Jeremy Tyler aims to get to the NBA

American basketball player Jeremy Tyler is making history by playing overseas. Tyler is just 18 years old and is viewed as a potential top pick for the NBA Draft in 2011. But in August, he became the first American-born player to forgo his senior year of high school to play professional basketball abroad. Signed to Israeli team Maccabi Haifa, Tyler's trailblazing is attracting enormous international interest.

The United States basketball phenomenon received a lot of attention in April of this year, when he announced his plan to miss his senior year of high school to play pro basketball overseas. The 2.11 metre-tall Tyler signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League in August. But the transition from high-school hero to international pro hoops has not been an easy one. Three games into the season, he was averaging just seven minutes a game and had only scored two points.

Jeremy Tyler of team Maccabi Haifa says, "I left high school because I wanted to better my talent, I wanted to better my skills playing professionally, either in the NBA or overseas. That was my main goal. My main goal in life is to play professional basketball and do what I love to do professionally."

Avi Ashkenazi, the Maccabi Haifa coach, says, "I think in the beginning if I'm looking at the first month, two months, it was a shock for him because he came to a different culture, far from home,different basketball, different role in the team, everything different. I think it is very, very difficult for him to make the adjustment. It takes time."

There have been signs that Tyler and his coach do not see eye to eye. Ashkenazi has praised Tyler's talent, while acknowledging that he has a great deal to learn. The basketball world will be watching closely to see how Tyler develops over the coming months.