6'11" Jeremy Tyler of San Diego (former Louisville commit) is dropping out of High School to go play out the two years until he is eligible for the NBA draft to play in Europe.
Now, this may not seem and worse than Brandon Jennings last year, or the litany of one-and-dones that come out of college every year, but this scares me.
I don't wish this upon him, but theoretically, let's say Tyler struggles- much like Jennings has- in Europe, and after two years of doing very little in Europe at the pro level, his stock is not very high and he gets drafted in the late first round/early second round.
He then plays a few ineffectual minutes early in the year for his NBA team, when he is sent down to the D-League.
After a few seasons bouncing around the D-League he is eventually cut- a player without anywhere to go. There is no guarantee he can latch back on in Europe, and now he has no job and is without a High School diploma.
I'm in no way insinuating that this will happen to Tyler- by all accounts he is an excellent player who will do fine- but if this becomes a trend (which I think it may, especially if Tyler has a good experience), mark my words, there will be players who this happens to.
I just can't see the risk that comes with not graduating from High School being worth the reward of some cash (that could easily be made up with exposure made while playing with college- Jonny's two years at Syracuse can only help his endorsement potential) and not having to go to classes for a year. He's going to be playing with grown men in a foreign country.
I can only hope that the NBA puts in place something that will deter this.
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