prospect Dijon Thompson. He represents everything that is right about the college game and everything that is wrong about the NBA. He fulfilled his four-year commitment to his university and gradually improved each season.

But his status is hurt by the principles of NBA scouts, who feel that he should have blossomed earlier and has less to offer the NBA game than high school kids with raw potential.

That notion is what keeps driving younger and younger high-school students to think they are ready for the professional level.

Until the NBA works with its players’ union to make sure that they have a system in place similar to that of the Major League Baseball Draft system, which requires players to be either in high school or out of school for three years to get drafted, there will be no progress made in the college game.

Just don’t be expecting any LeBron James or Tracy McGrady caliber recruits to be coming to Westwood very soon.

E-mail Parikh at sparikh@media.ucla.edu if you also think that NBA should stop recruiting pre-schoolers.