A report Monday afternoon that McDonald's All-American Terrance Ferguson is expected to sign a professional contract with an overseas team rather than enroll at Arizona will likely restart a conversation about whether more five-star high school prospects will soon be skipping college.
But it shouldn't.
And the reason it shouldn't is because the only five-star prospects who have ever done this -- this being graduated from high school and then signed an overseas contract rather than enrolled in college -- are prospects who were facing serious eligibility concerns, which is why it's misleading when some suggest Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay picked overseas instead of college basketball. What they actually picked was overseas instead of a lengthy NCAA investigation that could've, and likely would've, led to an unfavorable ruling.
And that's what Ferguson appears to be picking, too.
Ferguson, you see, once attended high school at Prime Prep Academy -- the heavily scrutinized Texas institution that is now closed but has previously created NCAA issues for practically every student-athlete it enrolled, Mudiay included. And Ferguson graduated from Advance Preparatory International, an offshoot of Prime Prep Academy. Consequently, there was never a guarantee Ferguson's transcript would allow him to be cleared to compete as a freshman. So what has he decided to do? He's decided to do the exact same thing Jennings and Mudiay did before him. He's decided to trade the uncertainty and questions from the NCAA for an overseas contract and some Under Armour money, according to 247 Sports' Jerry Meyer.
To be clear, assuming the report is accurate, it stinks for Arizona.
But it's not the continuation or beginning of a trend.
Every year, folks wonder how many, if any, prospects will skip college and play overseas. And every year, the answer is the same, and that answer is this: Zero -- except for those running from major eligibility concerns and NCAA investigations.
