Kai Sotto Decided To Make History Today By Turning 18 And Becoming The 1st International Player To Skip College And Join The G League Select Team

It's not exactly surprising that Kai Sotto has decided to do this. He was always linked to skipping college and playing professionally somewhere. But here's the important thing. He decided to join that G League pro program/Select Team/whatever you want to call it. I don't think he's nearly as good as some of the other players, but it's an important thing to monitor.

Again, this isn't a death to college hoops type thing. As I've said before, college hoops will always be around because fans cheer for laundry. You can put anyone in blue at Rupp Arena, Cameron, Phog Allen, whatever and it's going to sell out. People will always go apeshit for the NCAA Tournament. There will always be a storyline with players. There will always be something to talk about.

The problem is more and more guys deciding to skip college just means a lack of talent. The first problem is the fact more sophomores/juniors are leaving early and they are guys who typically aren't going to get drafted. These are the guys that would always stay 4 years. Those days are long gone - and rightfully so - because there's more money than ever out there. Whether you're talking about a two-way deal or playing overseas it's easier to make money in a pro basketball career. 

But this is important for the G League. Why? We now have an international prospect deciding to play there instead of somewhere overseas. That's going to be key for this thing. If they can have success with the top-tier high school guys and land a few overseas guys this is going to stick. The plan is for them to build something similar to the EYBL and you need more and more guys like this to build out these teams. 

Either way, it's another guy opting to the G League making this way more intriguing.