How Much Fail Can One Person Pack In To A Career?

 Every so often I like to look back on a story I wrote and do a follow up. The tragic tale of Jeremy Tyler is one of these posts that I am revisiting.

 

In 2009 Tyler had “Potential Star” written all over him, he had talent and was averaging 28.7 points per game in his junior year in high school. He was so certain of his future pay-day that he quit high school and headed to Israel to begin his pro career. He ended up playing only 10 games in Israel and averaged 2.1 points again before quitting the team and heading home. In 2010 he signed with a Japanese team and played 33 games with the Tokyo Apache where he averaged 9.9 points a game.

 

Somehow he ended up getting drafted by the Charlotte Bobcats during the 2011 NBA Draft but was traded to Golden State the same night for cash. His NBA career lasted 3 season for 3 different teams (Golden State, Atlanta & NY Knicks), he played 104 games and averaged 3.6 points. He was on the Lakers pre-season team this year but was cut before the season began and he is currently playing in China.

 

His NBA career was a flash and sadly he did not prove his worth when he had the chance. He was given the opportunity but wasted it, an opportunity that many kids would love to have. At 23 years old he is a wash out and a good chance it has to do with his attitude, channeling his best JaMarcus Russell impression.

 

Panini did think enough of him that they included him in some of their 2012-13 NBA releases, this shows how low they are willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel to include players in sets. For anyone willing to still consider this kid a prospect his cards are dirt cheap, a rookie can be picked up for under $1 and an autograph will cost you another dollar.

Jeremy Tyler, Round 2

Jeremy Tyler is in the news again, the player who at one time considered a Top 3 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, this time is slightly positive news. He signed a contract with the Tokyo Apache of the JPL (Japanese Basketball League). Hopefully this round will last longer then his first professional tour with Maccabi Haifa, which lasted only 10 games before he quit the team. I wrote about Tyler back in March after he quit the Israeli team, hopefully his time with the Apaches will last longer and with better results then his time with Maccabi Haifa. Another failed attempt will most likely put a damper on any dreams that Tyler has of ever playing in the NBA.

Who The Hell Is Jeremy Tyler And Does It Matter?

People collect for a variety of reasons, there are almost as many reasons to collect as there are ways of collecting. When I say ways, I mean you have your prospect collectors, your rookie collectors, your player collector, team collector and so on. I wonder if a prospect collector would ever take a chance on Jeremy Tyler?

Not familiar with Jeremy Tyler? Here is a run down of this young man’s basketball career to give you a little insight of what he has the potential for in the future:


-He quit high school in his senior year at San Diego High School to go play professional ball in Israel where he signed a $140,000 1-year contract.

-In 10 games for Maccabi Haifa he has averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game

-He walked out of a game at halftime leaving his team to play on without him because he was upset about not getting more playing time.

-Maccabi Haifa suspended him because they are tired of his immature bullshit

-He quit the team yesterday, without telling his agent, and is returning to San Diego


This kid has pre-mature Diva written all over his face and funny thing is that his agent actually is “positive” about Tyler’s experience in Israel. Does he not realize that the kid played like shit, has a bad attitude and just walked out on a legal contract? Not to mention he can not be drafted or sign with an NBA team until after next season, he can not play in the NCAA because he has played professionally and his actions are damn well sure to be noticed by NBA scouts. This kid just showed another reason why high school players should not be drafted. For every Kobe and LeBron you find a good 5-10 other kids who failed.

Will he ever make it to the NBA? Who knows, there is a chance that he may never play professional ball again, but that will be up to him. This kid was expected to do big things, he was constantly ranked in the top 2-3 of his recruiting class and supposedly has awsome skills. But, can those overcome a poor attitude? As an after thought, Maccabi Haifa, his ex-team, is in a title race in the Israel Premier League, a title could have helped this kid's potential future too. He quit a title contender, imagine how he would play for Minnesota, Knicks or the Bobcats, I wouldn't imagine that the teams would take kindly to an unproven rookie walking out in the middle of a game.