The decision by Brandon Jennings to skip college and pursue a foreign professional career right out of high school was supposed to change college basketball recruiting forever. According to some, every top-ranked prospect would follow his path.
It has been seven years since Jennings crossed the Atlantic to play a season in Italy before becoming the tenth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Since then, the most notable high school star to follow in his footsteps has been Emmanuel Mudiay, the SMU commit who elected a year of professional experience in China over a year on The Hilltop.
Just in case you forgot what he could do, this should refresh your memory.
Mudiay only played 12 games in China, dealing with injuries that never seemed to go away, but averaged 18 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. With his success, national pundits have once again begun to question whether or not the next generation of high school stars will go abroad, as opposed to college.
Skal Labbisiere, headed to Kentucky next year, was long thought to be a prime candidate for such a journey. Thon Maker, the YouTube sensation from Canada, has also generated buzz, at times, for the possibility of heading overseas.
Yet, as things stand, no one from the 2015 class has given any real indication that it’s a possibility for them. In all likelihood, Mudiay will just be another name taken in the draft, as opposed to a sign of things to come.
However, with as tight-knit as high school prospects have become thanks to camps, social media, and other factors, Mudiay’s journey could serve as an example to those prospects and families who are tired of the hypocrisy displayed by the NCAA on a yearly basis.
