Report: Former JBA guard regrets signing to league, wishes he went to college

NBA: Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers

In its inaugural season, the JBA has made it’s fair share of headlines as expected. But, a lot of headlines were for the wrong reasons.

Former JBA guard Brandon Phillips was among those headlines, stating he was not paid the salary he was told by the league. But, Phillips has made it clear he is not blaming LaVar Ball for this mess. Phillips has stated it is the man in charge for handling the funds of the league who is ignoring him.

Now that this mess is in the public eye, Phillips has had some time to sit back and reflect — apparently with regret. Brandon Phillips told Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops that he regrets playing in the league, and should have gone the college route.

 “I can’t really speak on the matter because it is being handled legally,” Phillips told Amico Hoops. “But if I could go back in time I would’ve taken the college route for sure.”

Since JBA players are salaried employees, playing in the league forgoes their chance to sign a Division 1 scholarship to play college basketball, per NCAA rules. As most people know, getting a scholarship is the only way some of these young players can attend college — due to financial restrictions.

That is the risk players have to bear in mind when deciding to take their talents to the JBA. The idea of what LaVar wants to accomplish sounds great to anyone. But, just like the NBA — the league takes time to develop before it can become a national farm system for basketball.

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