5-star recruit Bazley decommits from Syracuse to play in G League

Darius Bazley, the ninth-ranked recruit in the 2018 class, has decommitted from Syracuse with the intention of turning professional and playing in the NBA's G League, he told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

"Ultimately, playing professional basketball has always been my dream," he said. "It's always going to be the dream goal, always going to be the goal until I achieve it. This is going to put me one step closer to doing so."

A handful of high-profile prospects have bypassed college to play professionally overseas in recent years, but Bazley - a McDonald's All-American - is the biggest name to jump to the G League from high school.

The 17-year-old believes the developmental league offers him a better opportunity to prepare for the NBA than other professional organizations abroad.

"The G League is the closest thing to the NBA. I see most guys now are spending time in the G League even after they went to school and the draft, so this gives me the chance to accelerate the process. There have been a lot of successful guys who have been brought up in the G League, and I'm confident that I will be one of them."

The Cincinnati, Ohio native was on track to be the first five-star recruit to sign with Syracuse since Chris McCullough in the 2014 class.