McDonald's AA de-commits from Syracuse, heads to G-League

[Pakuni]

Not sure if this is an academics issue or sign of things to come.

McDonald’s All American and Syracuse commit Darius Bazley — a projected top-10 selection in the 2019 NBA draft — has decided to turn professional and plans to sign in the NBA G League, Bazley told Yahoo Sports.
Bazley, 17, told Yahoo Sports he has decommitted from Syracuse and will play in the G League after discussing several options with his mother, Lynnita Bazley, close family members and Princeton (Cincinnati) High School coach Steve Wright. Several players have set a trend of leaving collegiate commitments to play overseas, but Bazley’s decision to bypass the one-and-done format for the G League is unprecedented.

https://sports.yahoo.com/projected-top-10-draft-pick-make-leap-high-school-g-league-193725979.html

[D'Lo Brown]

Don't they have to meet academic standards to be considered a McDonald's AA? I don't know the specifics on it, and wasn't able to find specifics. My assumption is, and please correct me if untrue, is that if they meet the standards to be a McDonald's AA, they ought to be able to qualify well enough to play at some institution.

Maybe he couldn't play at UW or Harvard, but still settle for a place like Maryland or MU.

All conjecture of course unless facts come out but it would seem this was just his choice. Who can blame him? How many high school baseball players go right to the pros again?

More conjecture: the first few players that are highly successful at this approach will end up changing the system entirely... The most obvious one and dones will become more rare to recruit/have on the team.

[StillAWarrior]

More conjecture: the first few players that are highly successful at this approach will end up changing the system entirely... The most obvious one and dones will become more rare to recruit/have on the team.

You may be right.  On the other hand, I think it's quite possible -- likely even -- that the elite one-and-done players will continue going to college.  Because despite all of the gnashing of teeth about how exploited they are, it's actually a pretty sweet gig with considerable benefits. I think in many cases the coaching, facilities, equipment, training staff, etc. are quite a lot better than these guys have in the G-League.  It's undeniable that the exposure is far better.  And, much more importantly (at least to a lot of 18-year-olds), it's probably a hell of a lot more fun being a BMOC in Lexington, than it is grinding in Fort Wayne.

That said, I think the one-and-done rule is going to go away.

[D'Lo Brown]

You may be right.  On the other hand, I think it's quite possible -- likely even -- that the elite one-and-done players will continue going to college.  Because despite all of the gnashing of teeth about how exploited they are, it's actually a pretty sweet gig with considerable benefits. I think in many cases the coaching, facilities, equipment, training staff, etc. are quite a lot better than these guys have in the G-League.  It's undeniable that the exposure is far better.  And, much more importantly (at least to a lot of 18-year-olds), it's probably a hell of a lot more fun being a BMOC in Lexington, than it is grinding in Fort Wayne.

That said, I think the one-and-done rule is going to go away.

Yep. Don't disagree with anything you said. I bet a lot would still choose the college route. However, I'd like to add in the factor of what an incredible hassle it is to be forced to actually attend college for some of these kinds of players. I wouldn't at all assume they must have done poorly in school to make this choice. Baseball players that turned professional out of high school aren't dumber.

College sucks if you don't want to be there. These guys are traveling all across the country, not paid, have to abide by strict study hours and rules.. For what?

I'm just wondering how many of the, say, top 10 type guys in a given class would take this approach if it was proven viable. At this point, it's still more of a theory than anything. But perhaps in 5 or 10 years, those types of players will again disappear from the college game.

[Lennys Tap]

Not sure if this is an academics issue or sign of things to come.

McDonald’s All American and Syracuse commit Darius Bazley — a projected top-10 selection in the 2019 NBA draft — has decided to turn professional and plans to sign in the NBA G League, Bazley told Yahoo Sports.
Bazley, 17, told Yahoo Sports he has decommitted from Syracuse and will play in the G League after discussing several options with his mother, Lynnita Bazley, close family members and Princeton (Cincinnati) High School coach Steve Wright. Several players have set a trend of leaving collegiate commitments to play overseas, but Bazley’s decision to bypass the one-and-done format for the G League is unprecedented.

https://sports.yahoo.com/projected-top-10-draft-pick-make-leap-high-school-g-league-193725979.html

Couldn't be academics - kid's gonna graduate from Princeton this May!

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Not sure if this is an academics issue or sign of things to come.

McDonald’s All American and Syracuse commit Darius Bazley — a projected top-10 selection in the 2019 NBA draft — has decided to turn professional and plans to sign in the NBA G League, Bazley told Yahoo Sports.
Bazley, 17, told Yahoo Sports he has decommitted from Syracuse and will play in the G League after discussing several options with his mother, Lynnita Bazley, close family members and Princeton (Cincinnati) High School coach Steve Wright. Several players have set a trend of leaving collegiate commitments to play overseas, but Bazley’s decision to bypass the one-and-done format for the G League is unprecedented.

https://sports.yahoo.com/projected-top-10-draft-pick-make-leap-high-school-g-league-193725979.html

Who was the guy that played with Junior Cadougan in prep school? 6-8 forward.  Williams?  I'm pretty sure he went straight to the then D-League.  So, uh, it's like totally precedented.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Who was the guy that played with Junior Cadougan in prep school? 6-8 forward.  Williams?  I'm pretty sure he went straight to the then D-League.  So, uh, it's like totally precedented.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latavious_Williams

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latavious_Williams

Thanks Doc! Couldn't remember his first name.