Jeremy Tyler Quits Maccabi Haifa

         In April 2010 high school junior Jeremy Tyler announced that he would be skipping his senior of high school and play professional basketball in Europe for two years before entering the NBA Draft in 2011. In August of the same year, he announced his signing with Israeli team Maccabi Haifa. Tyler played only 10 games for Maccabi Haifa, averaging a mere 2.1 PPG in only 7.6 MPG. On Thursday March 18, 2010 Tyler declared that he will leave his professional team and return to his home in San Diego, California.

Brandon Jennings

One year removed from the Brandon Jennings experiment, Jeremy Tyler decided to take it one step further. While Jennings circumvented the NBA age minimum of 19 by joining Lottomatica Roma, a professional team in Italy, Tyler decided to skip both his freshman year of college AND his senior year of high school. Instead of going into
college for one year and then entering the NBA, Jennings played professional ball in order to make some money before he was allowed to join the NBA. This choice was looked at as a major decision that could possibly open the flood gates for other potential “one and done” high school players to earn money instead of wasting a year in college where they have no intentions of graduating.

When Jennings first made his decision, it seemed to me a terrible idea. I thought that even though he would be in college only one year, he would learn a lot more because money wouldn’t be waived in his face. He wouldn’t be playing while having a paycheck, but instead to earn a paycheck by improving his draft status. In doing so, he would try to learn more and become better and maybe even, I realize how naive this was of me, decide to stay in college longer and strive to earn a degree. After further thought and seeing the outcome now that Jennings is in the NBA, playing overseas for a year may be a smart idea for some, but players must be very, very careful in making this big decision. Although Jennings, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 Draft, is in contention for Rookie of the Year this year in the NBA, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, he seemed to have just as many problems playing in Europe as did Tyler. Jennings’ averages were 17.8 MPG, 6.3 PPG, and 38.1 FG% in 43 games, not a whole lot better than Tyler’s.

The thing is, Jennings may not have matured a whole lot as a player, according to his stats, but he definitely matured as a person. After being drafted by the Bucks, he bought a condo less than a mile away from the Bucks’ practice facility (making it more convenient for him to work on his game.) The condo is also quite a drive away from the city of Milwaukee and it’s potentially damaging nightlife, helping get rid of any urges that Jennings might have to make it rain or do anything else damaging to his reputation and career. In addition, as opposed to buying an expensive, high end car, he opted for a modest Ford Edge with a sticker price of $26,000. Ironically, this week “Outside the Lines” on ESPN did a story about former NBA player Antoine Walker, who after earning about $110 million by the end of his NBA career, is now left with next to nothing due to immature decision making such as gambling and poor investments. How much Jennings grew on the court thanks to his play overseas is up for debate, but it is clear that his head is on straight and his name will not be on the same list as Walker’s in terms of NBA players who let money and fame make them feel invincible. I think he can all agree he spent his time in Europe maturing as a player off the court just as much, if not more so, as he matured as a player on the court.

Line in the Sand

Thanks to the Jeremy Tyler experiment, there seems to be a clear line as to when players may want to play overseas before entering the NBA. Being the age of a high school senior (18), it is clear Tyler could not handle life as a professional player and therefore had to quit. An on court example of his immaturity is when he left his team at halftime in order to protest his lack of minutes. His immaturity was also reiterated by both teammates and coaches of Maccabi Haifa in interviews, as well as his distracting manner to the team.

What's the Difference?

I know that it seems like one year, referring to the difference in age between Jennings and Tyler when they started their professional careers, shouldn’t make that big of a difference, but it seems to me that if you are immature enough to not want to graduate from high school, then you are probably not mature enough to play professional ball. A degree, even a high school one, could help you in the future if a career ending injury or money loss were to occur. Success isn’t guaranteed in the NBA, and one could find himself right back where they started, or worse. Just ask Antoine Walker. What he does next is unknown to us, but we do know that if he wants to go back to high school to earn a diploma, he is going to have to do it in lieu of gaining on court experience as a player in college or gaining off court experience as a professional in Europe if he wants to join the NBA by the time he is 19.