Jeremy Tyler to Israel

You remember Tyler.

He was a top 10 player in the class of 2010 and committed to Louisville before he decided to drop out of San Diego High School after his junior season to play professional basketball overseas.

It looks like Tyler is headed to Israel to play for Maccabi Haifa, who finished second in the Israeli Premier League last season. From ZagsBlog:

"They"re the favorites," Sonny Vaccaro, who is advising Tyler, said by phone. "It looks like Jeremy Tyler is going to end up with Maccabi Haifa. It's 90 percent done. The contract has not been signed yet. As soon as they do the faxes back and forth, it should be done Tuesday or Wednesday."

An Israeli newspaper is reporting that Tyler has already reached a deal. Haifa is owned by American Jeff Rosen and also features former USC Trojan Davon Jefferson, who made the team after a 60 player open tryout in Florida prior to last season.

Jeremy Tyler looks to be headed to Maccabi Haifa.
(photo credit: Big Apple Basketball)

To be completely honest, I think Tyler is probably making a good decision here, at least when you consider his career. Think about it like this - he is a 6'11" center that some scouts have said could play in the NBA right now. For someone with that size and skill level, is there anyone at the high school level that would actually challenge him? Definitely not in practice (his high school team was right around .500 last year, pretty bad when you have a McDonald's all-american candidate), and rarely in games throughout the season. Instead, he will be going against overmatched high school kids that will double and triple team him, fouling instead of playing defense.

And you expect him to get better that way?

Israel may not have the best basketball in the world, but he will be going up against professionals, grown men that can match, at the very least, his size and strength. Two years of pro ball can only help a big man's development.

Tyler's situation is a little different than Brandon Jenning's. I don't necessarily believe Jennings made the correct decision to head to Italy. Point guards play a much different style in Europe than they do in college basketball (especially for a team like Arizona). While he did get a year of pro experience, I can't help but wonder if he would have flourished in Tucson.

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Greivis Vazquez to Europe?

One of the major factors in the decision of Nick Calathes and Terrence Oglesby to leave school and head to Europe is that they have dual citizenship (Calathes in Greece, Oglesby in Norway), which means that they do not count against the cap of two americans per team.

Thus, both Calathes and Oglesby are going to be valuable assets, meaning they will likely get a fatter paycheck than if they didn't have that extra passport.

There has been speculation that Greivis Vazquez, who is a citizen of his native Venezuela, will follow those two overseas.

Jeff Goodman caught up with Vazquez, and it looks like Maryland fans need not be worried:

"Eventually, I’d like to go overseas, but I’d like my career to start in the NBA," said the talented and fiery 6-foot-5 guard. "But I have no pressure. Let's make something clear: I’m not going overseas."

From the sounds of it, Vasquez is determined to either play his way into a spot where he is comfortable in this year's NBA Draft or return to College Park and spend another season – his senior campaign - with the Terps.

Getting Vazquez back would be huge for the Terps. They only lost one senior (Dave Neal) and one transfer (Braxton Dupree), and would return seven of their top nine players from a team that reached the second round of the tournament.

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Terrence Oglesby signs agent, headed to Europe

According to numerous reports, Terrence Oglesby's career as a Clemson Tiger is over as he will be signing with an agent to play professional basketball overseas.

He is the third big-time player to leave school early to play pro ball outside of the US - Nick Calathes is headed to Greece, while Ole Miss leading scorer David Huertas will be playing in Puerto Rico. Jeremy Wise of Southern Miss hired an agent, ending his collegiate eligibility, but it is not known where he intends to continue his basketball career.

Terrence Oglesby's career in purple and orange is over.
(photo credit: daylife.com)

According to Gary Parrish, Oglesby is leaving Sunday where he will be making "NBA money".

Jeff Goodman says Oglesby stands to earn around "$500,000" playing in either Italy or Spain.

This is not a terrible decision by Oglesby. $500,000 is a ton of money, and living in Italy or Spain is not would be pretty amazing. The key in this whole deal is that Oglesby was born in Norway - where his father played professional basketball - and holds dual citizenship there. Since teams overseas are only allowed two Americans on their roster, that Norweigan passport immediately increases his value to European teams, as he does not count against the "cap".

Oglesby never really seemed to fit in with Clemson's style, either. For one thing, he is a gunner. Yes, he averaged 13.2 ppg while hitting almost 39% of his three's (and making just under three per). But with talents like KC Rivers and Trevor Booker on the floor, Oglesby seemed to shoot too many threes too quickly, taking Clemson out of a rhythm offensively.

Case in point:



Yes, Oglesby does hit the shot, but he took it with a good four plus seconds left on the clock on a play clearly drawn up to get Trevor Booker a touch in the post.

More importantly, under Oliver Purnell, the Tigers have been a team known for their tremendous full court press, throwing athlete after athlete at you until they wore your guards out. At a lithe 6'2", Oglesby does not really possess the skill set that thrives in this system.

In their article regarding Oglesby, Upstatetoday.com ran this quote from Purnell:

With us not finishing the way we would’ve liked to, certainly, the mix is not necessarily the mix that we’re going to go with next year. As far as I’m concerned, the competition for playing time and starting spots and that stuff is wide open. I see probably (Trevor Booker) being the only guy that’s a lock.

Could this have played a factor in his decision? Did Purnell tell Oglesby that his starting spot wasn't safe?

Quite possibly (I doubt any coach would like this or this).

Regardless of the cause, Clemson is now going to have to deal with losing two of their top three scorers as well as a third starter, which is never easy. All is not lost, however. The Tigers do get Trevor Booker and Demontez Stitt (who is one of the more underrated point guards in the ACC), while bringing two excellent front court recruits - Rivals #25 Milton Jennings and Devin Booker, Trevor's little brother.

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7/24 - Some Links, Some News

-Following up on yesterday's post about player's heading to Europe, former Georgia Tech forward Ra'Sean Dickey has signed a contract to play professionally in the Ukraine giving up his last year of eligibility. The 6'10" Dickey red-shirted last season as he battled knee problems and academic issues, but was an impact player in his three seasons for the Jackets. His best season was in 2005-2006 when he averaged 13.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 1.5 bpg. The loss of Dickey combined with the graduation Jeremis Smith and Anthony Morrow leaves the Ramblin' Wreck with a thin front line and without a go to scorer. Combine that with a weak recruiting class, and it could be another long year for Paul Hewitt.

UPDATE: Draft Express Euro guru Luis Fernandez weighs in on the exodus of NBA and American players to Europe. Interesting read, and it looks like we really don't have much to worry about here.

-By now everyone knows the story of Antonio Gates - the hero for tiny Kent State during their run to the 2002 Elite 8 who, upon graduation, joined the NFL (after not playing football in college) and has since become one of the best tight ends in the league. Joe Reitz is looking to follow in those footsteps. The 6'7", 250 lb (now around 270 lb) Reitz signed with Baltimore in April after graduating from Western Michigan as their third all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He averaged 15 points and 8 boards this past season. Reitz, who was all all-state on the gridiron in high school, is being groomed by the Ravens as an offensive tackle, and the Ravens like his athleticism and mobility, but he needs to be bigger and stronger before he can contribute. Right now, he is battling three other players for a spot as a back-up.

-John Thompson, in an LA Times article, voices his opinions and concerns regarding the one-and-done rule and the problems involved with recruiting high school players these days. Definitely worth a read.

-Remember the name Jerome Jordan. He is a 7 foot, Jamaican-born center playing at Tulsa who is starting to get some serious NBA Draft buzz. A rising junior, Jordan averaged 10.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 3.7 bpg on the season, but averaged 16.2 ppg, 12 rpg, and 4.8 bpg in his last six games last year. He is one of those guys that really just needs a chance to play and develop his strength and his game, although I suspect he could be the next in the Patrick O'Bryant/JaVale McGee pipeline. Jeff Goodman at FoxSports has a nice profile on Jordan.

-The U18 National Team lost in the finals of the FIBA Americas to host country Argentina, 77-64. Future UConn Husky Kemba Walker was named MVP of the tournament.

-6'10" German forward Robin Benzing, who was signed to play for Michigan, did not meet eligibility requirements because of a league he played in that included professionals. Continue reading...

"I get Euros, that's right, plural." Sounds like Jay-Z is on to something

When former Stanford standout and Atlanta Hawks swingman Josh Childress went into his off-season of free-agency, he wanted what all free-agents want: a contract to secure his family's financial future, and the chance to play for an up-and-coming team committed to winning. Well, Childress got what he was looking for, but not in San Antonio or Detroit. Hey Josh, do you know how to say, "don't forget to rotate on defense" in Greek?

Childress decided to sign with Olympiakos, one of the premier professional teams in Greece (remeber Lynn Greer from Temple?). The team, based in Athens, finished second in the Greek league last year, and has made major moves in the off-season to improve their chances of recapturing the title. They recently signed Theodoros Papaloukas from a Russian team, and by adding Childress, a dynamic scorer on the wing, Olympiakos is poised to dominate the competition.

But Childress' decision to defect has much larger implications for American basketball. In recent history, European professional basketball has been looked at like Euro-league football (before it collapsed) or Latin American baseball leagues: a place where marginal American players go to try and improve their game or where injury-riddled veterans try to will a few more paychecks out of their aching knees. Good competition, yes, but it was assumed that if you could play in the NBA, you wouldn't think twice.

Not so fast. Childress was far from an NBA afterthought last year. He averaged 30 minutes and almost 12 points a game for the Hawks, and played a big role in their surprising first-round series with the Boston Celtics, when they pushed the eventual champions to seven games. Childress is a dynamic athlete that attacks the rim, makes open jump shots, and can guard a variety of positions. Solid contributors like him, especially ones that don't mind coming off then bench, are hard to find.

And Childress is not alone. A number of other quality NBA players have made the jump across the Atlantic. Former New Jersey Net Bostjan Nachbar, former Grizzlies point guard Juan Carlos Navarro, and former Raptor forwards Primo Brezec, Jorge Garbajosa and Carlos Delfino (Ed. Note - is this proof Canada sucks?) are also taking their services to Europe next season. The difference, of course, is that they are originally from Europe. Childress is the first successful American-born NBA player to willingly take his game to Europe.

The rationale behind his move seems to be mostly financial. His contract is worth more than $20 million after taxes, much more than he would have received from any NBA team, according to his agent. Apparently, the Hawks offered him a 5 year, $36 million contract, which, at face value, appears to be more than what he was offered to play in Greece. But in Europe, the club you play for pays for your taxes ON TOP of the money you make (meaning that Childress pockets $6.7 million a year in Europe). He also only signed a three year deal, which is important when you consider his next contract. He is 25 now, so he will be 28 when he is eligible for his next contract, as opposed to being 30 after the contract the Hawks offered. Those two years are the difference between starting on the downside of one's career, and being smack in the middle of one's prime. It should also be noted that he has opt-out clauses in the contract which would allow him to return to the NBA at the end of each season without having to buy the contract out.

There is more to it than just money, however. European basketball is improving (witness the ever-increasing number of imports in the NBA and the recent lack of success by USA Basketball in international competition). By simply signing his name, Childress went from a decent player in the NBA to the most-famous and highest-paid basketball player in Europe. He was a medium sized fish in a big pond. Now he is a huge fish in a slightly-less-big pond.

By this rationale, his decision doesn't seem so crazy. So will we see more American players jump to Europe? It's certainly possible. Brandon Jennings, the one-time Arizona recruit, will play next year in Europe as he readies for the NBA. However, given the limitations on NBA rookie contracts, who is to say he will come back? And given the strength of the Euro with relation to the dollar these days (it's trading at about 1.4 to 1), we may see more NBA and future-NBA players decide to bring their games to one-time basketball backwaters. The NBA is in no danger of losing it's place as the premier basketball league in the world, but league offices should take notice. Europe isn't just for wanna-bes and hangers-on anymore.

Better learn how to say "sweet no-look pass" in Greek. And French, Spanish, German.... Continue reading...