Prep star considers overseas payday over NCAA

by Jeff Goodman

Updated: July 9, 2008, 1:23 AM EST 147 comments

It didn't end up happening, but now it appears as though Brandon Jennings, arguably the top incoming freshman in the country, could become a trendsetter of sorts and opt for overseas money over a one-year college experience at Arizona.

"He's definitely considering it," said Kelly Williams, the father of New Jersey Nets point guard Marcus Williams and also a close advisor to the Jennings family. "Why wouldn't he?"

"If it's a sweet enough deal, why wouldn't he look into it?" Williams added. "But there's nothing definitive right now. They are in the process of investigating it, but he's not going to go just to become the first kid to go overseas. We're not going to put him in a bad situation. We'd try and put him in a situation where he can grow and develop."

Jennings first hatched the idea from Vaccaro, who is on a personal crusade against the NCAA and NBA because of the restrictions that those organizations impose on young basketball players.

Jennings' camp said that whether or not he achieves the SAT score (he's expected to get the results of his latest test any day now) that will make him eligible to play college ball at Arizona is irrelevant with regards to his decision to play overseas.

I spoke to one representative from an overseas team who said it wouldn't be unrealistic for Jennings to get a paycheck of somewhere in the $500,000 vicinity. Others have placed the number at closer to $200,000 per year. Either way, it's considerably more than the value of one year of tuition, room and board in Tucson.

Jennings could become a test case for other high-profile high school basketball players deciding to follow suit — especially if they're struggling to become eligible.

If Jennings is able to command a lucrative enough payday, has success overseas and winds up getting drafted high in next year's NBA Draft, there could be a domino effect.

If that occurs, it may force the NBA to re-evaluate its current rule which states a player must be 19 years old and one year removed from high school. Ideally, it'd force the league to change it to give kids the option of going to the NBA directly from high school or force them to remain in college for at least two years once they sign that letter of intent.

Renardo Sidney, considered one of the elite players in the Class of 2009, will likely explore the possibility of going overseas as well.

"Brandon's decision will definitely have an effect on the younger kids," said Sidney's father, Renardo Sidney Sr. "For us, it's definitely an option."

The elder Sidney said he feels it's unfair that the NCAA earns revenue off its players, while the players get little in return.

"Kids feel like they're a victim of the NCAA and I don't think anyone is happy with it," he said. "You can't have someone buy a kid a hamburger, but you can sell their jerseys and fill the arenas and it's fine."

What Sidney seems to forget is that the kids do get a free education. That's worth about $50,000 per year in many places these days.

But let's face it. That's irrelevant to many of these kids.

There aren't all that many Kevin Durants out there. (Durant has been down at Texas taking a class this summer after leaving Austin for the NBA after one season).

Thursday night's NBA draft featured a record dozen college freshmen being selected in the first round. That number's certain to dwindle next year with a lackluster freshman class. But no one figured that one of those projected picks might be coming from Italy, Spain or even the Ukraine instead of college.