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.