I just read on a Kentucky bball blog that Bagley has a 4.0 GPA... Can anyone confirm? If this is true, I see very little reason why they would deny his petition to go to college next year. Hell, the NCAA bends over backwards to let non-students attend class to sell tickets. Why would they oppose an actual student who is looking to fast track his career?
If they reject Bagley's case, I would love it if he played in Europe for a year before joining the association. This would stick it to the highly paid admins and hopefully set the record straight: the athletes, not the administrators, are the talent and call the shots. Some grey hair sitting behind a desk should have very little influence over a talented young person's career, in my opinion.
If he does in fact get rejected( highly unlikely), hell go overseas. No way he goes back to HS, he wants to be in the 2018 draft no matter what. That's another year of massive earning potential.
Give me one of Porter/Bagley and Doncic and were set long term
It sounds like he can jump into the next draft, even if he doesn't play in the NCAA? So would he still just have to get his GED? Does graduating high school even matter?
If he's smart enough to get all A's (which btw is not an easy thing to do), he's prob smart enough to realize that he can always go back to school. He is likely already famous enough to get into good schools on his reputation alone, even if he didn't dribble another basketball.
For me, it would be a no brainer. Make money ASAP, and worry about degrees later. One terrible injury and it could be all over for him.
My 2018 Big Board:
Bagley- should be awesome
Porter- also should be awesome
Ayton- has a prototypical NBA body
Bamba- great length
Robert Williams- great athleticism
Doncic- has already looked good in pro ball
Unless Brooklyn drastically improves, or the ping pong balls get wacky, the Celtics have a legit chance of securing one of these 6 players.
btw- I'm much more excited about the top 4 above than I ever was about Markelle Fultz.