High school junior Jalen Lewis, who had been considered one of the top prospects in the recruiting class of 2023, is signing with the new Overtime Elite league, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Lewis had been receiving interest from Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, and Michigan, among other top college programs, per Givony. However, the 16-year-old will instead become the youngest prospect ever to turn pro in America, according to Charania, who hears from sources that Lewis’ multiyear deal will be worth more than $1MM.
A 6’8″ center and a five-star recruit, Lewis ranked as the No. 2 prospect on ESPN’s big board for the recruiting class of 2023.
“I’d describe Jalen as an absolute difference maker, a rare talent, with a combination of size, athleticism, good hands and ball skills that impact plays on both ends of the court,” Overtime Elite head coach Kevin Ollie said, per Givony. “There are no limitations to what he’ll be able to do in his career and through Overtime Elite, he’ll have the resources in place to help him reach his dreams.”
Overtime Elite, which will begin its first season later this year, is aiming to become a viable option for top high school and international prospects. It has secured commitments from 10 players so far.
I don’t see a problem if he was going to commit himself to basketball anyway. Now he has more of the resources to do it with less distractions
$1m can buy a lot of distractions!
You don’t have a problem with him setting a precedent of quitting high school to go follow a pie-in-the-sky dream? Even if it works for him, do we really need that precedent set? I mean there will be a lot more guys starry-eyed enough to follow his lead and they will NOT be as successful. Look at all the high school guys from the mid 2000s that WEREN’T LeBron James.
Sure, he will get $1 million, but after taxes/fees etc. it will be about $500,000. Which is still good money, unless he blows out a knee. Then you have a high school dropout with no future in hoops and that $500,000 won’t be around much longer. This has nothing to do with college, this is a kid quitting high school for quick cash and a small chance at making it big. Would you want your kid doing that?
He’s the number 2 ranked prospect. Its not really a pie in the sky. If he was some no name kid it would be but odds are he’ll end up in the NBA some day. At worst he plays overseas.
It still is pie in the sky. Going back a decade, the top 10 high school recruits have on average a 20-30% chance of not playing in the NBA at all. That’s a big gamble to take with your life. Look up Cliff Alexander.
If offer you a shot that gives you a 70% chance at living for an extra 40 years and a 30% chance of dying within a year, are you taking it?
And no, at worst he will have an injury or being unable to compete at the next level and will be a high school dropout with no marketable skills and no means to support himself. So yeah it can get worse than just playing overseas. Besides, those overseas jobs are still there AFTER you get an education, so why risk it?
In the classroom, athletes are afforded a direct-instruction model led by individual instructors who will teach both one-on-one and in small group sessions featuring a 4:1 student-teacher ratio. Education around financial literacy, media training, mental health and social justice advocacy will be included as part of the curriculum
Yeah and some people thought DeVry Institute was equal to a college education also.
That is just the spiel on the Overtime Elite website. It’s a sales pitch, not an education.
There’s the whole home school thing in play here. Never said he’s not going to finish school. And pretty sure if he gets injured it’ll be covered by whatever insurance he’ll have through the team.
I just think this is a slippery slope. They are ranking 7th and 8th grade kids now. What if a highly ranked 12 year old decides he wants to sign a pro contract too? What if the parents do it just to exploit the kid and take the money for themselves? It’s horrible, but kid actors have had that happen all the time.
Let kids be kids and THEN earn their money. There is a lot more to school than just learning to make money.
Agreed. They should just go back to letting kids enter the draft out of high school. I see no benefit in this team. Every kid should be required to graduate before turning pro. Be it high school or college.
Oh that’s reassuring illowa. “Media training, social justice advocacy”… Make sure they trained in opaque hate; out with the education stuff, in with the pandering. Keep them separate from society and attractive to foreign parents. Better to be gladiators and not have to like anyone.
OE is a business, looking to profit, not advise an optimal path that may not include OE. The GLeague is at least tied to the NBA and employees that are development-centered to an employable endgame. The NBA can keep GL ignite afloat; but no guarantees for the OE business model, which should probably include any moneymaking proposal.
If covid proved anything is that you CAN learn remotely so there’s no reason why he has to be a highschool drop out. Also, if the nba isn’t in his future then, assuming his grades are good enough, why wouldn’t he be able to go to college with 1/2 mil in his account?
What a make
You just hope with all that money they hire teaching coach too. Talent alone doesn’t make you a NBA player you need to be smart and focused.
I think this is such a mistake. Kids should have to finish high school before going into these leagues. It’s a horrible precedent.
If you wanna go into one after you graduate to skip the 1 year ncaa thing, fine. But you should have to graduate high school.
Is a hs diploma (or equivalent) required to go pro in baseball, tennis, soccer, NASCAR, boxing, or golf? Has it set a bad precedent for the ones that require that?
What if some of these guys don’t make it in the league not everyone has a sure fire shot to make it . They need to have at least hs diploma to make it in this world
why do ppl assume they couldn’t finish highschool or get a GED?
Because they rarely do?
Do golfers ever talk? Soccer players interview like idiots, or at least script-readers, even the allegedly English-speaking ones. People don’t seem to care though, like in this country, where there is a tradition of athletes attending college.
PS Euro title 3pm
It used to be “Why should a kid have to go to college if he has a shot playing basketball professionally?” Now it’s gonna be “Why should they have to go to high school…?” For the ones that make it, good for them. I hope they are surrounded by people that have their best interest in mind. For those that don’t? Those signing bonuses won’t last long, and then what? Another person that’s a drain on society? (No, this isn’t a political statement, rather a social one)
It’s a bit of an hyperbolic statement , I mean he goes from being a drain on society to cool beans because he shows up for Senior year at HS ? Do you remember what you learned Senior year HS….Nothing!…..I learned how to hit a gravity bong!
Cmon. maybe in 1978 that plays up, but that’s just not the case today –
If anything he’s probably increasing his odds for lifetime wealth.
The whole HS-College-Job-Marry-Baby-House ownership dream of the Boomers doesn’t exist today, nor really should it. We should get rid of its hidden little speeches as well as they just muddy up the waters present day.
Great decision, Jalen!
Hope many more follow your lead!
How can anyone work at 16, if not earlier, & bring economic relief to the family, but you can’t play hoops?
How can soccer players in Europe, can play, be stars & earn millions by the age of 16, but not in hoops, believe me, can’t see soccer stars been smarter, that is for sure!
Messi, Rooney, Owen… & so many more were becoming stars at 16, breaking records, making bucketful’s of money & becoming worldwide idols, hoopers deserve the same opportunities!
I am not gonna even get in how overrated & useless education is, that is for another day/forum!