Jeremy Tyler

Supposedly Jeremy Tyler is leaving high school before his senior year to play basketball professionally in Europe rather than continuing his "development" in the US via his High School program, AAU, and eventually at least one year of college. I can see how this decision could be quite divisive. Especially among the sports "purists." Here is my simple take on the situation:

I would do the same thing. Basketball is my future. Why would I not do everything possible to develop and improve my skills and as a result increase my likelihood of success as well as increase my future earning power? Oh and I can get paid to do this at the same time? Seems like a pretty smart decision to me.

And as a side note, isn't this the "traditional" model for European players already? Ricky Rubio is 18 years old. He has been playing professionally since he was 15  or 16. He declared for the NBA draft this year and has a very strong chance of being the first selection. If I had the first pick I would probably use it on him. So yeah, Jeremy Tyler. Great move in my opinion. I would do the same thing.