Daishen Nix Latest to Bolt For G League
The NBA season remains on pause as we wait for it to return, either to complete the regular season before the playoffs or just getting right into the postseason. College basketball was halted during the middle of conference tournaments, stripping away the excitement and joy that is March Madness from players, fans and bettors everywhere. It’s left a lot of quiet time with transfers occupying the vast majority of the headlines regarding the sport. That number seemingly increases every day, creating major shifts on the surface for next season.
What we’ve seen recently is something that hasn’t come to the surface in previous years and that is the decision of top recruits to forgo playing in college and making the jump from high school to the G League. Earlier this month, we saw Jalen Green, the #3 prospect in all of college hoops, announce his decision to play in the G League. Shortly thereafter, Isaiah Todd, who was the #13 prospect, made the decision to decommit from Michigan and signed with the G League, where he is expected to team up with Green. On Tuesday, another shoe dropped and left reverberations throughout the West Coast and throughout college basketball as a whole.
Daishen Nix, a five-star point guard who had signed a letter of intent to play for UCLA and coach Mick Cronin, announced Tuesday that he was decommitting and signing with the G League. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nix made the following statement:
"I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing. Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the NBA draft. It's just one step below the NBA."
Nix was the lone five-star recruit that Cronin had drawn to the program for this recruiting cycle and he was expected to run the point for the Bruins next season. He was ranked #20 in the ESPN 100 for 2020 and was the top-ranked point guard in the nation as far as recruits go for next season. Instead, recent negotiations between the G League and Nix took place and ultimately swayed his mind. It’s been reported that he’ll be playing alongside Green and Todd for the new G League franchise in southern California, provided the league starts next season on time.
With the move, Nix became the dubious holder of being the first player to bail on a signed letter of intent to head to the G League. In the case of Todd, he had verbally committed to Michigan but had yet to put pen to paper, while Green was rumored to be interested in several schools but nothing came to fruition. The signing of Nix seems to be in stark contrast with what the initial plan of the G League path to the pros had in mind. In a 2018 interview with ESPN, former G League President Malcolm Turner stated that the league would not pursue players who had already committed to a college. With this signing, it’s clear that particular caveat is no longer in place, something that one has to wonder was changed after Turner stepped down and was replaced by Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
Each of the trio of Green, Todd and Nix are currently to be projected as lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft as it stands right now. With that said, would that trio be better suited playing college ball before making the transition to the pros? It’s hard to say but the fact remains that it’s a blow to college basketball as some potential marquee stars won’t be on the floor when the sport returns in the fall.