High School Player Dropping Out to Play in Europe

http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/04/calif_high_school_basketball_p.html

High school basketball player is planning to skip his senior year of high school to play pro in Europe before entering the NBA draft in two years. What ya think?

 

A lot of people drop out of high school for dumb reasons, at least this kid has a career ahead of him.

I say best of luck to him.

 

I guess so, I just think there's a lot to be said for education. For every Lebron James you have 10 Lenny Cooke's.


Buckeye,
Lol, I just read your signature. That's some funny stuff right there:d

 

I think it is idiotic. Why would you be that dumb unless you seriously have no chance at passing school and graduating. There should be a rule where you can't get drafted professionally without a high school diploma. You need one damn near every job out there. This kid compound fractures his leg then he is up S**T creek without a paddle.

 

The local university (Kent State) offers free GED classes. If it doesn't work out for him he could always fall back on that

 

What's basketball?

 

Smart move, you know he can make a few hundread grand overseason plus get tuned up better over there against actual competetion rather than facing tripple teams from HS kids. Give it ten years and I would bet its not all that uncommon to hear of this. Like Jeff said, whats the real worth of a HS education when you plan on dropping out of college after one year to go pro?

 

What's one year of a college education gonna do for him? He's gonna enter the draft the first eligible year, no matter if he's coming from over seas, or just getting done with his first year of college. I think he'll return to the states better this way than if he would have gone to college. I'm actually somewhat surprised we don't see it more often.

 

I think what we are over looking is, where he goes in the NBA draft is worth literally MILLIONS PER YEAR to him. If he goes to Europe and appears as a "good" player for two years, and makes maybe into the hundreds of thousands, and comes back to be drafted lower than he expected, he looses out on MILLIONS to gain those THOUSANDS in Europe. If he stayed here and lived up the hype his senior year, continued on with his commitment to U of L and shines as a one year stud under Pitino, sure he doesnt make thousands over the next two, but he will possibly make MILLIONS more in the long run.

He is 17, the people in Europe are grown MEN, pretty big jump. Many NBA scouts feel that college is a vital step for all players to mature from their HS game before the NBA (kinda why they made a rule for it).


Obviously it is his decision, but he is adding pressure on himself to get to where he was already projected to go as an NBA draft pick, had he of stayed with the college route.

The difference in the number one draft and one drafted only halfway down the first round is an average of TEN MILLION per year, for the first three years.....30 million bucks. If you are already thought to be near the top, why risk it by heading to Europe and making a few hundred grand in the meantime?



Business wise, I'd think HS/College is the better route, but either way I wish him luck....Free country (for now) for him to do as he pleases!

 

Most scouts are saying he has the skills now to play in the NBA. I'll take a few hundred thousand guaranteed in Europe vs maybe blowing my knee out as a senior in HS. This kid is a player, barring a freak injury, he's going to the NBA. I see this as a positive step for the kid to better his future earning potential.

 

It's a gamble either way you go about it....its not a question of IF he is going to the NBA, it is a matter of how deep in the first round he is drafted, and the difference of MILLIONS in the contracts within the first round.

Obviously he needs to do what will best prepare him, but the money over the next two years should have ZILCH to do with it...we are talking about well over 10s of millions in contract differences based on how he performs (wherever that may be) over the next two years, compared to, comparatively, chump change of 100 grand+. If he is drafted in the top 3, he will get a guaranteed 30ish million contract, would you worry about making 100 grand along the way, or worry more about how to get yourself in that top 3? Would you rather be playing grown men (not to mention LIVING that lifestyle in Europe) or play college players here in the states, with MORE coverage, MORE TV time, MORE scout interaction, not to mention the chance at a national title.

I realize the money they make overseas is an astronomical amount to us, but to future NBA studs, it is quite literally chump change. It is more about getting yourself the coverage needed to go high enough to guarantee you are set VERY well off in the pros, not sure if Europe offers him anything college doesn't other than a comparatively measly paycheck?

 

+1, Look at Brandon Jennings. Goes overseas and averages 3-4 points per game and never really establishes himself as the top shelf player he had intended to. Again, this another play who was ready for the L straight out of high school according to the experts.

Like I said before, there are many, many more Lenny Cooke's than there are Lebron James'

 

I'd take the money, its guaranteed. He could suck ass at Louisville or get injured and not even get drafted.

 

In his situation from what I read, they don't NEED the money. I'm not against it AT ALL if one needs the money. Kelenna Azubuike left UK one year early, declared, didnt get drafted and headed over seas instead. It took him 4-6 years to build back up and get into the pros, which he would have EASILY done had he stayed his senior year, only years sooner...his was a smart move too, because his family NEEDED the money, it wasn't selfish, he simply couldnt afford to be in college another year.

So you risk millions for the guaranteed hundred thousand?

LMAO, being good enough has nothing to do with it....he is good enough for the NBA. he is good enough for college too. You know who plays in the Euro leagues? College players who couldnt make the NBA.

If he shines, and comes in he won't be a free agent. He will enter the DRAFT in two years. Injury is moot, what if he blows out his knee in Europe...either way the NBA isn't an option right away....and basketball isn't football or boxing, those stories are extremely rare. A kid in Europe has no more "leverage" in the draft than college students, because you can't threaten to turn down the NBA to stay overseas and expect better results, you would be laughed at. That is threatening the PGA by saying you will stay at a put put course. That leverage doesn't exist...


If you are trying to stand out as a star and improve your draft stock, would you rather play at college averaging 15-20 ppg, maybe even a double-double average, play on NATIONAL TV nearly every week, be a nationwide star in the same country the NBA is in...or head over to Spain, play tougher competition, most likely average far less per game, have NO press attn, NO national televised games, basically not be heard of besides a random stat thrown out for the ESPN junkies while briefly being mentioned. Sure people overseas can make it high in the draft, but shining in college would be easier than shining in the Euro leagues.

Again, he is without a doubt jeopardizing or risking his chance at millions, by going to earn thousands. NOT smart.

 

And how well is a 17 year old kid going to handle his personal financial situation? Unless you've been in and around guys like him or involved with players who play overseas, its easy to say "well he'll have $300,000 stored away and tons of leverage even if he doesn't make it to the League. But then again, he'll have to get his car (and I'm thinking he won't likely get a Ford Focus), by a house over there, etc. etc. There are hundreds of professional athletes who have it all, something goes wrong, they end up bankrupt and with nowhere to turn UNLESS they have their education.

And where does it stop? Ricky Rubio was what, 16 when he started playing professionally? Are we going to start letting high school freshmen drop out before their sophomore years so they can maybe make it to the NBA?

 

You can ALWAYS go back and get an education... even if you have a blown out knee. If you blow out your knee in high school, you aren't getting paid in the NBA and you're definitely not getting a scholarship to a college.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge proponent of education... if there was more of it, we wouldn't have THAT guy running the... nevermind. :evil:

 

I don't know, there's a lot to be said about education other than just saying one is educated.

"[Education] is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." I know this typically this quote says travel, but education works the same if ya ask me.

Oh, don't turn this into a political thing, but don't studies/statistics show that educated people are those who tend to vote liberal?
----------------------------------------------

Doug Gottlieb: Is this really the best move?

As a former Division I college athlete who played professionally in three different countries, I am vehemently opposed to Jeremy Tyler dropping out of high school and taking his game overseas to sign a professional contract with a European team. His actions, and the support he gets from his father and from "strategic advisor" Sonny Vaccaro, leave me with more questions than answers.

When did our society become completely and totally focused on the paper chase and not on the substance of the human being chasing the paper?

I have heard the argument, "he can go and get paid," too many times, as if that is the trump in the argument. Whatever happened to working to achieve greatness, not having it handed to you on a silver platter before you are ready? We have seen Michelle Wie take the road of becoming a trailblazer, joining the professional ranks in women's golf shortly before her 16th birthday. Yet the criticism levelled against her is that she has never even won on the women's tour, thus making her foray into playing against professional men's players even more questionable.


Tyler had committed to Louisville, but will play professionally in Europe until he is eligible for the NBA draft in two years. Jeremy Tyler is good, but by no means the greatest high school player we have ever seen. Instead of learning to win and improving in high school, Tyler is going to chase the almighty dollar before he has even proven he can lead a winning team at the high school level (his team was 15-11 this past season). "Well, he is going to get paid" is not really a sound argument.

If it is acceptable for Tyler to leave high school after his junior year to play professionally, when does it not become OK to leave? Tyler is setting a dangerous precedent by making this move. What about a sophomore or a freshman making a similar decision? Why even have high school at all?

One must also consider that now any high school player who is decent might believe this is his way out. A way out of a practice that's held too early in the morning. A way out of running his high school coach's offense. A way out algebra class. A way out of detention. By enabling Tyler, you sow the seeds of discontent throughout high school basketball.

The old Soviet Union had "athlete-only" schools. Are we proposing that is the best way to develop our athletes and keep them from leaving the country?

Where is the value on getting an education? A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but Tyler's handlers are not concerned with his brain, only his brawn. Tyler is not even going to finish his junior year academically, let alone begin his senior year. That means he's forfeiting all the experiences that come with high school -- no prom, no cap and gown, no SAT, no college, just hoops from here on out. Have we really gotten to this point?

Brandon Jennings had difficulty adjusting to playing professionally in Europe after bypassing college. Basketball has afforded me so many wonderful opportunities outside of the gym, I cannot fathom shunning all of them to simply make money as soon as possible. Are we asking that much of a kid to have him trudge through one more year of high school, one year of college at Louisville before heading off to the NBA? The truth is that all of that time allows Tyler more opportunities for failure, so this is the easy way o

 

No one said scouts aren't watching him in Europe, it is that he won't appear as good in a PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE than a COLLEGE LEAGUE.

If I am a basketball player trying to get the word out about how good I am, and wanting to shine....I will take the national televised games, the TV press coverage, the NCAA tourney, the higher PPG and other stats....everything about college is better in the aspect of "shining."

Why would ANYONE go for further education then? Why go to school for 6 years to get a job making 125K, when you can drop out at 17 and make 40K per year for those six years, school is for fools (or in this case, waiting in general is for fools). To Jeremy Tyler, this salary for two years will be chump change, in the long run....when he is drafted down the road, he will buy a car worth more than his salary from Europe. His ONLY concern should be on how to look the best as possible to get drafted, and the solution to that problem does NOT reside anywhere near Europe.

If you are trying to be noticed as one of the best golfers in the nation, would you rather tee off against Tiger or the newest rookie on the tour? Spin away.

 

Probably his only option. Probably dumber than dirt. He's got the skills, then he should do it. HS diploma gets you a job at McD's. He'll get some money, get play against some real competition for a change and develope some skills. Seems like the smart thing to do. As someone mentioned, he'd only be a one year college player anyway.

 

Not going to get caught up in this one. All I'm going to say is there is a lot more to dropping out of school than the level of education you get on paper. Mentally, physically, socially, this person's life will be altered. Whoever said it on the front page was close. For every one Lebron James', there are thousands of people that are not successful (not ten). Who can guarantee this kid will make it professionally and have "the bankroll?"

I'll put my money on education everytime.