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SALVO FIRED: Semi-Professional basketball league for high school age players eyeing September launch

BENSALEM, Pa. — One of the last bastions of schoolboy sports may be headed to a semi-professional for the best of the best within the sport.

High school basketball, a longtime joy to watch and to see the next generation of NBA and college player, may see the top layer of talent go to a semi-professional basketball league that Overtime, a multimedia sports company, is looking to launch as early as September 2021, according to published report on 247Sports.com.

Consider it a warning shot.

Overtime, which is heavily involved at the prep level with various media and social media platforms, could announce sometime in February the formation of a league, a source told the dotcom site, with compensation to players.

The reports says players’ salaries could be “within well within the six-figure range.” When the players earn their high school diplomas it would be direct line to the G League or overseas.

The primary player the eight-team league would target is Mikey Williams, a sophomore guard, who is a generational talent at Lake Norman Christian School near Charlotte, N.C. Williams is from the San Diego area.

Overtime features several high-profile investors from the NBA, including Carmelo Anthony, Victor Oladipo and Kevin Durant, along with media giant MSG Network. The report says the fundraising efforts have bagged Overtime more than $30 million.

Would this damage the high school game?

No, but it would alter the lives of the select teenagers looking to kickstart their professional careers and bypass college.

Senior Writer and national analyst for Blue Media and compiles the Blue Star Elite 25 national boys and girls high school basketball and football rankings during the season. Lawlor, an award-winning writer, is a voting committee member and advisor for several national high school events, including the McDonald’s All-American Games. He previously wrote for USA TODAY and ESPN.com, where he was the national preps writer, while compiling the national rankings in four sports.

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