Boynton Says New G League Route Undermines Importance of Education

STILLWATER — A new route to the NBA was announced Thursday.

Through the G League, the NBA’s developmental league, elite high school prospects can be offered $125,000 to play in the G League rather than going to a college for a season.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton spoke on the topic at the team’s media day. He said he thought the new route sacrificed the importance of education.

“I’m not totally averse on everything, all the details, but I don’t like it,” Boynton said. “I just think what we’re doing in general is we’re sending a poor message that we’re de-incentivising education. I said I’m a teacher, and I think our job is to incentivize education and to encourage these kids that going to school, it’s a big deal.

“We should be trying to do everything we can to get these kids as much college education as possible. We shouldn’t be shunning them off and pushing them off to a professional league so that three or four years from now they can say they made $300,000 or $400,000 and non of them have much more than a high school diploma and don’t have anywhere to turn.”

A lot of details in the G League proposal are still being worked out. Topics such as which high school prospects will be eligible for the program and how many players can go through the program are still to be determined.

Prospects who go through the G League system will be able to hire agents, collect money from their likeness and sign shoe deals, but playing against significantly older competition in the G League could hurt draft stocks of 18-year-old kids.

“I just think the conversation is starting in the wrong place,” Boynton said. “It’s starting with the money, and that’s not the place to start it at. And I get it, high-major head coach, making a lot of money, I get it, people say ‘you’re a hypocrite.’ I was saying the same thing when I was making $36,000 when I was at Wofford College.

“Education is much more valuable than making a couple hundred thousand dollars at 20 years old. If they have the right education, they’ll be able to make much more money for a much longer period of time. I’m convinced of that. I think our job as educators is to try to get these kids to understand the value of there experience in college, not just playing the game.”

Boynton said he understands there are outliers, such as LeBron James, who would be able to thrive without college basketball, but for every James, there are many kids whose skills in high school do not translate to future levels.

Boynton said he doesn’t have a fix, but that he is willing to sit and brainstorm for ideas that promote the importance of education.

A big topic Boynton hit on was that he said he also thinks this route would deprive athletes of the relationships they are able to build at college. Boynton mentioned many of his mentors came from his playing days at South Carolina.

“If someone would’ve offered me $125,000, I would’ve missed on that whole thing,” Boynton said. “And 15 years later, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I don’t love that we’re trying to make this all about paying these kids a few dollars. We’re pacifying a problem that’s much bigger than what we have an opportunity to do in terms of impacting their lives.”