Prep HS Star To Drop Out, Will Play Ball Overseas

When Brandon Jennings decided to forego college and begin playing overseas, it caused an incredible stir among basketball circles. The difference between European life and American life, even for a basketball star (and perhaps, given the rigors of life as a professional basketball player in Europe) is far greater than even the ocean that divides them. If you've read stories about Jennings, perhaps seen the HBO Real Sports special on him when he is interviewed by Bryant Gumbel, you get the impression that he was capable of making the transition because he is an incredibly mature young man who has a strong support network--he lives with his brother and mother in Rome--to make sure that he stays focused. Now, it's important first to look at the facts here. ESPN's wire service story doesn't quite include all the facts. The NY Times story does a better job of that. First, he's going to graduate high school, just not from the brick and mortar one that he has been attending. He's working online to get his grades and get a diploma. Second, he's going not because he feels that he's going to make millions and millions and live the NBA lifestyle, but because he feels he can improve more by playing overseas against professionals. There are high schools that don't require attendance that churn out basketball prospects who can barely make the SAT cutoff for NCAA inclusion. Brandon Jennings left amid reports he would've never been academically eligible to play in college barring a miracle on his SATs. There are far worse academic sins than dropping out, finishing online, and pursuing your career choice--especially when you have no intentions of ever finishing college. Now, do I believe money doesn't play a factor? Of course it does. Sonny Vaccaro, while not taking a cut from any of these guys he's funnelling overseas, doesn't get involved without making the money side of this business clear. I do believe that he wants to be the best basketball player that he can be, but I don't know if it's been made clear to him that he won't be able to dominate pro leagues anywhere near the way he can dominate high school. The NY Times story discusses this in greater depth, that his high school team is a mess because of transfer violations involving 3-star recruits. But I wonder if he understands that not only will pro coaches not coddle him, they'll likely put him under more scrutiny because of the press he's receiving now. The main problem I see here is the hype these players won't receive. Despite all the attention lavished on these two cases since they can seriously upset the balance of power between college, the NBA, and the players themselves. However, nothing hypes a player like March Madness and that is something these guys are missing out on. Jennings has worked hard and gets his minutes, but he's not going to have the gaudy stats or the nationally-televised moments that his fellow draftees will have gotten by playing in college. I'm not going to talk about the loss of a chance at education or maturity or whatever because I think we can agree many of these stars don't take full advantage of that. Most leave well before graduation and there are significant discipline problems that run rampant in the college ranks even though many of these guys are coddled and hawked over to keep them in line. But in a real dollars-and-cents way, these guys lose out on something. Brandon Jennings (or Ricky Rubio, for posterity's sake) could have gone to college here, lit up the tournament, and built an incredible amount of hype. Instead, they have to make their case to be drafted highly with just limited playing time, via scouts who travel overseas, or on film. It's just not the same. From what I've read, heard, and seen out of Jennings and Rubio, both could be perennial all-stars in the NBA if they reach their potential. Yet many look at the two of them as mid-first round picks at best rather than the lottery picks they arguably could've become had they gone through the college system. Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Who knows. But it's certainly becoming a groundswell movement and, if these guys succeed and others follow and succeed as well, we could see a great deal of change to the system as we know it.