Jeremy Tyler is not your typical high school junior. Instead of daydreaming about Prom, Graduation, and moving on to college, Jeremy is thinking about adjusting to professional adult life. Tyler is a 6-11 basketball star from San Diego who has decided to forgo his senior year of high school and become a professional basketball player internationally.
This trend began last season. Brandon Jennings, a McDonald's All American high school phenom decided to skip his freshman year of college at Arizona and play professional basketball in Italy for one year (It was said he was academically ineligible for college). Thus he could comfortably be paid while waiting out the NBA/NCAA rule of having high school seniors delay one year before declaring for the NBA draft. This year, Jennings returned to the US and was drafted 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now Tyler has taken the trend a step further. He is skipping his last year of high school to become a professional basketball player. Recently, Tyler signed a one year contract worth $140,000 to play for the Israeli team, Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League. Not bad for a kid without a high school diploma.
Jeremy, who initially committed to Louisville, claimed it was time to go professional. He was tired of being hacked and triple teamed on the high school courts. The level of competition wasn't challenging, and he wanted to showcase his all around game skills rather than be planted permanently in the paint.
His bold decision tells me two things. First of all, people are willing to make daring moves just to bypass and protest the NBA/NCAA's rule of having to wait one year out of high school before entering the draft. Secondly, more than ever, American basketball is moving more and more toward a youth professional development model used in other parts of the world and in other sports.
The cause of this commotion is the fabled "One and Done" rule issued by the NCAA (College Presidents) and the NBA (David Stern). This rule is unnecessary and absurd. They claim they want to protect the kids from making mistakes. They point out that for every Kevin Garnett, there is a Korleone Young. In reality, the motivations for this rule are quite contrary. NBA veterans didn't like the flood of younger players pushing them out of the league. Also the NCAA and its College Presidents loved the fact that the "one and done" superstars would generate excitement and revenue for college basketball. This is the same NCAA who makes millions of dollars from these players and yet denies them a dime in a show of exploitation. The fact of the matter is that high school players have proven ready and able to play in the NBA. Look no further than LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and Rashard Lewis. These players have thrived in the NBA and didn't need college basketball. If people are capable of making it at this age, then why dictate that they can't try. Last time I checked, people took responsibility for themselves and their own risks. Without this rule, we wouldn't be talking about Brandon Jennings and Jeremy Tyler. Do we really want our next generation of stars to showcase themselves while playing in Europe and Asia?
As an avid basketball fan, my answer to this question is a resounding no.
