Intriguing. A junior league that plans on playing international competition and streaming. Seems like they've run the numbers and know what they're doing. Min salary $100k plus health care plus some form of education.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (Week of May 17th, 2021)
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Intriguing. A junior league that plans on playing international competition and streaming. Seems like they've run the numbers and know what they're doing. Min salary $100k plus health care plus some form of education.
No, that's not the pitch. They'll receive instruction as part of the compensation. I'd imagine it's no different than other elite junior programs, e.g. Olympic junior national teams. They set up education around the athletes so they can continue their high school education while training.
But once they get paid aren't they no longer eligible to play college ball later (if they changed their mind and wanted to go that route?)
sacraig
- The desert
Yeah it's terrible when people have options for cashing in on their talents.
sacraig
- The desert
Do you have to drop out of high school to work at a grocery store? There is nothing that says someone can't go to high school and hold a job, even if that job is playing sports. Look at all the Olympic gymnasts who are under 18 and get paid by Subway to sell sandwiches. They still finish high school
sacraig
- The desert
If they are making half a million a year to play basketball before graduating high school, I highly doubt they care too much about foregoing college. In all likelihood, they'll keep getting paid to play basketball, and that pay will all be above board.
illini80
- Forgottonia
It could be bad for a number of kids when they have guardians/parents who are seeing $$ as opposed to a college education that could benefit the kids for a lifetime. There will be a number of 16 yos who sign up that won’t make it to the league. Hopefully, although I haven’t seen it mentioned, part of the compensation is a paid for college education for any who want it.
But what if they sign a contract and never get any significant money because the league folds? They won't be getting the money they were promised and will still be ineligible to play college ball.
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I managed to go to college w/o the benefit of having a job that paid me six figures. If they want an education, there are still ways to get it.
Did you have the skills to get a basketball scholarship to a top college program, but made yourself ineligible because of a decision you (or your parents) made when you were 16, thinking you would make a lot of money but never did? I'll bet most of these 16 year olds think they are going to be in the NBA one day, but most of them will never make it.
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illini80
- Forgottonia
I’m guessing that a most of the kids playing college BB would not be there if not for the scholarship. I paid for my own college too. I also had parents who pushed me to go, supported me, gave me a stable family life, and showed me how to go about getting loans, scholarships, were known in the community which made getting a job much easier, etc.
My concern is that players will go from high school to the G League or any other professional league, peak athletically and then be out the door by 21 with out any marketable skills or a degree to help them make a living. I know it isn't my place to worry about someone else's life choices, but it does bother me to see young people taken advantage of.
Just remember that these young adults (kids some may call them) are not always going to make the best decisions personally, socially, and financially. I suspect there will be some winners in this, but there will also be a lot of losers.
Amount of money they would make would help with college after they burnt out. I went to college with a decent number of failed MLB minor leaguers (they always seemed to have the most money to party with). It is sad that some will publicly fail at this approach, but hopefully they serve as a cautionary tale for future generations.
I like to tell myself that the G League program that is set up for the direct-from-high-school route has educational sessions/meetings about investing/keeping budgets/whatever so that these young and talented people don't burn out and declare bankruptcy by age 30.
It's a beautiful fantasy.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
To all y'all very concerned about the G League and how it'll hurt kids, you're aware that professional soccer, both here and in Europe, has been doing what you're concerned about for numerous years, right? While you can argue there's a lot wrong with soccer, kids getting paid for their skills and being able to hone their craft at the highest level isn't one of them.
sacraig
- The desert
Sure but this can happen with older kids, too, even when they are older than 18. That's not something that can really be controlled here. Besides, it's already happening in the NCAA, just under the table. Forcing this into the open makes it easier to stop abuse.
sacraig
- The desert
You can apply that what if to just about everything in life. What if the startup I founded fails and I am left with nothing? What if the Subway I work at gets closed? It applies across the spectrum. Life is filled with risks.
sacraig
- The desert
How is that different than now? If they peak and never make the league, at least they made a few hundred thousand and can now go back to college with some of that money.
True, but a start-up professional basketball league is particularly high risk.
My only point is that playing professional ball and getting a college education are not mutually exclusive. Michael Foster is estimated to have signed with G-League Ignite for around $300,000 a year. Based on the most recent numbers, U of I tuition, books, room and board, & fees cost about $33,000 a year.
sacraig
- The desert
You could also argue that having a few years under their belts and a failure at something now in their track record, they'll be a lot more prepared to succeed if they go back to college afterward. We all know plenty of people who went to college at 18, made a bunch of poor decisions and had to drop out, wasting a boatload of their money or their parents' money.
Yes of course, and that system works 100% of the time /s
‘Football’s biggest issue’: the struggle facing boys rejected by academies
Thousands of players wash through the system every year, leaving behind shattered dreams of a professional career. Are clubs doing enough to look after them?
www.theguardian.com
Michael Foster is a 5 star, top 20, 6'9", 18 year old who doesn't need to play college ball to prove himself NBA worthy.... It's different for the average 16 year old, 4 star who probably won't make the G-League Ignite and has given up his chance to play college ball if he signs with this new league.
If they greatly expanded the G-League to make it more like the minor league baseball system it would be probably be a different story...but isn't that the role NCAA basketball has traditionally played for the NBA?
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