Jim Boeheim does not sound too thrilled that top recruit Darius Bazley chose to decommit from his program.
In an appearance Friday on “ESPN Afternoons with Scott Anez” on 580AM in Orlando, the Syracuse head coach was critical of Bazley’s decision to skip college and go straight to the NBA G-League. Boeheim said that the G-League route was “not the best way to get to the NBA” and expressed his belief that the Bazley situation would be an isolated one.
Jim Boeheim just told @AnezSez & @ESPN580Nick this about the big name de-commitment Darius Bazley: “It’s not the best way to get to the NBA… with the G League, there’s not that much structure… I think it’ll be one kid (isolated situation).” #Syracuse
— David Baumann (@DavidBaumannORL) March 30, 2018
The 17-year-old Bazley, a five-star recruit for the class of 2018, had committed to Syracuse last June and inked his National Letter of Intent during the early signing period in November. However, he announced via Twitter on Thursday that he was decommitting from the Orange to go to the G-League instead.
Ready for the next chapter……. #GodsPlan #LEAGUEME pic.twitter.com/QRT1ZSUr5l
— D Baze (@BazleyDarius) March 29, 2018
Bazley’s decision is a potentially revolutionary one that could pave the way for top prospects to similarly ditch the college ranks in favor of the G-League path, especially in light of the NCAA’s recent corruption scandal. However, Boeheim, who has coached Syracuse for the last 42 seasons now and counting, is notoriously old-school in his beliefs, so it is no surprise that he would want to poke holes in a new movement that could be damaging to his business.
