Thread: High school basketball player skips high school to play pro

Jeremy Tyler signs with Maccabi Haifa - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

Anybody seen this kid play? I wonder if he's really that good or just wants the money.

Yeah they were showing clips of him months ago when he officially made the decision.............this is a bit extreme. I got no problems with going from HS to the NBA but skipping your senior season, meh.............

I don't know what his economic/family situation is at home, but where are his guardians/advisors? I can't believe his parents would sign off on something like this--encouraging him to forgo basic education for short lived income

you can always complete an education - arguably, living abroad will be more educational than his last year of school anyways. but i would've held out for more than $140K

didn't that other dude 2 years ago get $1MM/yr or so contract? (yes, he had graduated HS but...)

- chuck

people are in such a mad rush for cash it's kind of sad. there's more to life than just making big money and fulfillment doesn't necessarily come with a large bank account. i hope this kind of thinking changes someday.

Originally Posted by op487062

people are in such a mad rush for cash it's kind of sad. there's more to life than just making big money and fulfillment doesn't necessarily come with a large bank account. i hope this kind of thinking changes someday.

I agree with that but like Chuck said...........you can get an education anytime. Your window to make money as a professional athlete is very small.

Originally Posted by op487062

people are in such a mad rush for cash it's kind of sad. there's more to life than just making big money and fulfillment doesn't necessarily come with a large bank account. i hope this kind of thinking changes someday.

and to reiterate what i said above - living abroad will be a HUGE education in itself - in life. i think everyone's world view would change 180 degrees if they lived a year abroad while still in HS - so fulfillment does not necessarily need to be tied to an institutionalized, and most likely poor, education.

do you really think his last year of high school would be nothing more than a dog & pony show?

i'm a big proponent of education - make no mistake - but there are different approaches to it. if you're an athlete, go for it while you can - age limits, SAT score minimums, etc - are stupid - it's all a charade. if you like to learn, you'll learn - a diploma does not make one learned.

- chuck

Originally Posted by carendt242

and to reiterate what i said above - living abroad will be a HUGE education in itself - in life. i think everyone's world view would change 180 degrees if they lived a year abroad while still in HS - so fulfillment does not necessarily need to be tied to an institutionalized, and most likely poor, education.

do you really think his last year of high school would be nothing more than a dog & pony show?

i'm a big proponent of education - make no mistake - but there are different approaches to it. if you're an athlete, go for it while you can - age limits, SAT score minimums, etc - are stupid - it's all a charade. if you like to learn, you'll learn - a diploma does not make one learned.

- chuck

Well said Chuck.

It's true that when you have a chance to be big, go be big. Like a lot of businessmen, not just athletes, skip out of some sort of education to become really successful.

It just makes me wonder what his motives are, but the fact that he settled for a smaller contract when others offered more, makes me think that he's out there to get more playing time and experience instead of just making a quick buck before entering the NBA. Like he said, he's just getting triple teamed and hacked all the time, how is that going to make his skillset improve?

Crappy decision in my opinion. He could have played at a serious school for four years and could have been drafted for wwaayy more than 140,000. There is tons he can learn on the court playing in college. But i can never be okay with a kid not finishing high school.

Originally Posted by wcadet

Crappy decision in my opinion. He could have played at a serious school for four years and could have been drafted for wwaayy more than 140,000. There is tons he can learn on the court playing in college. But i can never be okay with a kid not finishing high school.

No one good plays in college for more than 1 year. Before that rule they went from HS to the pros right away. The only player in recent memory that went 4 years that was really dominant in the NBA I can think of is Tim Duncan.

What you're saying makes no sense. Go to college and get drafted and get paid 7 million/year for 3 years as a rookie..............or go play hoops for 140k for 2 years overseas and enter the draft when hes 19 and make 7 million/year after already making 280k

Also European teams pay for living expenses and food and day to day necessities. The per-diem given to NBA players is 150 bucks(obviously as millionaires they don't really need it) overseas its around 350. 140k over there is more like 225k.

Not to mention if you are some hood rat and your parents probably make a combined income of 30k............you're really saying you'd rather put off making real money to help them?