Todd Latest to Eschew NCAA for G League
It’s been a tumultuous year for college basketball. We’ve seen teams like Dayton surprise as a mid-major and several Power Five schools struggle. We lost March Madness and the ability to wager on those contests, not to mention the hit that the NCAA as a whole, and its individual members, took financially as a result. We’ve seen underclassmen declare for the NBA Draft, choosing to face uncertainty of being considered a valuable enough commodity to be selected in the two rounds, over returning to college to play another season, whenever that might get underway.
Earlier this week, we saw one of the top prospects in the sport, Jalen Green, announce that he wasn’t going to play college basketball at all, instead opting to play in the G League. The main reason for his decision shouldn’t be a major surprise: it came down to the almighty dollar. Green, the #3 prospect in the nation and #1 in the 2020 ESPN 100, can make up to $500,000 a year down in the G League developmental program getting his game up to speed while being coached by guys that can get the most out of his potential. On Friday, we learned that Green wouldn’t be the only player to follow that path in this topsy-turvy offseason in the world of college hoops.
Isaiah Todd, who was the #13 prospect in the nation coming out of high school and had committed to Michigan, announced Friday that he’ll be joining Green and playing in the G League this season. Todd, a 6’10, 206 pound power forward who played at the Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, decommitted from Michigan earlier this week and announced that he was going to turn pro. Instead of going overseas, he made the choice to join the G League and, as it turns out, his rationale for making the move was a simple one as well. When asked about his reasoning, Todd made the following statement:
“I just try to think about what's best for my family, best for my game and I really just feel like being in the NBA's back yard — learning from pros, learning from NBA trainers and NBA coaches could prepare me best and chase my dream."
According to sources that are familiar with the discussions, the financial implications are not at the level that were involved in the Green signing. Should he hit all the incentives in his deal, Todd is expected to rake in around $250,000 over the course of the year. Todd will be paired with Green in a new Los Angeles-oriented team in the G League next season, which could turn out to be lucrative for the duo, given the fact that it is a massive media market with plenty of opportunities to land endorsement deals.
Todd is going to have some work to do in order to reach his full potential. While he has the ability to score at all three levels, he is inconsistent and can be a bit undisciplined when it comes to playing, especially on the defensive end of the floor. He was the #2 power forward prospect in the nation, behind only Greg Brown, who is expected to stay at home and attend the University of Texas. He was the top prospect in the state of North Carolina according to 247Sports.com and their rankings. Perhaps getting a crash course from the G League experience can help him hone his game quicker than playing for Juwan Howard in the Big Ten.
The bigger concern for the NCAA and college basketball as a whole is that this doesn’t open up a Pandora’s box where elite players eschew college to head into the pros. We saw RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball head to the land Down Under last year to play in the Australian league to get some seasoning before declaring for the NBA Draft. This year, besides Green and Todd, it’s expected that Makur Maker, Kenyon Martin Jr., who decommitted from Vanderbilt last year, and MarJon Beauchamp will make the transition to the pros, be it the G League or the NBA, out of the gate. It’s definitely a cause for concern for the NCAA, which has to find a way to bounce back from the devastating end of the 2019-20 season.
It’s clear that the NCAA will survive despite the defections but it is a blow nonetheless. Will they find a way to keep the top players in the fold for college hoops or will this become the new normal? We’ll have to see how they respond to the loss of potential star talent.
