HS Baseball Phenom leaves after Sophomore year... Thoughts

[ludawg23]

I think there's a big difference in drafting a player out of high school in the NBA than any other sport.

Talent evalutors in the NBA are usually dead-on when they designate player "XYZ" as the next phenom. NBA teams will not burn a lottery pick on a high school graduate unless they know 100% sure that such player will become a star

Players that have made the jump from high school directly to the NBA:

Darryl Dawkins
Moses Malone

Now between 1976-1995, no high school players made the jump to the NBA

1995 and on...

KG - star
Kobe - star
Jermaine O'Neal - solid career
Tracy McGrady
Al Harrington
Rashard Lewis
Lebron
Dwight Howard
Amare
Livingston - tragic knee injury
Tyson Chandler
Eddy Curry - Bust but still rich
Bynum
Perkins
Al Jefferson

That's a pretty impressive list and most of these guys are either superstars, have had solid careers or on their way to stardom. There are about 5-10 players who are not doing much but are still on NBA rosters and improving their game. But hey, at least they have time on their side.

As for baseball, there's so much talent out there and just not enough MLB roster spots. We could probably come up with a gigantic list of high school "superstars" who amount to nothing and spend most of their careers in the minors or get derailed by injuries.

Bryce may have a bright future but he's playing against the odds.