Five-star recruit MarJon Beauchamp, the No. 24 prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings in the Class of 2020, intends to skip college and will enter into a 12-month training program in preparation for the 2021 NBA Draft, according to 247Sports. Beauchamp, a 6-foot-6, 175 pound small forward, will be a senior in high school this upcoming year at Dream City Christian -- a prep school in Glendale, Ariz. -- before beginning his pro preparation.
Beauchamp says he will attend a program called Chameleon BX, a San Francisco-based development academy that claims on its website to be "a personalized 12-month program to prepare elite athletes for the NBA Draft." Beauchamp has committed nearly a year before he'll enter the program with the firm belief that it will afford him a better opportunity than college.
"I think it's a better opportunity for me than college," he told 247Sports. "I think it's better. The training, and living a pro life for the whole 12 months. I think it'll prepare me more than college.
Skipping college for top-end high school prospects has become en vogue in recent years, but sitting out to train is a relatively new concept. Last year, five-star Syracuse pledge Darius Bazley blazed the trail before being drafted in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Others -- like RJ Hampton, LaMelo Ball and Terrance Ferguson -- have chosen to skip college and play overseas before making the leap to the NBA.
Beauchamp holds scholarship offers from Alabama, UCLA, Washington, Arizona State, Arizona and others. A Washington native, he was considered a Huskies lean, according to his 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction prior to his announcement.
