I'll start at the end of your post....Brandon Jennings and Emmauel Mudiay. Lol, you knew of them because they were top ranked American prospects who went overseas because their academics didnt allow them to enroll in college. Dont pretend that they went overseas very quietly, exploded, and then became common names. Please. People know top 5 high school prospects regardless of the situation or circumstances.
And the NBA doesnt require any work experience. They literally only require you to have been out of high school for a year. You dont have to play ball at all, like Dante Exum. But, guys who arent top 5-10 prospects out of high school have no choice but to go play, to increase stock and visibility. And the best place to do that is the NCAA, and you know thats true. You keep on saying they "choose" to do so. Yeah, they do. Because it's by far the best option. The D-League and foreign leagues dont provide nearly the same opportunities and platform that the NCAA does. Other jobs require experience and education because quite simply, you need both to even know how to do the job. Basketball is basketball - if you can play, you can play. Anthony Davis and Jahlil Okafor didnt need college to be able to play in the NBA. And yet, they had to go.
To your point that not all college players make it to the NBA - yes, thats true. So what? You say that thats why a college degree is necessary. OK, but thats not for anybody to decide except for the student athlete. We dont get to decide what is good for them. They have the freedom to do what they want. This is America.
Finally, my biggest issue with the NCAA is its incredible hypocrisy. They make billions, with a b, dollars off of student athletes, while the athletes themselves arent allowed to benefit. For example, I recently graduated from a division 1 college, with a decent football program and an elite basketball program. As a student, I was allowed to profit off of my talents and abilities, as were all of my non student athlete classmates. I was a Biology student who held a paid position at a biology laboratory. My roommate was a computer engineering student who worked as a programmer at a company owned by one of his professors. These were the things we were good at and interested in, and we used our prowess in the field for our profit. A student athlete who plays basketball, however, can do no such thing. So they dont get paid directly to play for the university, whatever. Lets forget about that. However, they cant get paid for anything even remotely related to basketball in their non university life either, else its a violation and they get banned. I can do biology research and my roommate could code, and get paid for it while still in college, and its cool. But God forbid that a star basketball player gets paid for their autograph, a local commercial spot, or even let a fan buy them a damn bagel. I can talk to and discuss future employment with a recruiter from Johnson and Johnson, and thats awesome. If a student athletes uncle exchanges emails with an NBA scout, violation. The NCAA holds these kids hostage. And that's messed up.