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Interesting NYT article on Jeremy Tyler, the prep high school star who skipped his senior of high school to play professionally in Israel en route (hopefully) to a fat NBA contract.

So far, Tyler’s not doing so good:

His coach calls him lazy and out of shape. The team captain says he is soft. His teammates say he needs to learn to shut up and show up on time. He has no friends on the team. In extensive interviews with Tyler, his teammates, coaches, his father and advisers, the consensus is that he is so naïve and immature that he has no idea how naïve and immature he is. So enamored with his vast potential, Tyler has not developed the work ethic necessary to tap it.

Here’s the local angle: former Wake Forest (and UNC and Michigan) hoopster Makhtar Ndiaye is one of Tyler’s agents and has been dispatched to Israel to help straighten Tyler out.