Wheels Up….to Italy. Ranney’s Phil Wheeler skips high school and college for pros

Phil Wheeler electrified JSZ highlights last winter helping Ranney to its first Tournament of Champions title. The rising senior in high school who was reported to be transferring to the Patrick School has made the decision to forgo his final season of high school to sign a professional contract to play for Stella Azzurra’s academy which is a feeder program to their pro team in Italy. By playing overseas, Wheeler will not be able to play college basketball. This story was first reported stateside by Adam Zagoria of Zags Blog and Josh Newman of the Asbury Park Press:

Here’s the Instagram post from Phillip Wheeler’s agent on his plan to sign with an Italian youth team. Wheeler did not have the grades for college and they felt this was the best route for him. pic.twitter.com/Zup9wjNKJl — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) August 7, 2019

NEW: Phil Wheeler, who helped Ranney to a Tournament of Champions crown last season as a junior, has signed with an Italian club. Wild move amidst rumors of an imminent transfer.

MORE COMING: https://t.co/p9XytKlcZL pic.twitter.com/YSGGJKYRgb — Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) August 7, 2019

Wheeler spent his first two years at Rumson-Fair Haven before joining Ranney in his junior campaign. He made his season debut on January 13 and went on to average just under 11 points a game providing an athletic burst to Ranney’s rotation matching skyscraping dunks with Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis. The class of 2020 recruit had picked up five Division I offers from Saint John’s, Richmond, Monmouth, Seton Hall, and Providence, but college is now off the table as Wheeler looks to make an impact in Italy with the hopes of getting an NBA opportunity down the road. Watch JSZ’s highlight reel of Phillip Wheeler’s junior season: