Darius Bazley has decommitted from Syracuse and will play in the G League directly from high school.

Unlike other recent top prospects that decided against going to college, Bazley will go to the G League instead of playing overseas.

Bazley is a projected top-10 selection in the 2019 NBA Draft.

“This is a life-changing decision,” Bazley, one of the top players in the Class of 2018, told Yahoo Sports. “I put a lot of thinking into this with my mom and close circle, especially sitting down with her. It’s just like making the decision to which college you want to go to. Me and her did some talking, and I prayed on it. I talked to my high school coach, Steve, who played overseas, and then I talked to a couple of guys in the G League who have experience. Ultimately, playing professional basketball has always been my dream. It’s always going to be the dream goal, always going to be the goal until I achieve it. This is going to put me one step closer to doing so.

“The G League will have the most to offer, considering that is the development league for the NBA,” he continued. “I will get more out of that than going overseas. The G League is the closest thing to the NBA. I see most guys now are spending time in the G League even after they went to school and the draft, so this gives me the chance to accelerate the process. There have been a lot of successful guys who have been brought up in the G League, and I’m confident that I will be one of them.

“I’m self-motivated because I know this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. This is how I want to make a living. This is how I want to provide for my family, and provide for my love of basketball. I’m not playing any games with this. I’m attacking this straight forward. I’m not maneuvering around this, take any side steps. I’m taking this head on. This is the decision that I made, and I know it will work. I know what I’m capable of doing, and I’m going to do just that.”

Bazley turns 18 in June and will then be eligible to formally sign a G League contract in September and enter the league’s annual draft in October.

Anfernee Simons will declare for the 2018 NBA Draft and forgo his collegiate eligibility. 

Simons is one year removed from high school graduation and turns 19 in June, making him eligible for the draft without spending one season in college.

Simons was a top-10 high school recruit and spent his fifth year at IMG.

Simons was recently named to the prestigious Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic events.

"After discussing the matter with my parents, I have decided to forgo the opportunity to play in the NCAA and to instead enter the NBA draft," Simons said. "I am very thankful for the support I received at IMG Academy and from the NCAA coaches who recruited me. I am ready and excited to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA."

The United States' roster for the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland has been announced.

The USA will be led by 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup bronze medalists Romeo Langford (New Albany H.S./New Albany, Ind.) and Cameron Reddish (Westtown School/Norristown, Pa.) and 2015 FIBA Americas U16 gold medalist Tre Jones (Apple Valley H.S./Apple Valley, Minn.).

Suiting up for the USA with prior training camp experience will be Darius Bazley (Princeton H.S./Cincinnati, Ohio); Bol Bol (Findlay College Prep, Nev./Olathe, Kan.); Darius Garland (Brentwood Academy/Brentwood, Tenn.); Tyler Herro (Whitnall H.S./Greenfield, Wis.); Keldon Johnson (Oak Hill Academy/Sterling, Va.); Anfernee Simons (IMG Academy/Altamonte Springs, Fla.); and Zion Williamson (Spartanburg Day School/Spartanburg, S.C.).

David McCormack (Oak Hill Academy/Norfolk, Va.) will be taking part in his first event with USA Basketball.

Additionally, Louis King (Hudson Catholic H.S./Columbus, N.J.), who was a member of the bronze medal winning 2017 USA U19 World Cup Team, will attend the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit as a member of the U.S. team but is unable to participate due to injury.

DeMatha Catholic High School (Md.) head coach Mike Jones was selected head coach of the 2018 USA team for the Nike Hoop Summit, while 1996 Olympic gold medalist Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway , head coach at Memphis East H.S. (Tenn.), will serve as the USA's assistant coach.

R.J. Barrett has been named the 2018 Naismith High School Boys' Player of the Year.

Barrett becomes just the second Canadian to win the prestigious award and first since Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins captured the honour following his 2013 season at Huntington Prep. 

Last November, the ESPN No. 1 recruit committed to join Duke University next season.

The Australian National Basketball League has formalized a rule that should make it much easier for future prospects to forgo college and develop in Australia instead.

Terrance Ferguson, the No. 11 high school recruit in 2016, signed with the Adelaide 36ers instead of being a one-and-done in college and was drafted by the Thunder in 2017 with the No. 21 overall pick.

Sources told ESPN those players will be paid 100,000 Australian dollars gross guaranteed (approximately $78,000 U.S.), funded directly by the league.

"Unlike other countries where players and agents deal with clubs, the NBL will directly contract the players," NBL owner and executive chairman Larry Kestelman said in a release provided exclusively to ESPN. "We will make sure the players get the development they need as part of the program with our clubs, giving them the best chance of success.

"The NBL provides strong visibility back to the U.S. Our league is closest to the NBA in terms of style of play and game day presentation. We will work to build a program to provide the right access to NBA teams and scouts alike."