Skipping High School?
August 24th, 2009 - byThere have been three well documented cases this year of athletes skipping parts of high school in order to seek higher challenges. Basketball player Jeremy Tyler is bypassing his senior year to play basketball in Israel, football star Stephen Alli has graduated early and is attending Florida, and baseball’s “Chosen One” Bryce Harper is skipping his final two years of high school to enroll in Junior College, perhaps allowing him to enter the MLB draft a year early. While it may seem as though these athletes are being pushed too fast, a closer look into their plans shows otherwise.
Jeremy Tyler completed his jump from high school underclassman to pro basketball player on Wednesday when he signed a one-year, $140,000 contract with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League.
Tyler, 18, is the first American-born player to leave high school early to play basketball professionally overseas. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Tyler announced in the spring that he was skipping his senior season at San Diego High because prep basketball had become boring.
Sonny Vaccaro, the former shoe company executive who’s been advising Tyler and his family, said Maccabi Haifa is a good fit for several reasons.
“I think it’s a very good deal for Jeremy because it’s a good team, he’ll play, they speak English and he’ll learn there,” Vaccaro said. “The reason we did one year was because it will give Jeremy time to understand how hard it is to be a professional, then he’ll do whatever he wants to do next year.”
Vaccaro said Tyler had five other offers, including one from a team for more money, “but Jeremy, his family and I decided it was more important to have a chance of playing than making a couple extra dollars. If Jeremy is who he’s supposed to be, he’ll earn a lot of money in his lifetime.”
In early May, Tyler told The AP that he was tired of facing triple-teams, being hacked and being limited to playing the middle when he felt he had much more to his game.
Tyler is expected to return to the United States when he becomes eligible for the 2011 NBA draft.
Tyler choosing the team that fits his needs the best instead of the one offering the most money shows that he understands what he needs to do to achieve his goals and is not simply leaving high school for a paycheck.
Stephen Alli is skipping his senior year of high school to move to the next level in his sport.
Alli, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound receiver from Toronto who attended Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., was supposed to be the sleeper in Florida’s class of 2010. Now, he’s the sleeper of the class of 2009. Alli was scheduled to travel to Gainesville from Canada on Wednesday. If all goes well, he’ll practice Thursday with Urban Meyer’s squad.
Alli, 18, is an excellent student who considered Harvard, Boston College, Rutgers and Stanford before choosing Florida in June. “After I committed, I stayed in contact with the coaches,” Alli said. “We decided that if I graduated early and enrolled in January, that would be the best thing for me.” There was only one problem. Alli said Proctor officials told him they’d never had a midterm graduate, and they had no plans to start with him.
After discussing his options with Florida coaches, Alli checked with the NCAA’s Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse to find out what courses he would need to take to enroll early. An examination of Alli’s transcript revealed he had already passed the 16 core courses required for initial eligibility. He also had earned enough credits to graduate. After that, Alli needed only to be admitted to Florida for the fall 2009 semester. Two weeks ago, he got the good news.
Alli’s plan is phenomenal. He is obviously an incredible student who was eligible to enter college early anyway. He is now going to be able to test his academic merits a year early. Athletically, he is going to play for the best team in the nation, under one of the most successful coaches in Urban Meyer, and with arguably the best leader in the country, Tim Tebow.
Bryce will acquire his GED and enroll in the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college, a move that likely will allow Bryce to be eligible for the 2010 draft, in which he’s expected to be the No. 1 pick.
“But that’s not the priority,” Ron said, referring to Bryce’s draft status. “We’re preparing him for college. That’s the priority. He’s very bored in school. Maybe it’s because he’s always been around older kids. But he’s ready move on. He was very forceful. He said, ‘I don’t want to be bored any more. I want to do it, Mom. I want to do it, Dad.’ He definitely wants to do this. We spoke with his counselor, his principal and his coach, and they agreed he’s ready for this.”
Ron isn’t even entirely sure that Bryce will be eligible for the 2010 draft. “We haven’t got anything in writing yet,” he said. But the Harpers have been in contact with officials from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association to make sure they follow whatever protocols are necessary to be draft eligible next year, including making sure he completed all high school courses and exams at least 365 days prior to the draft.
“Even if he’s not [draft eligible in 2010],” Ron said, “he will play 55 games a year with a wood bat and receive an associate art degree. It’s a good situation for him.”
It might be easy for someone not familiar with Bryce, his talent and his family to think the kid is being pushed too fast, but the move to the College of Southern Nevada makes perfect sense. Bryce will live at home, take online and night classes, attend classes three days a week, carrying 12 credits, and be allowed to attend high school events with his former classmates and buddies, such as proms and homecomings. His older brother, Bryan, a pitcher, will transfer from Cal State Northridge and also attend College of Southern Nevada. Bryan will live in an off-campus apartment and will be Bryce’s roommate when the team plays on the road.
Harper has been given every opportunity to succeed. He is obviously a phenomenal talent, but, unlike the other two examples, he will be able to ease his way into his new lifestyle. The fact that he is living at home, will still get to participate in high school functions, and has his brother to help guide him throughout the season will make his transition smoother.
What do all of these athletes having in common? Talent, determination, and a plan. They all understand their long term goals and are making choices accordingly. While it isn’t smart for most recruits to leave high school early, they should follow the commitment that these players have. Student-athletes need to start working hard at improving themselves athletically and improving their chances of being recruited.
