No. 13-ranked prospect Isaiah Todd signs with G League
Top high school recruit Isaiah Todd signed Friday to play in the G League next season, and sources told ESPN he will become the second top recruit to bypass college and join the NBA's professional pathway program.
Todd is ranked by ESPN as the No. 13 recruit in the Class of 2020. He joins Jalen Green, the No. 1 prospect in the 2020 ESPN 100, who announced his intention to go to the G League on Thursday.
"We're excited to have Isaiah begin his professional career in the NBA G League," G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. "With his skill and drive to succeed, I'm confident that he will thrive in the NBA G League and use all of our available resources to prepare for the next stage in his career."
Todd, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Virginia who attended Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, decommitted from Michigan, where he had been the first top-15 recruit at Michigan for new coach Juwan Howard.
The G League's yearlong developmental program includes professional coaching, top prospects and veteran players who will combine training and exhibition competitions against the likes of G League teams, foreign national teams and NBA academies throughout the world, sources said told ESPN.
The season could include 10 to 12 games against G League teams that wouldn't count in standings, sources said. The primary objective will be assimilation and growth into the NBA on several levels -- from playing to the teaching of life skills.
Players will receive a salary up to $500,000, including financial incentives for games played, completing community events and attending life skills programs coordinated by the G League's oversight of the program, sources said.
Todd is the latest to join a growing trend of high school stars skipping college to prepare for the NBA. RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball went to Australia from the 2019 class, and 2020 prospects Makur Maker, MarJon Beauchamp and Kenyon Martin Jr. are all expected to skip college next season.
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