5-Star SF, McDonald's All-American Makes Shocking Decision About Career
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: A basketball hoop, net and backboard are shown before the championship game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament between the Arizona Wildcats and the Oregon Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on March 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arizona won 83-80. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Darius Bazley was all set to be the next five-star forward for Syracuse. Until he wasn't.
Yahoo! Sports' Shams Charania just broke some very unexepcted news. It isn't good for the Orange.
Rather than heading to Syracuse, Bazley will enter the G-League right out of high school. Bazley is considered a potential 2019 lottery pick.
“This is a life-changing decision,” Bazley, one of the top players in the Class of 2018, told Yahoo Sports. “I put a lot of thinking into this with my mom and close circle, especially sitting down with her. It’s just like making the decision to which college you want to go to. Me and her did some talking, and I prayed on it. I talked to my high school coach, Steve, who played overseas, and then I talked to a couple of guys in the G League who have experience. Ultimately, playing professional basketball has always been my dream. It’s always going to be the dream goal, always going to be the goal until I achieve it. This is going to put me one step closer to doing so.
Darius Bazley just played in the McDonald's All-American Game on Wednesday night.
In a game always taken over by ball-dominant guards, the rangy Bazley looks good. He scored 11 points on eight shots, knocking down a few threes.
He seemed to be a perfect fit for Boeheim's system, with his length at the back-end of the zone. He was also set to add some much-needed offense to an Orange club that struggled to score all year.
Darius Bazley seems to want to jump-start his exposure to the pro game. He cites the fact that many players wind up spending time in the G League as rookies as is.
“The G League will have the most to offer, considering that is the development league for the NBA,” he continued. “I will get more out of that than going overseas. The G League is the closest thing to the NBA. I see most guys now are spending time in the G League even after they went to school and the draft, so this gives me the chance to accelerate the process. There have been a lot of successful guys who have been brought up in the G League, and I’m confident that I will be one of them.
Before committing to Syracuse, Bazley, a Cincinnati native, was set to go to Ohio State. He flipped after Thad Matta's departure from the Buckeyes.
With his decommitment, Syracuse has four-star guard Jalen Carey, and three-star guard Buddy Boeheim in its 2018 class. This is a huge blow for an ACC club that was looking up after an unexpected Sweet Sixteen run.
