OT: Jalen Green spurning Memphis, heading to G-League

[borninansonia]

I expect that this will be good for college basketball. I enjoy watching the kids grow and learn how to play a team game year to year. The "one and dones" don't interest me, and they usually don't win. Upperclassmen win.

 

[Lefty2one]

This is substantial news. The NBA finally made a developmental path that's way too good for elite prospects to pass up.

I think it's a good thing for everyone involved. Top players should be able to get paid right away and college basketball sorely needs some continuity. The last dozen years of "great youth vs good experience" in college hoops have been underwhelming.

 

[husky429]

This will put a lot of butts in G-League seats too. Might actually start making money off of it. Imagine if you had been able to go see Zion live in a high school gym for 5 bucks. People will be interested in that.

Players will get a solid paycheck and as much training as they want with good coaches too. It seems like a win-win for the players and front offices. Only downside being the hype and exposure of high major NCAA games.

 

[tcf15]

At least Memphis has that one JUCO commit with offers from Tulsa and Grambling State to fall back on.

 

[HCCForever]

Good article on the newer options for draft prospects.

College's Magical Allure Is Vanishing for Many NBA Prospects

NCAA coaches are no longer just competing against their peers to recruit the nation's top high school basketball talents.

www.si.com

 

[MDHuskFan]

I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal

 

[Ratso]

haven’t read the thread but g-league reminds me of the secondary leagues behind the premier league in england. the 2nd tier teams are really good and pay players well.

 

[HooperScooper]

I expect that this will be good for college basketball. I enjoy watching the kids grow and learn how to play a team game year to year. The "one and dones" don't interest me, and they usually don't win. Upperclassmen win.

Yeah, most articles I've read don't think this will hurt college basketball at all. Remember, there was a time not so long ago where many of the top prospects went straight to the NBA without playing in college.

Why players like Jalen Green heading to the G League won't hurt college basketball as much as you think

Top prospects going pro out of high school is nothing new and won't really hurt college basketball

www.cbssports.com

How does the big picture change with Jalen Green going pro?

With Jalen Green going pro, and the G-League changing their model for top prospects, what is next for college basketball?

247sports.com

 

[Kenny11]

I like Penny and I think he’s coached pretty well through 2 seasons...maybe I just have a soft spot for him because of being a fan of his (and his shoes) as a little kid.

 

[HooperScooper]

I like Penny and I think he’s coached pretty well through 2 seasons...maybe I just have a soft spot for him because of being a fan of his (and his shoes) as a little kid.

And the Lil' Penny commercials were the best.

 

[Fatroony5]

At least Memphis has that one JUCO commit with offers from Tulsa and Grambling State to fall back on.

TCF from the top rope!

 

[goskis2018]

If they start offering that much money to the top 5-10 kids in each class then forget about even recruiting those kids. I'd imagine most of them would take that deal and prepare for the NBA that way.

While Green is signing up to play in the NBA G League, multiple sources told 247Sports this won't be a normal G League setup and the program will be tailored for Green and other elite high school recruits. Green is not expected to be the only prospect in the 2020 recruiting class to go that route.

Details on Jalen Green's decision: Lucrative salary, shoe deal

Jalen Green, the No. 3 prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, is expected to bypass college and sign a deal with the NBA G League, multiple sources told 247Sports.

247sports.com

Ehhhh, I don't know. Personally I think I'd still take the $125k from the blue blood school and play in front of a rabid fanbase on TV.

 

[UCFBfan]

I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal

When this becomes the norm, which it will be in about a year for the elite prospects, I'd expect that you'll see more coverage for G League games than you currently do. Plus these HS kids can now sign shoe deals, etc right out of HS. We need to remember that these are the Top 5-10 players, not just players who think they are good. These are the players who'd skip college anyway and likely end up with a shoe deal and endorsement deals once they were drafted anyway. I don't see why anyone wouldn't offer that to them now.

I can't see what's not good about getting 500k for a year before getting a multi million dollar deal after that. I'd rather that than play for free and risk injury before getting drafted.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

$500k plus a shoe contract and a few local endorsement deals (I'm guessing) to play basketball as a pro at the age of 18, I think 4 out of 5 elite prospects will go this route. The top prospect for 2022 has already said he plans on skipping college.

 

[A10 fan]

This will help college ball by getting rid of most of the one and dones. You'll still have stars in college ball, but now most of them will stay at least 2-3 years, giving the fans a chance to become acquainted with them.

 

[BlueMAB]

I’m curious if this is actually “good” for ELITE prospects or not. The national exposure from the G League unless they do something different is minimal to say the least. While 500k for a season is nice. A kid like Zion, if he takes that deal, also isn’t in a position with leverage to sign the 80+ million dollar endorsement deal

Elite prospects don't need the exposure of college. Crazy that you would try to make this point using Zion. You think he needed to go to Duke to sign an $80 million endorsement deal? He was practically a household name before he graduated HS.

Lebron got $90MM from Nike before he ever played an NBA game.

Why do you think they don't have any leverage? If they're willing to bypass college they have even more leverage, not less because they no longer have to worry about amateurism rules.

You think Nike would hesitate to sign a player to a $10-$15MM deal because they got a 1 year $500k contract??

 

[Samoo]

Doesn't anyone care how this will affect poor Kentucky and Duke?

 

[Lefty2one]

Green is also being awarded a "college scholarship" he can use at a later date. So I guess the G-League is putting ~$200k in escrow that he can access at a later date to attend college. Good lord.

The NBA covered every aspect of this.

 

[Hurleyman216]

This will put a lot of butts in G-League seats too.

I doubt it. People only follow players because they played for their favorite college team or play for their favorite NBA team. The G-league is stuck in the middle and has no following whatsoever. A couple of top prospects aren’t going to change that overnight. Glad the kid got his $500K, but we’ll see if it pays off for him in the long run. You get so much more media exposure in the NCAA, especially in the tournament. You can argue I’m wrong, but most G-League teams would compete with or beat the best college teams, yet very few follow the G-League.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Elite prospects don't need the exposure of college. Crazy that you would try to make this point using Zion. You think he needed to go to Duke to sign an $80 million endorsement deal? He was practically a household name before he graduated HS.

Lebron got $90MM from Nike before he ever played an NBA game.

Why do you think they don't have any leverage? If they're willing to bypass college they have even more leverage, not less because they no longer have to worry about amateurism rules.

You think Nike would hesitate to sign a player to a $10-$15MM deal because they got a 1 year $500k contract??

If you think Duke wasn’t good for Zions brand idk what to tell you. He wasn’t even the top recruit going to Duke out of that class.

Yes, kids will get shoe contracts still, and yes they will get their salary from the G League, but in order for them to get a contract like a Zion, the GLeague really is going to have to put some kind of plan in place to show these kids marketability.

Lebron was a Household name, cover of SI and everything before entering the league. There were questions about Zion that he quieted at Duke. Do you really think his Jb contract would have been the same had he not played on National TV numerous times while at Duke?

Edit: to answer your initial question... yes. He 100% isn’t getting that same contract w/out the exposure he got at Puke

 

[mussels]

The one potential issue is that coming out of high school, while great athletes, they are still just kids.

At college, they are there with several similar kids, and there is a coach and support system to help them negotiate the transition. In the G league they will be surrounded by an older crowd, and a coach who may or may not be attuned to, or have time for some of the additional attention some of these kids may need off the court. I think that even one year in college probably makes a difference in that department.

 

[intlzncster]

I mean it reeked of a used car salesman approach from day 1. Didn't seem sustainable

Cal has sustained it for decades now

 

[intlzncster]

This will put a lot of butts in G-League seats too. Might actually start making money off of it. Imagine if you had been able to go see Zion live in a high school gym for 5 bucks. People will be interested in that.

Dunno. The average fan cares about the jersey more than the player. Basketball hardos might show up.

 

[intlzncster]

Green is also being awarded a "college scholarship" he can use at a later date. So I guess the G-League is putting ~$200k in escrow that he can access at a later date to attend college. Good lord.

That is probably the best part of this move. So kids don't flame out and are left with nothing.

 

[UCFBfan]

I doubt it. People only follow players because they played for their favorite college team or play for their favorite NBA team. The G-league is stuck in the middle and has no following whatsoever. A couple of top prospects aren’t going to change that overnight. Glad the kid got his $500K, but we’ll see if it pays off for him in the long run. You get so much more media exposure in the NCAA, especially in the tournament. You can argue I’m wrong, but most G-League teams would compete with or beat the best college teams, yet very few follow the G-League.

I’m not convinced this will remain the reality in a few years. I’m not a NBA fan, but those that are likely only follow college b-ball to see upcoming draft prospects. Outside of the tournament, I’m not sure how many casual fans watch games. I don’t have ratings or anything of the sorts so I’m just saying this on my own opinion.

the NBA is on a mission is take control of the top talent and they are looking to take over the leaderless NCAA. Emmert is a failure and has not done a thing to prevent this from happening.

time will tell and we’re looking at this from a rabid fan b-ball board. It’s hard to see what will happen.