High school athletes announcing what college they’re going to attend is a special feeling for them and their families. It is a great experience for many, but no matter the decision, the announcement itself is a huge deal.
This is a matter that is especially essential for the top high school basketball recruits in America. Social media platforms, reporters and television networks are all ready to see where the next phenom will play at the collegiate or pro level.
Over the last few weeks, some of the top recruits in the country have made their decisions.
The nation’s No.10 recruit committed to Arizona State over schools like Kentucky, Michigan, UCLA and Missouri, according to ESPN100 Josh Christopher.
Heavy speculation from college basketball fans stated Christopher would commit to Michigan, but chose the Sun Devils to stay closer to home. With the commitment, Christopher was labeled as the highest-ranked recruit in school history over former Sun Devils star James Harden.
Other schools that are not big-time programs still got star commits as well.
The Stanford Cardinal signed the No.7 recruit in the ESPN 100, Zaire Williams who plays at the basketball powerhouse Sierra Canyon along with Kentucky commit, B.J. Boston. This is a significant pick up for the Cardinal as Williams will try to help Stanford appear in their first NCAA Tournament since 2014.
Auburn University picked up a 5-star point guard from Georgia in Sharife Cooper along with Georgia forward J.T. Thor.
A player that Auburn was pursuing as well as Oregon and Memphis was the nation’s top recruit, Jalen Green.
Green, who is from Fresno, California, announced his decision to sign a G-League (formerly known as the NBA Development League or “D-League”) contract, via his Instagram. The contract will be one year and could be worth up to half a million dollars (the average G-League salary is around 25 to 30K) Green will forgo a college career.
Green, who already had many collegiate offers, is already deemed a future NBA star.
“Jalen Green is a unique talent and potential number one pick if he was in this year’s draft,” said ESPN senior NBA Writer Adrian Wojnarowski.
In the same class, 5-star recruits Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd will join Green in the G-League after decommitting from Michigan.
Nix, was ESPN’s No. 20 recruit overall in the country and committed to UCLA in November.
With Todd’s and Christopher decisions, the Wolverines lost two hopeful recruits in the same week.
People’s commitment can determine a program’s future in the long run, for better or for worse. For Michigan, their last title was in 1989, and with those two potential commits, it could have increased their chances of another Big Ten title.
Green and Todd are not the only five star recruits to have skipped college and played either in the G-League or overseas. Notable names such as Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay did, too, and LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton did it this past year.
With college basketball, the culture centers around the “one and done rule,” which requires a player to play at least one season in college basketball or be one year removed from high school to be eligible for the draft.
With the NCAA and NBA technically being tied together, the increase of top tier talent going to the G-League could negatively impact the NCAA.
College basketball will still be around, but top talent committing down the line is not a guarantee. The G-League contracts and the ability to play with professionals a year earlier and learn the NBA game may start a revolution with top high school prospects.
