US high school star playing in Europe?

June 20, 2008

We have already talked about the question whether being drafted is still worth it for Europeans. And we spoke, more in a joking way, about when European teams recruit American high school seniors for their own youth program. Well, this may now happen, as ESPN reports.

Brandon Jennings, one of the top talents in US high school basketball, is considering playing professionally in Europe next season. Jennings, who signed a letter of intent to play for Arizona in the NCAA next season, must still pass his exams to be eligible for college basketball, exams which he has missed twice already.

Coming to Europe is something I’m considering now. I still want to go to Arizona but if things don’t go right, I’m considering going overseas.”

That’s how Jennings was quoted by ESPN.com today. The remaining questions regard whether a European professional team would want to sign an 18-year-old high school basketball player and of course how Jennings would react to the pressure of playing professionally.

I don’t know if Jennings and his family read BallinEurope.com or from where they got this idea. But if he really fails his college test, Jennings could eventually become a trend setter. And if he succeeds, this may encourage more high school players to try the same move in the future.

Jun 20, 2008ballineurope

This post was published on June 20, 2008

Comments: 11

Stevan
17 years ago
There are just two programs for young players in Europe…

Guess…

Houventud and Partizan
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elaj
17 years ago
lol
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Os Davis
17 years ago
As a nomadic American, what i’d really like to see is a high school baller choosing to forgo university for the European pro game not because he can’t pass an entrance exam, but rather for the cultural experience and/or to support his family while training for the NBA in an ethical fashion (as opposed to taking bribes from university officials, say).

Can you imagine what an absolute monster Kobe Bryant would’ve been entering the NBA at age 21 after three years of starting for one of the top Italian teams? Imagine a Spanish-speaking bilingual kid who makes a name for himself early in LA or Texas high-school ball going to play in the ACB … it could happen.
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Eric
17 years ago
It could be really intriguing. After all, the level of current local European leagues is superior to most of the U.S conference.
In France, Tony Parker was pro at 18, Boris Diaw and Mike Pietrus were major players for Pau at 19.
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kris
17 years ago
I doubt that even a team like Joventut would let him play right away, they may send him to a farm-team first, to see if he’s able to handle himself in Europe with all the differences regarding the rules, lifestyle, and the language.
He could also be bought from an Italian-team and be placed in a league like Germany,Latvia, Belgium for a year.If he excels, he may get the chance to play in international competitions.If a Greek team picks him up, he may get the Slovakian passport and plays also for a national team 🙂 (Hello to my Aris-supporters)

@Eric: They are all natives of the country, Jennings has first to adjust and who know how long that takes him.
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Eric
17 years ago
kris, for sure, they will be some cultural & social differences. I think this would be some major changes, some huge discoveries when it comes from Brandon Jennings.
But looking at his bio : a good student, a member of his church singing band, a member of Oak Hill Academy (a top school – TMac, Deng, Villanueva and others), a volunteer for visiting elementary school….he is not a “Boyzzz in the hood” character. He looks like a great young adult.
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fab
17 years ago
when he is such a good student, why does he fail in the college tests?!
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Eric
17 years ago
Ouchh ! !!!!!
fab, this hurts !!
Acoording to Rivals, he is supposed to have a general B Grade.
Do you think his school is cheating…..oh, my God, I can not believe this.
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simeon
17 years ago
give him a 1 yr contract for like $300,000 usd. much more than what he’d make in the dleague
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SCBay
17 years ago
This really could be the beginning of a new trend for HS players. The rule that players need to first play one year of college ball is a useless rule that produces corruption among rival universities and grants scholarships to players who have no intention of staying longer than a year. Look at this draft class, How many one and done players are entering the draft this year? 4 of the top 5 predicted picks are players who just vacationed in college for a year before entering the draft.

Many players who feel they can help their families financially, by getting paid in Europe instead of wasting a year in college, may follow Jennings if he does decide to go play in Europe.

This could also be a really great thing for European basketball. Maybe now you will start to see players with real talent in your arena’s over there. 🙂

The D-League does not pay anything so yes 300,000 usd would be much more than the D-League pays
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Steve
17 years ago
The reason, I believe, that Jennings is considering this is because the NCAA has so many restrictions on what you can and can’t do. Being a college basketball player and a student is pretty much a full time job but you earn very little (they get an allowance for general living costs).

There are lots of these guys who could be competitive in Europe. They could play in Italy or Spain or wherever for a year or two, maybe a little more, then go to the NBA Draft when they are ready. They would be playing at a very high level and earning a great salary.

There are definitely benefits for the players. The NCAA has gotta be scared shitless.
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