Each parent has the right to choose what is best for their own kids but at what cost. Even before LeBron James could finish high school and make the jump to the NBA we were looking for the next phenom to take over. Kids making the jump directly to the pros through the process of bypassing college had become so routine that the NBA had to get a handle on it by implementing a minimum age rule. Now, a loophole has been found around that and the standard being set is alarming.
Jeremy Tyler, the nation’s top junior class basketball recruit, has decided to forgo his senior year of high school to turn pro. I’ll give you a second to reread that last sentence.
No longer facing a challenge amongst high school competition and not really excited about renting his services out for a year to a university (He had committed to Louisville), Tyler is packing his bags and heading to Europe. Not yet eligible for the millions waiting in the NBA he’s instead settling for the hundreds of thousands of European ball instead of staying and finishing at his high school.
There are going to be tons of people who are going to say, “Way to go Jeremy!” over this and I’m not sure that I wont be one of them but I still question the decision. What’s the difference between a high school aged kid launching a professional career in music or acting and a kid turning pro in sports? Obviously we don’t see it in happen in pro sports very often but does this set the trend or set a scary precedent? Seventeen year old kids don’t physically bang bodies with thirty year old men in the world of music and movies but they sure do in the world of professional basketball. Dominating high school competition is a world away from finding success in the pros and Tyler is about to travel to that world. I hope he collects as much as possible because this isn’t going to be a guarantee of NBA riches in the near future.
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