Brown, a 6-foot-7 athletic wing, has yet to make a college commitment and is considering five schools – Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA. But it’s not a foregone conclusion he plays college basketball at all.
“Absolutely,” Brown responded when asked if he would consider skipping college and playing overseas for a year.Before you dismiss it as too much of a long shot, understand that Emmanuel Mudiay's decision to sign with the Guangdong Southern Tigers has a lot of top prospects thinking:
That was huge,” Jaylen Brown, Scout.com’s No. 1 player in the 2015 class, said about Mudiay’s decision. “It’s starting a new culture.”
“A lot of guys are talking about if they could do that, they would,” Brown added. “There are a lot of things coming up that could be on the table for some guys. Everybody is interested and everybody is watching to see how he’s going to do and how it’s going to work out.”Can you blame them? Between his contract and endorsements, Mudiay stands to make a couple million dollars he otherwise wouldn't make by going to college. Money isn't everything, but numbers that large are difficult to ignore.
Going overseas will not work for everyone. There are cultural and language barriers. There is often great distance from your friends and family. There is also missing out on the college experience, which is something many of these kids have dreamed about for years.
If Brown were to pass on college for a pro contract, though, I can't say I'd blame him. If offered a couple million dollars to relocate to China for a year, most of us would at least consider it.
In the end, I'd rather he play professionally in China than play professionally for Kentucky any day.
h/t Evan Daniels
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