If you haven’t heard of this story, it’s about time you did. Jeremy Tyler of San Diego High just skipped his senior year to jump to the pros. Now that sentence doesn’t sound out of the ordinary except for when you add the small detail that Jeremy Tyler skipped his senior year of high school to jump to the pros! This is the first time a kid has ever skipped his senior year of high school. Jeremy Tyler signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League for $150,000 a year. Now that’s no small salary for any average person but this kid jumped to the Israeli Premier League because he said, “I was the best player in San Diego this year and it was boring. Next year, it would be extremely boring,” Tyler then said. “I’d go into the game with no enthusiasm.”
This kid is in for a rude awakening when he steps into the pro game overseas. Although the kid definitely has game and the size to match, 6′11″ and 260 lbs, this is one of those cases where he should have waited and enjoyed his youth. Too often kids and families forget about kids just being kids and see the bright lights of the NBA and of professional basketball. I think this kid should have at least waited to finish high school. Now if he suffers a career ending injury, he won’t even have a high school diploma to come back to! Sonny Vacarro as his adviser I think you screwed up on this one here. Jeremy Tyler will get shoved around in the tough leagues overseas and might eventually get drafted in the NBA where he could be a great power forward or center someday. But likely he’ll get lost at the end of the bench, bitter for making a bad move at such a young age.
On June 9, 2009 Tim Floyd resigned from his post as head coach of the University of Southern California mens basketball program. Although the timing was a slight surprise, the eventual result was not. The basketball program as well as the entire sports program at USC has been under scrutiny for major NCAA violations ever since famed running back Reggie Bush left for the pros. Back then the press had discovered that Reggie Bush and his family received substantial benefits while attending USC. This time, the focus shifted to the basketball program and coach Tim Floyd’s giving Rodney Guillory an envelope full of $100 bills for steering all-american guard O.J. Majo to USC. O.J. Mayo just finished his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies and Memphis might as well be on the other side of the planet the way he has stayed out of the mess that is USC. He is not alone. Four other players from this past year’s tournament team have similarly jumped ship from the sinking boat that is USC.
To me this comes as no surprise. The USC program should have been tagged as a group of cheaters since the Reggie Bush scandal broke. Just like any cheater, it’s only a matter of time until you’re caught. Tim Floyd and Pete Carroll refused to answer questions about the athletic department and their lack of control over the sports programs at USC. Showing their arrogance, just about a month ago at a booster dinner, Pete Carroll and Tim Floyd responded to the accusations of violations by stating that it’s the “price of being on top.”
Well it looks like for these two gentleman, and others in the USC athletic department, that “price” in this case is only how much this program is willing to pay its student-athletes to have a successful program. I’m not ignorant and I know this goes on in other programs. However, these blatant violations should be reprimanded and dealt with immediately by USC and the NCAA. USC has done nothing but instituted a gag order on those with knowledge of the program. Apparently this wait-and-see-what-they-find-on-us approach is how USC will handle it. Those four who decided against staying at USC and turned pro know better and will not follow the same approach. They jumped out of this mess almost as quickly as Tim Floyd did. The NCAA investigation will only reveal that much more including more payouts and benefits that will cost the Trojans dearly.
Until the NCAA completes its investigation, we must all use the same wait-and-see-what-they-find approach. Hopefully the “price” to be on top doesn’t cost the USC athletic department it’s entire program…
This made Sportscenter’s top plays last night and is pretty funny. It happened at a Knicks vs Nuggets game. The NY fan gets super pissed and it looks like Rocky wants to throw down at the end.
Ups to our boys from the Ville for winning the regular season Big East Championship. If the selection committee doesn’t give us a #1 seed, we are all wearing white suits like Ricky P in protest. A really fly protest.
