G-League Will Be Top Recruiter

It was only a matter of time. The G-League is about to get the Nation’s top High School talent. Why not? They offer everything the NCAA doesn’t.

With Jalen Green going to the NBA G-League, and with an extended offer to another top prospect, Greg Brown, the NBA G-League is quickly becoming the destination of many of the elite players throughout the country.

The current “1 and Done” Rule is the main reason the best players in the land are attending the Alma Maters of our beloved schools. The NBA, it’s players, and the NCAA collectively bargained this rule until 2022. Similar to the NFL mandating a persons eligibility after 3 years post high school graduation.

We have seen top talent like RJ Hampton, LiAngelo Ball, Brian Bowen, etc. travel across the pond to play in Europe, New Zealand, and Spain for a year. Preparing them to be professionals before entering the NBA draft. Yes the NCAA does that, but the difference is the NCAA doesn’t pay their athletes. They offer a free education. The NCAA has made it clear will NEVER pay student athletes. So a lot of these kids, whom a free education isn’t the route they want to go, are bypassing the NCAA altogether. Opting for Europe. Until now.

The current NBA G-League has been up and running since 2017-2018. Now these kids don’t have to go to Europe to play professionally after high school. The NBA G-League doesn’t have the “1 and Done” Rule on there books, and they are recruiting…hard!

SB Nation reported that upon inception, the NBA  G-League Select program offered prospects a base salary of $125,000 over the course of a five-month season. That number for top prospects is now thought to be in the range of $500,000, inclusive of incentives and sponsorship opportunities. The league has made offers more competitive relative to what a player can make to attend college or play professionally overseas.

As reported by Adrian Wojarnowski, Jalen Green will reportedly earn $500K for his season in the G League. That’s a massive increase from the $125K salary the league offered to high school players last year. Green isn’t just jumping into the league. The California native will headline a new Los Angeles-based team with a primary objective of preparing Green for life in the NBA.

That’s a spicy meatball!!

If the NCAA isn’t shaking in its boots, it should. The NCAA can’t come close to offering these kids what the NBA G-League can offer. Especially the kids that don’t want to go the college route. The NCAA game is going to suffer greatly because of it. You know the NBA isn’t going to lose out on the money that can be made from the talents the likes of Green, and other top high school kids. When the NBA collective bargaining agreement comes up in 2022 you think this will be a hot button issue? It will be. Players have as much power as they’ve ever had.

Which will mean what? I’m thinking this could be The Death of NCAA Basketball. Which is why the “1 and Done” rule was put in the first place. The NCAA was losing  money due the NCAA games being frankly dull. When Kevin Garnett got drafted in 1995 up to Amir Johnson being drafted 2005, the NCAA game suffered greatly in regard to play.

The great players came and stayed with their schools in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s, through 1995. Arguably the greatest era of NCAA Basketball. 1995-2006, the NCAA suffered greatly because the Kobe Bryant’s, Kevin Garnett’s, and Kwame Brown’s went straight to the NBA. In 2006, the NCAA product became better due to the players being blocked from entering the NBA. Schools have to recruit on two fronts now. Coaches recruit kids that will stay all four years, and then they have to recruit “1 and Done” kids to make their program competitive immediately. That’s got to be hard. Especially when they don’t come.

You think Pitt has trouble recruiting kids now. Wait until the choice is either our beloved University of Pittsburgh, or the NBA G-League. Going to be some long winters!

The Fitzgerald Fanatic can be found on Twitter @jonjackson64.