High school junior basketball player skips senior season to go pro

[Benevolent One]

Tyler signs with Israeli Premier League
ESPN.com news services
Updated: August 12, 2009, 10:57 PM ET

Jeremy Tyler completed his jump from high school underclassman to pro basketball player on Wednesday when he signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League.

Tyler, 18, is the first American-born player to leave high school early to play basketball professionally overseas. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Tyler announced in the spring that he was skipping his senior season at San Diego High because prep basketball had become boring.

Jeremy Tyler had committed to Rick Pitino and Louisville before deciding to take his game overseas.

"I think I made the right decision," Tyler told The Associated Press on Wednesday evening. "I think this team is a good fit for me and it's the right country."

The contract is worth $150,000, a team spokesman told ESPN.com.

"I feel good. I feel blessed," he said. "I got past the easy part. Now the hard part is to perform and show the world I got a contract for a reason. Now I can play against grown men."

Tyler is expected to return to the United States when he becomes eligible for the 2011 NBA draft. Sonny Vaccaro, who has advised Tyler and his family, said it will be up to the player to decide where he wants to play next season.

Vaccaro told ESPN of the deal: "He's saying, 'I want to be a basketball player and do it without a detour.'"

Vaccaro said Tyler had five other offers, including one from a team for more money, "but Jeremy, his family and I decided it was more important to have a chance of playing than making a couple extra dollars. If Jeremy is who he's supposed to be, he'll earn a lot of money in his lifetime."

Tyler averaged 28.7 points during his junior year at San Diego High, leading his team to the CIF-San Diego Section Division I quarterfinals.

In early May, Tyler told The Associated Press that he was tired of facing triple-teams, being hacked and being limited to playing the middle when he felt he had much more to his game.

"I was the best player in San Diego this year and it was boring. Next year, it would be extremely boring," Tyler said then. "I'd go into the game with no enthusiasm."

Maccabi Haifa was promoted to the Premier League after a 10-year absence and earned its first appearance in both the Israeli Premier League championship game as well as the State Cup Finals. The team has re-signed forward Davon Jefferson of Southern Cal.

Maccabi Haifa opens its season on Oct. 25.

"Tyler's size and natural talent will present matchup problems in our favor against other teams in Israel," Maccabi Haifa coach Avi Ashkenazi said. "We know Tyler is hungry to prove himself on the court. We look forward to him developing over the course of the season and improving our team."

William Weinbaum of ESPN's Enterprise Unit and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[SlowNeasy]

"I was the best player in San Diego this year and it was boring. Next year, it would be extremely boring," Tyler said then. "I'd go into the game with no enthusiasm."

so jeremy, were classes boring also or did you bother to attend? stupid is as stupid does. not holding my breath to see him in the pros.

 

[Benevolent One]

I have a huge problem with the NBA's age rule. This seems like a pretty obvious attempt to circumvent the rule in one way. In that regard, I cheer his efforts. I do have a problem with him missing his senior year and not graduating. Now if he is getting that education with a private tutor, or something to that effect, then I say "go for it, kid".

I also understand his desire to not go through a circus of a season if all it is is being triple teamed and hacked. That wouldn't do much to improve his game other than a lot of free throw practice.

I hope this works out for the kid.

 

[barelypure]

The contract is worth $150,000, a team spokesman told ESPN.com.

See if he had stayed for his Senior year and gone to Louisville like he committed that would have been the smarter move because Louisville pays more.

 

[buckaroo]

Isn't this old news? i've heard about this for about two months now and ESPN Radio has talked about this a lot. I had a problem with what King James did, but it turned out that he was ready for the NBA. There have been quite a few kids who have jumped to the NBA after high school, but this is the first time an undergraduate has done so. Personally, I would rather see a kid skip college and go right for the pros than to see him take money for a scholarship and then go pro after a year or two. All of which makes college sports nothing more than a money making event, hardly giving a poor chum an education. But wait, I know there is more to it than that. There are more kids that use those scholarships to get the education than there are those who use said scholarships for a tryout for professional sports. I wish the kid well in his venture, but if he is successful, there will be more who follow in his footsteps. For those who do try that, it will mean a bigger percentage of failure, but I don't want to stand in the way of anyone trying to better themselves or to make more money.

On a side note that is based on this and early leaving for the pro ranks. Looking at the kids now that play college basketball, how do we compare them with those that went before them? When talking about Tyler Hansbrogh of UNC, it has been said that while his numbers are great, it isn't indusive compared to many who have gone before him. If you look back ten years ago, many college basketball players played all four years for their colleges, but today, those who are at the top of the charts, seldom stay in college four years and most it seems, take a hike after their sophomore year. Records can be deceiving and this is an area that proves it. With the high salaries of today's professional athletes, it's no wonder they attempt to move forward as soon as they can.