Boeheim criticizes Bazley's decision to forgo college basketball
Darius Bazley shook the college basketball landscape in March when he retracted his commitment to Syracuse to enter the G League draft. The highly touted recruit then announced Monday that he's leaving his G League dreams behind to spend the year polishing his skills on his own.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is still disappointed in Bazley decision, claiming the college route would have remained the youngster's best option before going pro.
"That always helps," Boeheim said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer's Dave Clark. "You see any freshman that comes in, like we had Malachi (Richardson) and Tyler Ennis. When they have a good freshman year and their college team wins; that's a big advantage when you get an opportunity to move into the NBA.
"Now they'll have nothing to look at except the McDonald's Game and the limited games he played. I think he's got tremendous upside, but I think it will cost him. I think he could've moved into the first round with a good college year. I don't know if he can be a first-round pick now. They've got nothing to go by."
Bazley's taken a unique path to his eventual decision. He's ranked No. 13 on ESPN's 2018 Top 100 and originally committed to Ohio State before changing his mind in April 2017 to join Boeheim's Orange.
His most recent decision has been met with criticism, similar to 2017 No. 11-ranked recruit Mitchell Robinson, who left Western Kentucky to hone his craft away from organized basketball. He fell to the New York Knicks at No. 36 in this past June's draft.
"I take pride in my decision. There are no regrets at all," Bazley told The Athletic's Shams Charania on Monday. "At the end of the day, people are going to do what they want to do. Whether it's going to college, whether it's skipping college to go to the NBA, whether it's quitting basketball altogether - people will make their choices. This decision is what I wanted to do, and I embrace that. It's my life, my decision, my path and my journey."
It's a risky decision for the forward, who potentially lost his opportunity to showcase his skill set at a higher level, whether that be amateur or professional. Bazley was favored to crack the first round ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft before his decision.