Last year, Jeremy Tyler made headlines worldwide when he and his family decided that he would skip his senior year of high school to play pro basketball overseas. Tyler was one of the top high school prospects in the United States, but the 6'11" power forward grew impatient and went overseas and joined the Israeli basketball team, Maccabi Haifa, making a nice $140,000 his first season. Last year, New York Times sports writer Pete Thamel flew to Israel to hang out with Tyler and reported that things weren't going to well. According to those around him, Tyler was immature, distracted and couldn't get acclimated to the way of life in Israel, which all affected his on-court play.Now comes word that Tyler has left the team, with five weeks still left in the season, and returned to San Diego.
"Due to personal matters, Jeremy chose to leave the team on his own will on March 18 and return home to San Diego," Maccabi Haifa owner Jeffery Rosen said in a statement. "We wish Jeremy all the best."
Tyler only played in 10 games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.6 minutes a game. And according to ESPN, not even Tyler's agent knew what was going on.
"I'm as surprised as you are. We had no idea he was coming home," Makhtar Ndiaye of the Wasserman Media Group, told ESPN's Willie Weinbaum. "I'm speechless at this point and look forward to speaking with Jeremy. A contract, a learning process -- things weren't great -- but it was part of growing up. I'm disappointed and frustrated. The kid decided on his own. We did everything humanly possible to make it a success story for him and his family."
This seems like a good lesson in patience. Just finish high school, play a year of college, then go to the pros.
Comments: (30)
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By: kimmeyson on 3/19/2010 5:04PM
Jeremy was already an adult when he left highschool after finishing the 11th grade. If he flunked or started school late is not known. He thought he was a basketball God, but when your competition is younger than you, you should dominate them.
The fact that his immaturity has caused him to breach a legal contract because he wasn't happy is proof that maybe he should've been kept back a little longer.
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By: Evelyn on 3/20/2010 7:17PM
You say, "Jeremy was already an adult when he left highschool after finishing the 11th grade."
This is a living example of immaturity and why life has cycles. If he was an adult and was behind, I blame everyone involved for not letting him know this is a failure waiting to happen. Just because we finish high school, doesn't make us adults. Life and living matures us and everyone knows boys are at least 2 or more years behind girls. I blame his mother, family, manager and all involved. They're lucky he didn't end up in jail with the strick rules of third world countries. No they don't hang out in those type countries and he couldn't cope because there is no thug life there. I wish him the best, but now he has to work even harder to get where he need to be education wise. I hope someone steps in and give him good advice and not the manager that is only in it to make money at any cost.
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By: OOOZZZZZ on 3/19/2010 5:19PM
Young man can't attend college on a full ride b-ball scholarship anywhere in the country since he hired an agent and turned pro and due to his youth, immaturity, ability to be distracted and the fact that he couldn't get acclimated to the way of life in Israel, which all affected his on-court play, then playing in the D-League or the NBA is a high odd pipe dream.
If he is selected by the NBA, he will be in the NBA Developmental League for a few years until he is ready and that's barring any serious injury.
Playing b-ball overseas you are playing with grown men who have been playing for years and the fact that some child from America can come in and take their jobs is not something that they take too kindly too and they probably gave him rough time. This was not a "take the kid by the wings nurturing situation".
His agent will have to do some serious begging to get any NBA affiliated or NBA team to want to hire Jeremy Tyler because right now he has more downside going against him than upside going with him.
Pro ball is not juat physical skills but menttal skills. There are hundreds of thousands of talented b-ballers all over the country who tried but didn't have the mentality to make it.
Jeremany Tyler & and his parents (who I totally blame for this disaster) gambled on the dream of big money and lost.
And he won't be the last one to try this move. Just like people who drink and drive, "it will never happen to me" so there will be more sad stories like this.
This will be an ESPN "Outside The Lines" special in the near future.
Hopefully Mr. Tyler goes back to school and ges his GED. I wish him luck.
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By: Mimi on 3/22/2010 9:54AM
I DON'T KNOW ANY YOUNG BLACK MAN THAT WOULD BE COMFORTABLE PLAYING BALL IN ISRAEL.
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By: James on 3/23/2010 6:11AM
Four other members of the Maccabi Haifa are black.
Stop making excuses for this MORON.
http://www.mhbasket.co.il/team.asp?lang=en
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By: M. Alexander on 3/19/2010 5:43PM
I'm not sure what is going on with these young kids but I guess it's the lure of the possibility of making millions of dollars and the fact that these kids have hangers-on like World Wide Wes in their ear telling them how great they are and what they should gets to be a bit much for some of them to handle !
African-American athletes have been used, abused and cast aside by a system that eats them up and spits them out once their athletic ability is no longer needed and these kids cannot see the forest for the trees !
This kid has basically ruined any chance of going to college because he hired an agent and now that he's quit a team, most NBA teams will take a long hard look at that and decide that maybe he's not worth the time, money and trouble and he could toil in the NBDL for years without ever making an NBA roster !
Really sad that people push these kids for their ulterior motives ! If these sorry ass parents of these kids would find their own way through life instead of relying on their child's athletic skills to get them the material things they want out of life, maybe some of these kids could live a somewhat normal teenage life and attend college and have fun but they can't because most of them have moms who have for the most part raised them on welfare or menial jobs and these kids just want to make life for their moms pleasant so they cash in their NBA chips at an early age and when it doesn't work out, they get dumped right back into the communities from whence they came with no employable skills and no college education !
Really sad scenario !
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By: Ellie on 3/19/2010 6:04PM
He and his family put money before anything else. So what has he got now? Fortunately, he is young and canstillgrowif he stopslookingat moneyasthe be all and end all. He has a lot of maturing to do; it's been an expensive learning experience.
I hope other "Basketball Gods" and their families pay attenion to this; there is more to the game than just playing ball. I also hope they saved some money for college since he has screwed basketball scholarship possibilities. But probably not since he clearly wasn't interested in college from the start.
Well, he's young and hopefully he learned something from this escapade and will do something useful with his life.
I hope his parents are happy now.
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By: Lisa on 3/22/2010 1:50PM
Somebody will pick this brat up. If the NBA believes he can make millions for them, all of that other stuff is secondary.
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By: Laci on 3/20/2010 12:15AM
This is a damn shame. This situation had disaster written all over it the moment this CHILD dropped out of school and he signed that contract. His parents encouraged unrealistic goals and played Russian roulette with his young life. So much potential was badly mismanaged. NOW WHAT????
It's one thing to be a star HIGH SCHOOL basketball player, or ghetto superstar/playground legend, but there are steps one must take to succeed in professional basketball. All he has managed to do at this point is to show the world what you SHOULDN'T do.
This child lacked the mental maturity, discipline, and experience to succeed in this mess of a plan. His parent obviously looked at the dollar signs and weren't the least bit concerned about their child's best interest.
As far as a U.S. team picking him up, I doubt it. He has drama and bad decision making coming out of his pores. What team wants to set themselves up to deal with immaturity, tantrums and bad press. His stats from that overseas team are not impressive and he will not have anyone blowing his phone up.
I am hoping he get's proper guidance from this point on...
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By: John on 3/21/2010 5:57AM
"I am hoping he get's proper guidance from this point on..."
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That's a good one!
You're kidding, right?
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