Report: Top Recruit Jalen Green Will Skip College And Enter The G League’s Professional Pathway

One of the nation’s most promising young basketball players will not attend college. According to a report by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, five-star guard Jalen Green has decided to forgo suiting up for an NCAA program and will instead opt for a more unconventional path that will involve a pit stop in the G League.

Green, the No. 3 recruit in the class of 2020 based on 247Sports’ composite rating, will take up what Givony calls “enhanced version” of the G League’s professional pathway, which the league launched back in 2018 as an alternate to playing college ball. The program offers recruits $125,000, although it is unclear how a player the caliber of Green following this pathway impacts that.

It was announced earlier this week that Green’s decision — which was expected to be between Auburn, Memphis, or a professional career — would occur on Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST on his Instagram account. However, a video Green put on social media indicated the professional league in his sights was Australia’s NBL, not the G League.

Additionally, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported earlier in the week that going the pro route appeared to be the most likely result, with that decision getting reflected on Green’s 247Sports Crystal Ball.

An important thing to stress is that recruiting is an incredibly weird endeavor, and you never should assume you know what is going to happen until everything is signed, sealed, and delivered. Having said that, Green picking the G League would be quite the turn of events. Auburn, which boasts the No. 7 recruiting class in America, could stand to lose him, while Memphis, which sits at 137 nationally, will really regret not landing him. If this works out, though, and Green is able to parlay his year in the G League into potentially being the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, it would add some serious legitimacy to a path that has not been previously traveled.