Darius Bazley Will Be The Next Prospect To Skip Both College And The G League

Well, there it is. A couple weeks ago we heard the rumor that Darius Bazley was still deciding whether or not he wanted to play in the G League or just sit for the year and train for the NBA Draft. Here’s what Bazley had to say about the decision:

“Talking about it over with my group, we felt confidently that the G League wasn’t going to be needed and now I can use this time to work on my craft,” Bazley told The Athletic. “It’s mainly me talking to [agent] Rich [Paul], he knows so much, and whenever he speaks my ears perk up. When Miles [Bridges] was in Cleveland for his predraft workouts, whenever he got a chance to work out in front of NBA teams, I was working out in the gym, too. So that played a part in it, me playing well in those workouts for us to say there’s no upside in the G League. If you play well, it’s expected. If you don’t play well, you’re not NBA-ready. That’s what they’ll say. For me, working out and preparing is the best route.

I understand what he’s trying to say and he gets into how the G League isn’t about winning every night and more about development. I mean there’s more to it than just that, as the G League would say it is about winning too. Now, here’s what I said about the rumor a few weeks ago:

Some of the reasoning to Bazley skipping the G League is the fear of getting pushed around by grown men and not looking the part, eventually falling in the draft. If that’s the case, why skip Syracuse? Bazley would have been a prominent part in Syracuse’s offense this year, so it’s not like he wouldn’t be noticed.

That’s the baffling part. Unless there’s eventually a story that comes out involving him not being eligible for Syracuse or college basketball, why sit for the year? He’s not a sure-fire top-10 pick where it doesn’t matter what he does this year. He was an All-American, but skipping Syracuse doesn’t make sense now unless something else comes up.

He was going to be a focal point offensively playing alongside Tyus Battle. He was going to play a ton of minutes. If he was worried about development or just playing the 2-3 zone, why commit to Syracuse? That’s ultimately what I can’t figure out at the moment. If he was forced to leave and decided from there to sit out for the year, I’d understand it more.

We’ll see what happens, but the track record has been hit or miss with guys skipping college to either play overseas or sit out the year. You had Emmanuel Mudiay and Brandon Jennings skip and still be lottery picks. You had Mitchell Robinson sit out and fall to the second round. You had Terrence Ferguson go play in Australia and be a first round pick.