OT: High School Player Finally Follows my Idea

??? ??????

New member
Joined:
Apr 2, 2009
Posts:
2,435
Liked Posts:
4
Location:
Columbia, MO
SAN DIEGO — Jeremy Tyler, a 6-foot-11 high school junior whom some consider the best American big man since Greg Oden, says he will be taking a new path to the N.B.A. He has left San Diego High School and said this week that he would skip his senior year to play professionally in Europe.

Tyler, 17, would become the first United States-born player to leave high school early to play professionally overseas. He is expected to return in two years, when he is projected to be a top pick, if not the No. 1 pick, in the 2011 N.B.A. draft.

Tyler, who had orally committed to play for Rick Pitino at Louisville, has yet to sign with an agent or a professional team. His likely destination is Spain, though teams from other European leagues have shown interest. A spokesman for Louisville said the university could not comment about Tyler.

“Nowadays people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym and getting better,” Tyler said. “If you’re really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys.”

His decision is perhaps the most important one since Kevin Garnett jumped straight to the N.B.A. from high school in 1995. Garnett was the No. 5 pick in the N.B.A. draft and ushered in a generation of preps-to-pros stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. A minimum-age rule passed for the 2006 draft cut off that route, essentially forcing players to spend at least one year in college.

But Brandon Jennings, a point guard from Los Angeles, became the first player to graduate from high school, skip college and play professionally in Europe. (Whether Jennings would have qualified academically to play at Arizona, where he had signed a letter of intent, is unknown.) He is in his first season with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in Italy and is projected as a high pick in the N.B.A. draft in June.

Tyler took Jennings’s path and added a compelling twist, perhaps opening the door for other elite high school basketball players to follow.

Sonny Vaccaro, a former sneaker company executive, orchestrated Jennings’s move and has guided Tyler and his family through the process.

“It’s significant because it shows the curiosity for the American player just refusing to accept what he’s told he has to do,” Vaccaro said. “We’re getting closer to the European reality of a professional at a young age. Basically, Jeremy Tyler is saying, ‘Why do I have to go to high school?’ ”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/sports/ncaabasketball/23prospect.html?_r=1&hp

I love it. I've been talking about this as a possibility since the age rule came in play, and now someone is finally doing it.
 

collisrost

New member
Joined:
Mar 28, 2009
Posts:
226
Liked Posts:
0
Interesting. If it works out well for him others will follow. Wonder if noth the NBA and NCAA will have to rethink their policies pretty soon?
 

dougthonus

New member
Joined:
Mar 13, 2009
Posts:
2,665
Liked Posts:
9
It will be interesting to see how it works. There are some significant advantages and disadvantages to the plan. The European teams often won't play younger guys many minutes, and won't give him the leadership role that he would have gotten in college.

For all the talk about how Europe is having just as much talent, Brandon Jennings stock certainly didn't rise in Europe as he struggled and was inconsistent, and we often view most players there skeptically which contradicts the idea the talent level is as high.

On the plus side, he'll get paid and will actually be forced to become a more well rounded player.
 
Joined:
Mar 28, 2009
Posts:
7
Liked Posts:
0
Location:
Buffalo Grove
I also see some positives and negatives to doing this. Yes he's going to be getting paid but I read that Brandon Jennings was not happy with how they were paying him. He said that they delayed paying him and wouldn't pay him the correct amount every time. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the talent in Europe is significantly better then the talent in college. If he were to play for Louisville like he said he would I think he would be playing against top tier talent in the Big-East. I do agree that it is ridiculous how much money the NCAA makes off of all of these players and they can't make any money at all. I believe that they should be able to get endorsement deals whether from shoe companies or other entities.
 

??? ??????

New member
Joined:
Apr 2, 2009
Posts:
2,435
Liked Posts:
4
Location:
Columbia, MO
Derrick Martell Rose wrote:
I also see some positives and negatives to doing this. Yes he's going to be getting paid but I read that Brandon Jennings was not happy with how they were paying him. He said that they delayed paying him and wouldn't pay him the correct amount every time. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the talent in Europe is significantly better then the talent in college. If he were to play for Louisville like he said he would I think he would be playing against top tier talent in the Big-East. I do agree that it is ridiculous how much money the NCAA makes off of all of these players and they can't make any money at all. I believe that they should be able to get endorsement deals whether from shoe companies or other entities.

If they don't want to pay these kids in colleges while they're there, they should at least set up an annuity for these kids.

And I agree, they should definitely be able to sign endorsements.
 

Shakes

Iconoclast
Joined:
Apr 22, 2009
Posts:
3,857
Liked Posts:
142
The real reason he's doing this is so Chad Ford will hype him up.
 

dougthonus

New member
Joined:
Mar 13, 2009
Posts:
2,665
Liked Posts:
9
I agree, though if they allow the kids to collect money in endorsements, jobs, interviews etc, then it will end up being the boosters paying for them.

The one point Fred made when we argued about this is that you have state funded universities, and by paying athletes or even allowing them to be paid, you are going to basically diverting public funds to paying college athletes which is wrong.

The real problem here is that with the amount of tuition they charge that public universities need state funding. It's amazing how poorly run they are. The private institutions I've looked into charge the same rates and make a profit, yet some of these public universities get 100s of millions in funding and still charge 20 grand a year for tuition.

If they just gave the university breaks on property tax for everything, there's no reason that they shouldn't be able to run at a profit at around $100 a class, but our universities don't focus on actual education. They have too much other BS involved.
 

rosefromconcrete

New member
Joined:
Apr 9, 2009
Posts:
21
Liked Posts:
0
Whether his stock goes up or down he will undoubtedly be a better bball player as a result of this. He can focus all of his attention on bball and play with men. Smart bball decision, but I dont know how I feel about it regarding him not finishing high school. Also, like Jennings, his stock might go down...but he will perform better when he gets to the nba.
 

dougthonus

New member
Joined:
Mar 13, 2009
Posts:
2,665
Liked Posts:
9
I don't think it will necessarily make him a better ball player.

He won't be featured on his team like he would in NCAA ball.
 

rosefromconcrete

New member
Joined:
Apr 9, 2009
Posts:
21
Liked Posts:
0
I really think it will. He may not be the featured player, but his job will be basketball. He will be playing with much better players. He will not need to focus on anything but bball. I really think that he will be a better player for it, but he may be drafted lower.
 

Top