Bill Self Comments on Darius Bazley Going to G League Instead of Syracuse

Kansas head men's basketball coach Bill Self commented Friday on 5-star prospect Darius Bazley choosing to play in the NBA G League next season rather than attending Syracuse University.

According to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times, Self expressed support for players entering the NBA out of high school, but not for those forgoing college in favor of the G League:

"I do believe kids should be able to go out of high school. I don't believe they should be able to go to the G League out of high school. To me, putting themselves in a situation in the G League where they're not eligible to be an NBA player, there will be a percentage of kids that make that decision—whether it be academic, whether it be whatever decisions—that will never ever experience being an NBA basketball player. And then what do they have when that's gone?"

Bazley announced his decision to decommit for Syracuse in favor of joining the G League on Thursday.

With regard to his decision, Bazley told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports the following:

"This is a life-changing decision. Ultimately, playing professional basketball has always been my dream. It's always going to be the dream goal, always going to be the goal until I achieve it. This is going to put me one step closer to doing so.

"The G League will have the most to offer, considering that is the development league for the NBA. I will get more out of that than going overseas. The G League is the closest thing to the NBA."

Per 247Sports, Bazley is the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 4 small forward in the 2018 recruiting class.

There has been an ongoing debate about whether the one-and-done rule truly benefits college basketball, the NBA or the prospects.

Despite that, Self expressed his belief that even one year of college is good for players from a maturation standpoint:

"There's a lot of kids out there that are really talented that aren't ready, and college provides them an opportunity to mature, to become ready. And to be honest with you, if they can't mature and become ready in college, then all you have done is put them in a situation where you gave them an opportunity because if they weren't ready in college, they certainly weren't ready when they're 17 or 18 years old."

Self pointed to Kansas sophomore guard Malik Newman as someone who he believes has benefited from attending college.

Along with Newman, the Jayhawks are led by senior guards Devonte' Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, as well as sophomore center Udoka Azubuike.

Veteran-laden Kansas will take on the Villanova Wildcats on Saturday for the right to face either No. 3 Michigan or No. 11 Loyola-Chicago in the National Championship Game.