Top Recruit May Go to Europe to Bypass NBA's One-Year Rule

So yeah, remember that age minimum? It was supposed to save college basketball, stem the tide of raw, untutored brats entering the pros, and teach kids that some things are more important than immediate financial security.

One of this year's top rising freshman, Arizona-bound Brandon Jennings, might be out to buck the trend. There have long been whispers that an All-American like Jennings might take his game overseas for a year, to get that money ASAP. In this case, the Wildcat community was waiting with baited breath on Jennings's latest SAT scores. But Sportsline now reports that, no matter what, Jennings might take his game to Europe instead of pay his NCAA dues:

According to [advisor] Williams, playing in Europe isn't just a possible backup plan in case Jennings doesn't get the proper score, as has been previously reported by multiple media outlets. It seems Europe will be a viable option even if Jennings' SAT score is fine, and this can't be the news Arizona fans want to hear.

"In all honesty, I think Brandon wants options," Williams said by phone. "If he has the opportunity right now to make $800,000 from a team and get a shoe contract and make more than $1 million before he even goes into the draft, then why wouldn't he do that?"

It goes on from there to discuss whether Europe might not "expose" Jennings's game, thus lowering his stock for 2009. Then again, he'd be drafted into the NBA, not back to another European team; scouts know that the differences between here and there can lead to mistaken impressions. What's really shocking here is that, for once, someone's really daring to give the middle finger to the age limit. Jennings will hear all sorts of reasons why this might be a bad idea, and who knows if he will actually follow through on it. But this is the first crack in the dam, and it's only a matter of time before someone goes this route.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.