Jordan Goodman, a 6-foot-9 forward with prodigious talent who has decommitted from three colleges, is considering going overseas to play professionally instead of attending junior college, a source with direct knowledge told SNY.tv.
“He and his father are seriously considering some of the offers that have been extended to them, including club teams in Spain, Belgium and France,” the source said.
“He could make a decision to go to Europe as soon as September.”
Goodman is a Washington, D.C. native who has been compared to Kevin Durant but has been unable to put it all together while dealing with personal tragedies, including the death of his best friend when he was 11 and the death of his mother when he was 14.
Goodman spent the last two years at Arlington (Fla.) Country Day, and recently signed with Harcum (Pa.) College.
Harcum coach Drew Kelly said Goodman is not yet on campus, but is expected for the start of classes Aug. 27.
“Everything is still a go for us,” Kelly told SNY.tv Monday. “[Going overseas] has never even been brought up to me as a possibility. I talked to him this morning [Monday] and he was picking out his roommate and all that. It didn’t seem like there was any intention of not coming out here in two weeks.”
Kelly said he believes Goodman just needs a stable environment in which to settle down for two years.
“Obviously, he’s a talent,” Kelly said. “He’s got good size, he’s really versatile. He really fits in with our uptempo style of play, getting up and down the court. He’s a good fit.
“He’s moved around a lot to a bunch of different high schools. What he needs more than anything else is some stability. Hopefully, we can give him that.”
Over the last several years, Goodman has decommitted from Georgetown, Rutgers and Texas Tech, yet he has drawn offers from Memphis, UConn, Georgetown and Maryland.
“Goodman did not qualify with the NCAA Clearinghouse, thus he must attend junior college for two years,” the source said. “It is only a matter of time before we start seeing players with Goodman’s talent going overseas and playing for club teams.
“There is a reason why the rest of the world is catching up. European and South American coaching is a lot better than we give them credit for. They are developing players with prodigious talent without all of the restrictions we have here in America.
“Players like Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker all benefitted by commiting to playing professional. More recently, players like Ricky Rubio, Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka have proven that it pays to go pro early.”
Several Americans have gone overseas during or after high school with mixed results.
Forward Jeremy Tyler left America before his junior year of high school in San Diego and had a rough go of it in Israel and later Japan. He now plays for the Golden State Warriors.
Point guard Brandon Jennings skipped college in American and spent a year in Italy before going in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks — and being bypassed by the Knicks — before beginning a strong NBA career.
