Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

I don't think it's right or wrong, I don't think it's very smart. One broken ankle or torn ACL and his career is over before it began. In order to obtain a decent job you need at least a high school diploma. I wish no ill will to him at all but wish he would stay in school.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

I agree with Jeff. It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's a matter of smart or dumb. There's an important thing here that is not brought out in the article. What is his GPA and does he have the ability to graduate? I'm assuming that he does if he had a letter of intent whether he signed it or not. Louisville wouldn't have sent him one if they didn't think he would graduate from high school. Right? Maybe his family financial status is such that the money is hard to turn down right now. Not trying to judge him, but we just don't know. Like Jeff say's, just one little accident and maybe a career is over. He can go back to school and get a diploma, but if he has accepted money he can't play high school or college ball. Anyway, if he was my kid I'd have him finish high school. We all have our free agency and we live and die by the choices we make!

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

It is wrong! You must develop the brain before the body. Thats a cardinal rule of life. Good topic though...

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

"in order to obtain a decent job you at least need a high school diploma," Are you serious? Right, tons of wonderful employment opportunities for high school grads! High school grads always begin, and most stay, at entry level and a few rise as high as the company will allow with only a high school diploma. Did this kid really have what it takes to be successful in school? He passes on his final year of high school and suddenly he becomes magically way less intelligent than if he had stayed in for one more year. The reality is, one more year of high school is not going to make THIS KID any smarter, and a diploma really doesn't get you much. "One broken ankle or torn ACL and his career is over before it began" and then he would be equally screwed with or without the diploma. I'm not necessarily a fan of the decision, but I love the message it sends to the NCAA. Do we really know how much money college athletes are making the NCAA? The NCAA has the most to lose if this trend continues.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

The family didnt make a rash decision. They thought it through and to me after reading up on his situation it totally makes sense. The guy is suppose to be a freak. Playing against high school kids getting tripled team will not help his game. The guy is getting his GED. He will get so much better over seas. I'm looking at him as a trend setter. You cant put a price on the experience in sports and travel that he will get. What a great life experience!

By the way, child actors typically dont go to school and hurry to get their GED so they can work more on a set.

This kind of stuff needs to be looked at on a case by case.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

What about the teenager that is a great golfer (Wie). What about the tennis star that starts the tour and gets tutored on the side? What about the kid who plays the cello better than anyone ever has and gets paid to play in a symphony? Hmmmm? It happen all the time, albeit it is rare. Look at other professions, not just sports.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

Jared Zabransky... we all remember the guy, right? Great football player and leader for BSU 3 years, had a great senior season, really wanted to get into the world of NFL... and so he didnt finish his last year of college in order to prepare for the draft.

???

Now, the difference here between this kid and Zabransky is that this kid is guaranteed cash for at least a year. The similarity? Both are screwed if it doesnt pan out.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

In my way of thinking Zabransky is in a much better position that Jeremy. If Zabransky doesn't make it he only needs to go back to college for a year and get his degree. One that will help him earn a living outside the sports world. If Jeremy doesn't make it after receiving money he can't go back to any school and play ball. I still go back to my first post and ask, what is his academic ability? So, if he sustains a career ending injury and doesn't go back to school he shoots burgers for McDonalds. I haven't heard if he is another LeBron James or not. James did finish high school, but I doubt that that made a big difference as far as his career is concerned

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

Zabransky did make some money while on the practice squad for both the Texans and the Steelers. He then signed with Edmonton of the CFL. He's probably made more money in his post-college football career with no degree than he would have made with his incredibly marketable bachelor's degree in general studies in ten or fifteen years. Yep, that degree would've gotten him about as far as the kids' high school diploma. A degree in general studies is not "something to fall back on." Engineering, mathematics, computer programming, business etc., probably is something to fall back on - but not general studies, humanities, family wellness, psychology,etc.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

I didn't have any idea what his major was, but you are right. Some major in basket weaving !

I think the whole thing here is if this kid at a tender age can play with the pro's and not suffer a career ending injury. He certainly will make a lot of money if he plays and even more after two year's in Europe and can come back to the NBA. The other question is what if he can't? He isn't going to get enough money just to sign to last him for life. That means that he will have to find a job. That being said, he will need an education of some sorts.
Oh, I don't remember his age. He might be a 20 yr. old junior. Any way, here's wishing him the best.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

You may not remember, but I mentioned Jeremy Tyler in one of my blogs that he may be the next big thing, well here he is.....the fact that you are comparing a Top 5 nationally ranked player committed to Louisville to Jared Zabransky is foolish, they're not even in the same boat.....the money he will make over seas will be triple in one year of what Z has made in his professional career.....European basketball has become very powerful as far as how they play and the quality of game, they may not have the athletes we do but fundamentally there’s no comparison…..Tony Parker played pro when he was 14, Kobe speaks of playing older men while growing up in Italy, look how the Spurs won with all of their “foreign experiments” they could have a United Nations meeting, and the Legend of Ricky Rubio has been growing for 2 years, he’s 19 and been playing pro in Spain since he was 15…..people speak of student athletes, but how many guys does Rick Pitino recruit for their academics? Lets be real, Tyler probably would have been a one and done player maybe two years…..I do agree with the high school diploma, but this isn’t about education it’s about business and getting to the next level, sure he takes the chance of getting hurt, but that could also happen at college where they make millions off of them (although I still believe boosters and outsiders take care of the high major programs)……it’s not right or wrong it’s his choice and I think it will have a major impact on the future of h.s. hoops….definitely a can of worms David Stern doesn't want to open especially as he tries to bring the NBA closer to Europe.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

"the fact that you are comparing a Top 5 nationally ranked player committed to Louisville to Jared Zabransky is foolish, they're not even in the same boat" The fact that they are not in the same boat is what makes the comparison relevant. The point is, if Zabransky, who did not and will not be as successful as the top 5 national recruit, made it work out okay - then the likelihood that the top 5 recruit who is not even in the same boat will be successful is increased dramatically. If you can put forth a good case that the $12.00 sneakers work well, then you have helped build the case that the $112.00 sneakers will probably work well also. The point is relevant and thanks for bringing it up Phixsius.
Last year, Brandon Jennings shined the NCAA and bolted for the Euroleague as well. He signed for $1.65 million dollars guaranteed and a $2 million dollar under armour sponsorship before even shooting a basket for his team. It would take about 4 lifetimes to make that kind of money at a minimum wage job with only a diploma. If it is strictly about taking care of oneself - then the jump to Europe probably isn't a bad idea. And with some of these kids, basketball is their only shot.
I think it is the NCAA, not Stern, that is sweating bullets.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

What does Zabransky do now? Oh that's right. Why comare Tyler to Z if they have nothing in common? The argument is irrelevent to me because Tyler might become a real pro, not a practice player that went to 4 years of school and is missing a few classes for a degree, Z never recieved this kind of recognition nor did he ever have Tyler's potential......Brandon Jennings is a projected Top 10 pick this year if he wants to come out and if he would've played college he would've killed at UA, LeBron had the same guarantee's at a much larger scale before he was even drafted so did Melo, so you can save that "before even shooting a basket for his team"....what else would it be about? This kid isn't thinking diploma or college life, he's thinking big picture.....the NCAA might sweat a little, but guess who they'll be whinning to....yep David Stern just like they asked him to put an age limit on the high school kids

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

I am not exactly sure what that was all about - lot's of statements made but no real coherent argument laid out. All you are doing by ranting about the differences between Z and Tyler are proving the whole point. I think if you would read my previous posts you would see that I for the most part agree with most of the statements you made in your previous post. The mental divergence takes place when you say ..."The argument is irrelevent to me because ..." and then you list why Tyler and Z are different and why Tyler has a better shot than Z. We are not arguing why Z and Tyler are different and why Tyler has a better shot - we agree there. We are arguing whether or not it is relevent to use an example that is far inferior to the subject, to prove that the subject himself will be successful. If the inferior example was moderately successful, then reason assumes that the superior (and he is superior for all the reasons you stated above) will be at least moderately successful as well. You know the $12.00 shoe versus the $112.00 shoe example. You can tell me all day long why they are different and how terrible one is and how great the other is. But that isn't the point. We are merely talking about how we can use the $12.00 shoe to learn and make assumptions about the $112.00 shoe. I used Jennings as an example more similar to Tyler, because you obviously disliked the other one, to show how successful he has been. Again, to prove that Tyler has a good shot at making it. I'm still confused regarding your train of thought about Jennings. Did you agree, disagree or not understand the parallel I was trying to draw? Stern does panter to the NCAA, but whether or not kids go to the NCAA or not has little affect on Stern and the NBA as demonstrated by the growing number of successful NBAers who spurned the NCAA for the NBA( I won't use examples so as to avoid confusion). But, if kids continue to opt for Europe over the NCAA it will have a huge impact on the NCAA and thus I believe sweating bullets is a more accurate description of what they are doing.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

I think this will work out for Jeremy Tyler. You said Brandon Jennings made all of this money before even shooting a ball for his team, I replied with so did Carmelo and LeBron. Back to the original blog, not Z or 12.00 shoes. I'd like to see a kid go to school, but that's not the case, and I think if he has the ability then the decision is his. We won't know if it's right or wrong until his pro career unfolds. I would like to know some the NBAers you mentioned that spurned the NCAA, because there are a decent number of H.S. contributors in the league, probably not as many as those who have failed though.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

Looking more into it, I think I may see what you were saying about Jennings. Correct me if I'm wrong but the example you made of him having those deals in place before playing was a good thing.

Re: Dropping out of high school to play pro basketball. Right or wrong?

When I said "spurned" the NCAA it meant that they rather forthrightly rejected and skipped it. So these players I was referring to that "spurned" the NCAA would be LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and their ilk. And right, things have turned out well for them. But the reality is, even those players that spurned or skipped the NCAA and then had horrible careers still made more money in a few years in the league than they would have made working for ten years if they had gone to college and received general studies degrees. Strictly monetarily speaking, if you make it for only 1 year in the big leagues, it means you probably made at least as much as you would have made working ten years at $40,000 a year. $400,000 made in one year can sure pay for a lot of college. Most of these kids get way better deals than just the league mandatory minimums. And yes again, my Jennings point was only to show an example of someone who is of equal talent as Tyler and the deal he got. He made $3.65 million before shooting a basket. Say he tears his knee up on the first tip ball of the first game of his Euro debut and he never plays again. He still has $3.65 million dollars plus an insurance policy and Euroleague health insurance for life -because he was hurt while playing in their league - and so it was still probably a good decision for him. My only contention with you was whether or not Phixsius bringing up Z is relevant or not. I think it is only because things did not turn out all that bad for Z, and if a player who is far inferior to Tyler who left school early (however it be college and not high school) and still made it work okay, only reinforces the fact that a superior player, like Tyler, will even more likely make it work out. Again Z has likely made around $400,000 to $600,000 after a few seasons on the practice squad and now with the CFL. Not too bad for a few years work. If my 12 year-old who batted .250 and hit 3 homers and had 16 RBI's made the all-star team, then certainly your 13 year-old who batted .485 and hit 26 homers and had 70 RBI's will almost certainly make the team as well. Consider Z the 12 year old and Tyler the 13 year-old - either way it is a sound, rational argument and therefore relevent and not foolish. Whether it works out that way or not who knows, but the rationale is sound and that is all I was defending. I hope this clarifies. Sorry to belabor the point. Succintness is not my specialty. I no longer live in Idaho, but someday hope to return and I think this website is great! Thanks for the work you do to support it.