Jeremy Tyler heads to Europe for his Senior Year

[West is Best]

Jeremy Tyler is going to sign with a European pro team for his senior year in high school

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=Apj.snes6FZ1Klk6bJYX2685nYcB?slug=dw-tyler042209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I thought Brandon Jenning's struggles in Europe would put a lid on that pipeline before it got started. This is big though... top prospects would have a hard time saying no to two years of a six figure salary to prepare them for pro ball.

I don't know how the NCAA or NBA fixes this, but this could create huge headaches in terms of recruiting and building a roster in college ball.

Any thoughts?

[Cheesehead]

Actually, if the kid can handle it and it appears that this kid just might, I have no problem w/ it. His Dad is right in that many schools are making a ton of money from these kids. Sure, some of them get an education, but many do not.

I say all the power to this kid and his family. If this makes him a better player AND he gets paid well, then good for them. I'm not sure the NCAA or the NBA can do anything about w/out a serious legal challenge on their hands.

[boozehound]

It could just go back to they way things were before when there was no 'one and done' rule.

[LutherRackleyRulez]

You had to figure that the infamous Sonny Vaccaro was a player in this story.......



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

[dc_x]

This why top players will stay play college ball:


On July 16, 2008, Jenings signed with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian Lega A. [10] The contract he signed with Roma was for $1.65 million net pay guaranteed and after earning the contract with Lotomatica, Under Armour gave Jennings a $2 million contractto showcase their products in the Euroleague. Jennings is the first player to play for a European team rather than play for a college team since the NBA's age restriction was implemented.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Jennings


Sonics forward Kevin Durant scored the second-largest endorsement contract for an NBA rookie when he signed a seven-year, $60 million deal with Nike that included a $10 million signing bonus.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based shoe and apparel company and Durant's agent Aaron Goodwin confirmed the announcement Wednesday.

According to industry sources, Durant declined a seven-year, $70 million deal with Adidas that included a $12 million signing bonus largely because he has a long history with Nike dating to the eighth grade in Washington, D.C.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003793938_soni18.html

Playing NCAA ball made Durant a superstar. Had he played 1 season in Italy, he would have been a no-name rookie just like Brandon Jennings will be next year. Obviously, there is no guarantee, that Jennings would have signed an endorsement deal the size that Durant got. But in general, the name recognition that goes with being a college star is more valuable than 1 year's salary in Europe.

[GoMuskies]

It's amazing any of us have heard of Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, Amare, Howard....

[dc_x]

It's amazing any of us have heard of Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, Amare, Howard....

Lebron made his name as a high school phenom. Kobe, KG, Amare, Howard all made their names in the NBA. They weren't household names as rookies like Oden, Durant, Beasley, Rose, etc. There is no history of someone becoming a household name playing pro ball in Europe.

[Mrs. Garrett]

Jeremy Tyler is going to sign with a European pro team for his senior year in high school

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=Apj.snes6FZ1Klk6bJYX2685nYcB?slug=dw-tyler042209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I thought Brandon Jenning's struggles in Europe would put a lid on that pipeline before it got started. This is big though... top prospects would have a hard time saying no to two years of a six figure salary to prepare them for pro ball.

I don't know how the NCAA or NBA fixes this, but this could create huge headaches in terms of recruiting and building a roster in college ball.

Any thoughts?


At the end of the day, I highly doubt that the goal of the European owners is to become a minor league system for the NBA. They might take a couple of extremely talented kids, but not every kid who wants to get paid to play hoops right out of high school. Plus there's a limit as far as how many foreign born players can be on each roster.

[_LH]

I don't really follow the NBA but isn't Jennings projected to be a lottery pick in June?

The NBA needs to create a farm system so they can sign kids out of high school. If they are NBA ready from day 1, they play, if not they get seasoned playing for the AAA affiliate.

Baseball has been doning this for decades with great success. I know the old veterans in the NBA don't want AAA affiliates for fear of being "sent down" to the minors.

[West is Best]

Playing NCAA ball made Durant a superstar. Had he played 1 season in Italy, he would have been a no-name rookie just like Brandon Jennings will be next year. Obviously, there is no guarantee, that Jennings would have signed an endorsement deal the size that Durant got. But in general, the name recognition that goes with being a college star is more valuable than 1 year's salary in Europe.

Good points. Couple comments:

1) It's hard to compare endorsement $$'s because the players are so different. Jennings is a 6'1" point guard and a great prospect, but I'm not sure that he's at the same level at Jeremy Tyler who's a 6'10" power player. Durant is a 6'9", 3 position hybrid who did whatever he wanted.

2) Jeremy Tyler will have 2 years of pro ball in Europe, which may be enough time to build up some name recognition overseas. He might get a good endorsement deal based on the fact that the European market is more familiar with him. This will be a much bigger issue when the economy improves.

3) Tyler decided to do this after his Junior year. Pretty soon there will be a 14 or 15 year old kid heading to Europe for 4 years of professional basketball. Trying to recruit the best players could be brutal.

[Mrs. Garrett]

Good points. Couple comments:

1) It's hard to compare endorsement $$'s because the players are so different. Jennings is a 6'1" point guard and a great prospect, but I'm not sure that he's at the same level at Jeremy Tyler who's a 6'10" power player. Durant is a 6'9", 3 position hybrid who did whatever he wanted.

2) Jeremy Tyler will have 2 years of pro ball in Europe, which may be enough time to build up some name recognition overseas. He might get a good endorsement deal based on the fact that the European market is more familiar with him. This will be a much bigger issue when the economy improves.

3) Tyler decided to do this after his Junior year. Pretty soon there will be a 14 or 15 year old kid heading to Europe for 4 years of professional basketball. Trying to recruit the best players could be brutal.

The European teams won't let their league be taken over by teenagers from the U.S. Overall, they don't like the way U.S. players lack fundamentals that Europeans have. They might take a couple special players each year, but they're not going to bleed the talent pool dry.

There was a story recently on Jennings on Real Sports, he isn't exactly blowing people away in Europe. If Tyler doesn't have a great couple of years over there either, European teams aren't going to waste their time with our high school kids.

[THRILLHOUSE]

The NBA needs to end the one year rule. Sure there are kids who enter straight out of high school and don't make it. But they know what the risk is and they should be able to go for it if they feel that they are ready. Just like at any other age there will be busts and players who are great. What point would it have made to make guys like LeBron and KG play a year in college? Let the higher schoolers declare and make the nbdl a true minor league system.

[golfitup]

I think the bigger issue is the fact that our system for producing talent is so messed up. (By "our" i mean America) No other country in the world has a "draft." Drafts are ridiculous in my opinion. I mean think about it. These kids have zero control over what team and city they will get picked by.

One of the very few things I like about college football over basketball is the fact that there's no AAU to deal with.

[AviatorX]

I think the bigger issue is the fact that our system for producing talent is so messed up. (By "our" i mean America) No other country in the world has a "draft." Drafts are ridiculous in my opinion. I mean think about it. These kids have zero control over what team and city they will get picked by.

One of the very few things I like about college football over basketball is the fact that there's no AAU to deal with.

Yet...there's been some rumblings over some AAU 7 on 7 team tournaments...