It pays to bypass college. Just ask Emmanuel Mudiay.
The top-ranked high school prospect from Dallas, who last week declared his intention to play professionally overseas rather than attend college at SMU, landed a $1.2 million contract in China on Tuesday, Yahoo Sports reported.
The deal, with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the China Basketball Association, is the same amount Pistons guard Brandon Jennings received when he played overseas in Italy out of high school rather than go to Arizona. Queens product Royal Ivey, a former NBA guard who plays for the University of Texas, played for Guangdong last year.
The 6-foot-5 point guard, considered by some the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, said his decision was to support his family, though various reports indicated there were concerns he might not get through the NCAA Clearinghouse after spending the final two years of high school at Prime Prep Academy in Texas, the controversial charter school founded by Deion Sanders.