Darius Bazley made a landmark decision when he became the first major prospect to forgo college to play in the G League, but now he has a better option. He thought playing in the level right under the NBA would prepare him for the league's talent better than college would.
Bazley recently signed with the legendary Rich Paul, the sports agent that oversees the likes of LeBron James, Ben Simmons and other stars. Rather than playing among grown men in the G League this season, Bazley elected to train for the 2019 NBA Draft. Paul organized an internship for Bazley with New Balance, and it'll pay him at least $1 million, even if his NBA career doesn't pan out. If he meets all the incentives in his contract, Bazley could earn as much as $14 million.
Not many 19-year-old boys can say they have a job and office space at New Balance. However, this 6-foot-9 forward will gain some valuable work experience while he trains for the upcoming draft. He's excited about his opportunity to forge a new path for prep stars like himself.
“This is my risk,” Bazley told the New York Times. “I’m going to go ahead and do it this way, and I’m still going to succeed, even when others say I won’t.”
Before his unexpected choice to back out on Syracuse, Darius Bazley was ranked the No. 13 prospect in ESPN's ranking of the top 100 high school players for the class of 2018. He was the fourth ranked power forward in his class. Syracuse's head coach Jim Boeheim is a Hall of Fame caliber coach, and he remains confident in Bazley's talent, even now.
“In my mind he was a top-20, top-25 pick — conservatively — because he’s long,” said Boeheim. “He needs to work in a weight room and eat right for a year.”
Bazley is only 210 lbs, but he aspires to play like Ben Simmons, who will likely become an NBA All-Star this season in his second BA campaign. Time will tell if this new path will yield results, and it certainly seems like Bazley will enjoy this unique experience.
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