High School is for Losers

From ESPN.com:

Jeremy Tyler, a 6-foot-11 junior, has dropped out of San Diego High School and says he will skip his senior year to play professionally in Europe, The New York Times and Yahoo! Sports reported on Wednesday.

Tyler, 17, will become the first player born in the United States to leave high school early to play professional basketball overseas. He is expected to come back in two years, when he is eligible for the NBA draft.

Tyler had made a verbal commitment to Louisville. He has not signed with an agent or a professional team, but he probably will play in Spain, the Times reported, although clubs from other European leagues are showing interest.

"Nowadays people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym and getting better," Tyler told the Times. "If you're really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys."

Point guard Brandon Jennings, a Los Angeles native, graduated last year from Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and became the first high school grad to skip college and play pro ball in Europe. He is wrapping up his first season with Lottomatica Virtus Roma in Italy. Jennings is projected as a high pick in June's NBA draft.

So the kid wants to drop out High School because the level of competition is beneath him and he wants to develop his game in Europe. What do his parents have to say? Well, Yahoo reports that his father fully supports him because the high school level "bores" his son. The NBA has an age requirement to enter draft, typically requiring a High School graduate participate in at least 1 college season. Basically, he's getting around the HS and College Requirement by heading over to Europe for a couple of years.

Awesome plan my man. Awesome plan.

Let's forfeit a couple of years of FREE education for a payday now. That's really what it boils down to. If you're bored in High School, how about focusing on your studies and character development? (I guarantee he's lacking in the character department and hasn't even considered weighing his options.) Nah, money is more important than that. As for his dad going with him, it sounds to me like he's trying to cash in as well.

He wants to go to some European team for development rather than going through the standard transition that is college. I'll take Rick Pitino over any coach that Europe has to coach me up and sharpen my skills as well as my character. Though not professional ball, the Big East would have turned the competition up for you.

But you know what? Being a HS hero and a college star certainly have nothing on being thrust into strange surroundings with 30 year old teammates. Sounds like a blast.

Who needs HS or college? You'll get your education overseas. You might learn a new language and an appreciation for wine and cheese.

I'm not saying that he won't come back and be a lottery pick in the NBA, I just think that he's not going to be ready for the transition to Europe and I imagine we'll see some character issues arise in the future.