Darius Bazley is a long, skilled, athletic forward with a soft touch who, until a month ago, was expected to be one of the best freshmen in college basketball next season. A senior at Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Bazley signed a letter of intent last summer to play for Coach Jim Boeheim at Syracuse University.

But by the time the McDonald’s All-American Game rolled around on March 28, Bazley, 17, was reconsidering his options. And the day after the game, Bazley stunned many observers by announcing he would forgo college and head directly to the N.B.A.’s development league.

Several top high school players have opted to skip college and play professionally overseas since the N.B.A. implemented its so-called one-and-done rule in 2006, which requires prospects to be 19 years old and a year removed from high school to enter the draft. However, Bazley will be the first since Latavious Williams in 2009 to head straight to the development league, which announced last week that it would raise salaries to $35,000 next season, from $26,000. Bazley had foreshadowed his plan before the all-star game, saying that since coaches had told him he’d be ready for the N.B.A. after one year of college, he felt tempted to skip another year of school altogether.

“My ultimate goal is to play professional basketball, so going that route, that would be great for me,” he said.