It looks like we won’t be seeing five-star point guard Daishen Nix take the court anytime soon as Nix recently had a change of heart on playing basketball for UCLA.
The 6-foot-5 guard from Las Vegas Trinity Prep has decided to skip college altogether and head to the NBA’s G-League Pathways Program. The league was quick to post the news to its Twitter page:
.@djfromveg's ready to cook 😤 pic.twitter.com/jydUMhHnS6
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) April 28, 2020
In an interview, Nix recently told the LA Times:
“I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing. Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the NBA draft. It’s just one step below the NBA.”
UCLA will be taking a big blow with the departure of Nix as he was said to be coach Mick Cronin’s first 5-star recruit when he committed back in November of 2019. Nix was ranked #20 in the ESPN 100 for 2020 and #12 in ESPN’s most recent 2021 mock drafts.
Kentucky, Maryland, Alabama, and Kansas were all on Nixs’ radar before committing to UCLA last August.
Many fans are questioning the move by Nix and are even going as far as saying it should not be allowed. In a past interview with ESPN in October 2018, former G-League president Malcolm Turner stated that when the professional pathway program was initiated the league would not pursue any player that has already committed to colleges.
With Nix decommitting to UCLA and jumping into the pro-league, the G-League may be cleared for any wrongdoing. More should develop from this story, but UCLA fans shouldn’t hold their breath on any reverse decision being made by the league.
