G League strikes again with five-star Daishen Nix
The G League has struck again.
This time, the League's new initiative to lure top high school prospects will cost UCLA prized five-star point guard commit Daishen Nix. NIx discussed the decision.
"I first heard talks about the G League around November," Nix told Rivals.com. "Getting to know the G Leauge and Shareef Abdur-Rahim that changed my decision.
"The developmental process and getting ready to make the leap from the G league to the NBA and playing with the vets and the coaching staff available was too much to pass up."
A native of Alaska who played his high school ball at Las Vegas (Nev.) Trinity International, details of Nix's expected contract were not immediately available but this is clearly a huge blow to Mick Cronin and the Bruins as they look to rebuild their program.
A big and strong point guard who is perhaps the best passer in high school basketball, Nix was to be the foundational piece of remaking the Bruins in a style that featured toughness and crisp offensive play. As good as Nix is as playmaker, he was also expected to set the tone defensively in Westwood upon his arrival and his signing was likely to help lure other top talent to play with him or at least for UCLA after he left.
"I'm excited about paving the way along with Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd for the next classes that want to do what we are doing. I'm pretty much nervous about stepping foot on an NBA court because I've never done that but I'm looking forward to it as well."
The timing of Nix's decision couldn't be any worse. All but one of the top 35 point guards in the class of 2020 have made their college decisions and the one who is available, three-star Lynn Greer, is currently expected to do a year of prep school. The juco ranks and the grad transfer pool are also pretty shallow at this time so finding a replacement isn't going to be easy.
If there is any silver lining it is that the Bruins do return redshirt freshman Tyger Campbell. While he's not a great shooter, his steady play and impressive 2.77 to 1 assist to turnover ratio were a big key to their late season surge in 2020.
Ranked No. 13 overall, Nix is the third five-star prospect from the class of 2020 to forego college for the G League. He joins No. 2 Jalen Green and No. 14 Isaiah Todd.