[valentine]

Do you think some kids should go over? I think for mid-rankes HS prospects, I think its a better chance to allow Kids to get experience and make money while still having a chance at the NBA

[sheltwon3Participant]

It has seemed to have helped Jenning a lot basketball wise but I know to some it would be a difficult experience.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

It’d be a difficult experience, but they’ll learn more skills and valuable life lessons than going straight to college…

college is always an option, and it’s a much more viable option if you’ve already been to europe and made some money! maybe, you blow up, maybe you dont. but you”ll have money in the bank to be able to afford the overpriced bachelors degree!

and, colleges like someone with global experiences, same goes for employers.

[QHaynes20]

I agree. I think if this Jeremy Tyler situation works out and he becomes a top 3 draft pick…. More young guys will go overseas.

[JNixonParticipant]

I think it benefits players that arent college material, because honestly not everybody is. For those that have a true talent in the game and dont feel they are college material, I say why not.

[QHaynes20]

I agree

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Play against better competition to get you ready for the NBA sooner. If worst comes to worst you have money for college or to start a business.

[canesboy6Participant]

these kids are athletes. None of them are rhodes scholars. They can’t play basketball thier whole lives, and after that thier earnings potential decreass dramatically. Those are great years to go to school if its that important to them, or, it isnt which is ok because alot of them will be gettin millions. Since this is a new trend, we will have to see how this plays out for Tyler and Brandon Jennings. I kind of like it because I dont think kids who dont wanna be at college should be forced to wait there, that is a disaster waiting to happen as far as agents and shadyness. I dont like it because Im afraid that Europe will start stealing more and more of our players and they may get higher and higher profile.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

and, i mean, college ballers already get mad ladies, but think about if you were a pro for like 3 yrs? you’d get maddddd ladies and you’d have money to go out and $hit. girls would jump at the possibility of a professional basketball player even more than a college player.

[QHaynes20]

I hope more of these Kids go to europe. Let them get some dough…check this out.

Brandon Jennings got a 1.6 mil deal from Italy and 2.6 from Under Armour

That almost 4.5 mil he can bank on before playing.

I think alot of young role players in the NBA and HS Kids will make the jump

[quincey hodges]

iguodala9..i couldnt have said it better myself. europe is not forevery one but thoses who are talented enough should go..college will alwas be there for them if they get hurt except this way they have the money to pay fo college. me and some people i chat with only have long arguements about this . There view is how its wrong for them to pass up a chance for a education because no one can take it away from them and how it send s bad message to our society and blah blah. but none of them had a answer when i said they can always go back and have money in there pocket because each of the tp highschoolers who decided to go gets a starting salary of at least 100,000 tax free plus i also said that none of the chatters ever say its wrong for players like rubio or dirk,toney parker,yao to play porffessional at such a young age then skip college and come over to the nba. For somereason no one ever argues about thoses guys. i wonder is it because they are not americans?. if this is a issue about the childs well being and bad for society wouldnt thoses kids be mentioned also?

[RickyRubio9Participant]

in my mind, I think the Top Players can go there, but it’d be more beneficial to go to college so you are watched alot instead of a few times as well as European teams not caring who you are, you have to do everything the right way which will also help young players mature. As for mid-prospects it’s tough…if you can get a free ride on college ’cause of basketball it’ll help to get that education for a better job if basketball doesn’t work out or go to Europe later, but then again, if a contract is good enough then why not take it instead of playing ball for free while not having a good chance at the NBA

[quincey hodges]

thats tru rickey but college isnt going anywhere so if basketball dont workout they still have the money to go back to college. another benifit is that some of youre weaknesses can be hidden overseas. The more someone watches you the more youre weaknesses are exposed which is a reason alot of players drop because theres no longer alot of unseen potenial in them. tigo splitter is a example of a overseas player dropping after teams get more of a look of him over the years( and why the spurs arent breaking there neck to get him over here

[llperez]

I think college is a better idea. It is an easier transition both on and off the court. Plus, if you get buried in the shuffle over seas, it will be way easier for NBA teams to forget about you or devalue you. I would rather play against my peers on national television and live a fun college life rather then ride the pine with a bunch of adults who don’t even speak my language.

[QHaynes20]

I can see a T-Mac going to Europe

[quincey hodges]

we all would perfer to see the player play college but trust me even though the fans will forget about the player the nba doesnt. im sure most of the euros that get drafted, we’ve never heard of but the nba knows. they have guys on the pay role whos job is to watch these players. Its like how a college coach finds thoses players out in a small city in a small state. its obvious though that they dont watch awhole lot of games to devalue them because alot of the euros that get drafted dont even average double figures but get draft high off of “potenial”

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

If you come down and that knee goes snap. You could be done as a baller with no money to afford college because your scholarship is done. Your life in ruins. Take the money don’t be a fool. You go to college to get a better education so you can make more money. It is simple and plain. Why bother if you can get it now and if it does not work out college is there without need for loans and aid to criple you later.

[quincey hodges]

lol..why are people reday to retire tmac so soon…lol..its not like he got his fingers amputated

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

If his surgery works he is going to be the same old T mac or at least close. He gets a bad rap cuz the last playoff series he played in for the Rockets, and they did lose in the first round was not on him. He was a beast in that series. The other guys never showed.

[llperez]

except, while you might make immediate money in europe, if your draft stock falls, then it is a wash as far as long term goes. And scout4real, you just pointed out how a major injury will end your career, but if you are in college your scholarship is still good for the entire duration. Overseas, you would be stuck with whatever money you just made. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think college would be better for helping your draft stock. Jennings needed individual workouts to work his way back up to the lottery. He was all over the draft board because no one knew what to make of him. Meanwhile, one and dones in college like Tyreke Evans and Derozan were solid lottery picks. Heck, even Holiday didn’t do much in college and he was being rumored as a top 10 pick.

[quincey hodges]

nope they still keep that contract and jennings showed that even if you have a bad year and come off the bench getting drafted in the lotto and haveing good workouts will get you a highdraft pick. the ones that go over that are already high on draft boards will still more than likely go high in the draft even if they play bad because of potenial. so far the percentages of a player that age having a career ending injury is pretty slim. even shaun livingston is back and i dont think ive seena injury as bad as that one before. yes one could happen but chances arent high at all. also scholarships are year to year and if the player is already a person that doesnt wanna be there and isnt the strongest of students he will probably lose that scholarship from his gpa dropping below 2.0. holiday would have went in the same spot had he gone overseas because of potenial. dont forget if youre young and scouts rave about youre potenial then you more than likely have a spot in the first round.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

For injury llperez22. You want to be rich not dream on it. I want to see these guys play and I do believe college helps their draft stock, agreed. Why risk it though. I would rather be rich as soon as possible why wait. Sorry makes no sense to me. Sometimes it is the difference between life and death depending where your family stays. Jennings family was in Compton why not get them out now rather than later.

[llperez]

I think one of the things to be considered here is the amount of “potential” these kids are leaving highschool with. If you are top 5 nationally, then going to europe will probably not hurt much if at all. But to come out of school without a top 5 ranking, I think it will be much easier for kids to get undervalued over in europe as compared with college.

Plus I think europe is much harder competition and it might stunt your growth a little to not get minutes or gain the same self confidence on the court that playing in college will do for you.

I’ve been to europe and I would be very tempted to travel and take the money. But I just think college ball is a better long term investment.

[quincey hodges]

yeah if you arent a top5-10 (or lower depending on class and position) then you should definatly think twice. but at the same time the top 5 10 rankings arent that accurate because alot of the players have more talent then these scouts think ( does any one know where the last 10 college player of the years were ranked in highschool)..thats why its good for the player to get in contact with sonny vaccaro since he will let the player know what his chances are overseas( lance stephenson was a top 5 player who vaccaro told not to go overseas. the comp is harder but overall you will get better because of the practicing against better players/grown men. The players who are nba material will still have that confidence if they start or not because thoses are the ones who believe in there selfs reguardless of the situation

[tac_blues]

“think about if you were a pro for like 3 yrs? you’d get maddddd ladies and you’d have money to go out and $hit”

what a proper virgin

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

not since i was 16… but i’d defintely get more a$$ if i was a basketball player and not a short asian 😉

[SpencerIsHawesome]

I think college is better, like perez said it’s an easier transition.

I do not think you will get more life lessons from being over-seas and i also dont think you will get more women. You learn a hell of a lot(not book wise lol) and mature a hell of a lot in college and also make a lot of friends. In Europe, a lot of people wont speak your language, a lot of people are much older. I’d imagine it’s tough for an 18 year old.

And as for the women. If you’re a big time basketball player at a big time school, any girl would want to be with you. They’re all at your doorstep, right down the hall or right downstairs ready to go. If you’re already a pro–you have to work a little–and find the girls that speak english.

[SpencerIsHawesome]

“if the player is already a person that doesnt wanna be there and isnt the strongest of students he will probably lose that scholarship from his gpa dropping below 2.0.”

Also, something to think about in this conversation.. Jennings wanted to go to college, he was just too dumb to pass the entrance exams. He went to Europe to save face.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

you’re not gonna learn anything new about a different culture and a different perspective on life at college… Unless you go from like CA to Syracuse or Alabama to Washington or something like that… it’s important to see that not everyone does things the same way, and that there’s values outside of your own. IMO.

I will agree it’d be an easier transition… which is exactly why I think that you’d learn more from going somewhere abroad. the tougher the situation, the better you will be because of it. if the transition would be too much, which it probably is for some people, than that’s fine, don’t go. but if you can go to a good situation abroad, i say take it.

an employer is definitely going to like someone who has spent time abroad. Understanding global cultures etc is invaluable

[SpencerIsHawesome]

Yeah, I think we can all agree the obvious answer is for some kids its better for some its not. Some can handle going abroad, some can’t.

[quincey hodges]

i guess we dont know who cant handle it untill someone goes over there and fail. i also dont think you shoul go for the easier transisition because college and the nba are big leaps. the leap from europe to the nba isnt as big. i have friends who play overseas and the language thing isnt as bad as people think. most of the people speak english, the clubs play hiphop, and you are treated as a star alot more over there then in college. Its like the nba of europe. like you said spencer ” alot of people are alot older” which is what the nba will be so it prepares you alot more. not that it makes a difference though because you play against older guys half youre life growing up. its definatly a better step before going to the nba. jennings came back a more complete pg that was able to get his teammates more involved and got to work on his game more with pro trainers. at arizonia he would have shot more and wouldnt have learned to be a better pgin a way he prob would have came in like jerred bayless, able to score but not able to properly run a team…im wondering why the same peopel who are opposed on here arent opposed or making an arguement about the euro kids who are doing the same thing

[JoeWolf1]

In my opinion we have nothing to base it off yet, Brandon Jennings was a trailblazer as far as opting for Europe over college basketball and he hasn’t played an NBA game, although he looked very good in summer ball. I don’t think we can even get an accurate gauge of how those players develop and pan out until more players do it. If you look at 1995-1996 the first couple players to jump from high school to the NBA, Garnett, Kobe, and J.O’Neal you would look at the success rate and say there is a good chance you’ll make it. Take a look 10 years later, sure you have your stars, but you have dozens of players who failed, didn’t get drafted and the success rate drops drastically. In my opinion I think we’ll have to wait 5 years or so when we see first hand examples of how these players turned out, rather than speculations. Like jumping from high school to the pro’s I think you will have some great success stories, but you’ll have some tragic ones too, I guess we’ll have to wait and see

[quincey hodges]

what is the rate by the way?..does any one know?..imma look it up and see which highschooler ended up not making it..i think alot more made it then didnt make it off the top of my head

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