Jeremy Tyler Coming Home

Two years ago, high school phenom Brandon Jennings decided he didn't want to go to college. Because of the NBA's rule prohibiting players from entering the draft until they had been out of high school for a year, Jennings opted to go back on his commitment to Arizona and instead went overseas to play in Europe. He struggled mightily, averaging about 18 minutes and 6 points per game in Italy. Still, he was selected 10th in the draft last summer and has had a strong rookie season in the NBA.

He did, however, set a dangerous precedent that has already claimed at least one victim. San Diego high school superstar Jeremy Tyler followed Jennings' lead and has paid the price for it, only he took it a step farther. Tyler essentially dropped out of school and skipped out on his senior season, signing in Israel to play for Maccabi Haifa. After averaging 2 points per game in the 10 games in which he played, Tyler left the team a month before the end of the season and returned home. Tyler's agent didn't even know Tyler was leaving his team and seemed pretty shocked to learn about his clients decision. His time with Maccabi was fraught with issues, most of them due to his immaturity, but even his skill now comes under question. Tyler has dropped to the bottom 3 picks in the NBADraft.net 2011 Mock Draft and the truth is, if he doesn't find a home next season to prove his value, he'll drop further. A promising career may be over before it begins.

I personally wish the best for Tyler and hope that this is simply the signs of an immature kid who has come under the influence of a snake (former Adidas rep Sonny Vaccaro, who is one of the greatest con-men in the world of sports). But at the very least, I hope this will serve as a lesson to those who would follow in his footsteps and influence them to not only finish high school, but go to college for a year or two. If the worst thing that happens to you is you spend a year getting a free education while serving as King of the Campus, your life is pretty good. And I hope Jeremy Tyler knows that now.

-BG