The high school-to-G League pipeline continues to gain attention from NBA prospects, with the league landing one of its biggest young stars yet.
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, five-star recruit Jaden Hardy, a top-five prospect in the Class of 2021, will skip college and sign with the G League Ignite team. Hardy had scholarship offers from a number of leading schools, including Kentucky, but passed on all of them to turn professional.
Hardy is the No. 3 recruit in his class, according to 247Sports’ rankings. The McDonald’s All-American averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists as a junior at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada. He did not play as a senior, as Nevada canceled its high school season.
Hardy is just the latest top prospect to ignore the college path and skip straight to the G League, which will likely cause further consternation among NCAA officials and coaches. He’s not the first to do it, either, with the NBA even setting up Ignite specifically to give players like Hardy a viable professional alternative to college without having to go overseas.
For some players, the ability to make money playing basketball in a league meant to develop them for the NBA beats going to college, dealing with academics, and not making money. Some new NCAA rules may be able to keep some players in the college game, but Hardy won’t be the last big recruit to take this path.
