5-Star Syracuse Recruit Darius Bazley Opts to Skip College for G-League

WindyCityGopher

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It will be interesting to see whether Bazley's experiment is a one-off, or if others follow his lead, opting to be paid and experience NBA-style coaching for the required post-high school year rather than attend college.

The searing scowl of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim—hypothetical, but no less real—scorched its way into basketball brains across America on Thursday, as Darius Bazley, a five-star recruit who was committed to the Orange, became the first five-star high school prospect to forgo college in favor of the NBA’s G League. Currently finishing his senior year at Princeton High School in the Cincinnati area, Bazley played in the McDonald’s All-American game and is also ticketed for the Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic in the weeks to come. Those opportunities to be evaluated up close by team decision-makers are now that much weightier.

With the conversation surrounding the league’s age limit and its effect on pathways to the draft having been reignited this season, Bazley’s decision is significant. The rules stipulate that Bazley cannot enter the draft until 2019, when he will turn 19 and be one season removed from his high school graduation. He is set to spend a year learning as a professional in the minor-league system before becoming available for selection in the NBA draft. It’s a situation full of nuance that will be a fascinating case study for American amateur prospects, and the optics are strong for the league when it comes to growth and visibility.


https://www.si.com/nba/2018/03/29/b...ons-darius-bazleys-g-league-decision-syracuse
 

I really hope that more of these blue chip caliber prospects go to the G-League or Europe. Our current situation is toxic.
 

I'd much rather go to Europe or Australia vs playing in the G-League. Obviously the cultural differences, language barrier etc are an issue for some kids.

But the G-League lifestyle is akin to minor league baseball. Long, uncomfortable bus rides. Staying in dingy ass hotel/motel rooms with a roommate. Playing in front of 500 people. Etc etc

Bazley is in for a rude awakening.
 

I'd much rather go to Europe or Australia vs playing in the G-League. Obviously the cultural differences, language barrier etc are an issue for some kids.

But the G-League lifestyle is akin to minor league baseball. Long, uncomfortable bus rides. Staying in dingy ass hotel/motel rooms with a roommate. Playing in front of 500 people. Etc etc

Bazley is in for a rude awakening.

All the issues that you mention could easily be solved by the NBA by pumping some dough into the G-League along with getting Nike, Under Armour & Adidas to co-sponsor and I think they will.
 

I'd much rather go to Europe or Australia vs playing in the G-League. Obviously the cultural differences, language barrier etc are an issue for some kids.

But the G-League lifestyle is akin to minor league baseball. Long, uncomfortable bus rides. Staying in dingy ass hotel/motel rooms with a roommate. Playing in front of 500 people. Etc etc

Bazley is in for a rude awakening.

Will be interesting to follow him. Might be a "rude awakening," or maybe not. Will be able to put in how much time he wants in training or working on his skills instead of pretending he's a student and having to spend time on that. Will be coached in the NBA game which is quite different than college. The salary isn't great but there is no restriction on endorsement money. Somebody with his potential can probably get some good cash on a shoe deal. Will be playing against older, more skilled players so, if it doesn't intimidate him, it will only accelerate his development.
 


I hope this does work. Not having some of the one and done guys doesn't hurt the NCAA, despite what some of the talking heads say. The reason people watch college basketball is not to watch one on one NBA style basketball. It is to see great story lines like the Final Four this year and good team basketball mixed in with loyalty to a program rather than a player.
 

This is good for everyone. I hope he is successful. This could force the NCAA to change how they do things if this becomes an option exercised by more recruits.
 

I'd much rather go to Europe or Australia vs playing in the G-League. Obviously the cultural differences, language barrier etc are an issue for some kids.

But the G-League lifestyle is akin to minor league baseball. Long, uncomfortable bus rides. Staying in dingy ass hotel/motel rooms with a roommate. Playing in front of 500 people. Etc etc

Bazley is in for a rude awakening.

I think that's easy for an adult to say, but a ton of kids, athletes included, struggle their first year away from home. Going to an entirely different country, especially if they speak a different language and have a vastly different culture, would be really overwhelming for most teenagers who have never been on their own before. I would rather play in the G-League out of high school, personally.
 




I think that's easy for an adult to say, but a ton of kids, athletes included, struggle their first year away from home. Going to an entirely different country, especially if they speak a different language and have a vastly different culture, would be really overwhelming for most teenagers who have never been on their own before. I would rather play in the G-League out of high school, personally.

It might be easier to scout him as well.
 


I think that's easy for an adult to say, but a ton of kids, athletes included, struggle their first year away from home. Going to an entirely different country, especially if they speak a different language and have a vastly different culture, would be really overwhelming for most teenagers who have never been on their own before. I would rather play in the G-League out of high school, personally.

Yes, hence my following sentence stating exactly that.
 

Yes, hence my following sentence stating exactly that.

Right, but after you briefly mentioned the issues with going overseas, you mentioned the issues with the G-League and concluded that he was in for a rude awakening, which I thought implied that he made the wrong decision. I think going overseas would be far, far harder for a kid that age and wanted to emphasize that and how the perspective of an adult is going to be different.
 



The reason conditions and pay aren't so great is because no one follows the league. Once you start getting more players like this to join the league and it turns into a league of "potential NBA stars' instead of a league of "potential NBA end of bench guys", it'll get a lot more of a following and the endorsements will come which will change the conditions for the better.
 




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