Fascinating interview with shoe executive-turned-international basketball liason Sonny Vaccaro on ESPN.com churns out:
1) He said he's been contacted by 16 European teams showing interest in current high school seniors playing abroad next year.
2) He said of the 12-15 c/o '09 American players showing interest in playing in the Euroleague next year, he feels 2-3 are capable because a) the young player has to not only be a future NBA player caliber, but future NBA all-star caliber, to succeed in the Euroleague and b) the player has no where near the support system he would have in college if he goes abroad. The player's "posse" is gone, and Euroleague executives have much less tolerance for parental meddling than college coaches.
3) Still, "dozens" of American high school players are considering jumping into European minor leagues in the hopes of matriculating into the better-paying Euroleague at some future point. An influx of this scope would be nothing short of revolutionary.
Friday, January 2, 2009
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2 comments:
Very good information! This is a new wave in basketball, it looks like many of the diamonds in the rough will be starring as freshman now.
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