Like it or not, sport entering a new era of unpredictability

Jaden Hardy is the next one. He’s a 6-foot-4 guard from Detroit who played high school basketball in Henderson, Nevada, but he will not finish. He decided in May, and made it official Wednesday, that he will join GLeague Ignite, along with Michael Foster, Fambo Zang and Scott Henderson, and learn the pro game from pro coaches during what would have been his senior year. He will play against other G-League teams and, if his calculation is correct, show up early in the 2022 NBA draft.

In other news that will perplex those who get sentimental about prom dates and letter jackets, the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference will

begin this coming winter, with a 10-game regular season and a tournament. Six of the eight participants will be Montverde of Florida, La Lumiere of Indiana, Sunrise Christian of Kansas, Wasatch Academy of Utah, the IMG Academy of Florida and Oak Hill of Virginia, with two to be named.

Meanwhile, the CIF regionals are happening, and Centennial High of Corona is playing Sierra Canyon for the Open Division championship. Kylan Boswell is back with Centennial after his time at a USA Junior National camp, the same one that Long Beach Poly’s Peyton Watson attended. Watson, committed to UCLA, will compete in another camp to join Team USA in the Under-19 World Cup, in Latvia.

“How do you say no to that? But I don’t want to be one of those dudes who says it’s a sign of the times, when high school players leave,” said Josh Giles, the Centennial coach. “I get it, there’s a lot of money out there, and if you’re getting the right advice, it could be good. But what happens if you’re not an NBA guy yet, you’re not ready, and you’re 20 years old? Are people still following you on social media if you can’t play? Maybe I’m too old to understand it.”

“When you play those high school teams we’re talking about, you’re basically inviting them to scout your players,” said coach Gary McKnight of Mater Dei, which of course travels regularly to all time zones. “I don’t know about enticing high school kids to the G League. High school is about having experiences. Most families still want that.”

UCLA coach Mick Cronin thought Daishen Nix, out of Trinity International School in Las Vegas, would be his point guard in 2020-21. Nix signed with G League Ignite instead. Cronin also was recruiting Hardy. The Bruins went to the Final Four anyway, and Cronin says life’s too short, and the sun’s too bright, to stress out.

“You have to evaluate who’s going to college, and you don’t want to waste time in recruiting,” Cronin said. “But I have no problem with it. We don’t regulate young golfers. Greg Maddux went from high school to the minor leagues and it worked out for him.”

Jeremy Tyler skipped his senior year at San Diego High and signed with an Israeli team in 2009. He lasted 10 games. He became a second-round pick in the 2011 NBA draft, got shuttled from bench to bench and, at 29, plays for the Lioaning Flying Leopards in China.

“People thought everyone would start doing that, but it didn’t happen,” Cronin said. “There are only so many Kobes and LeBrons. Because of the alumni affiliations, you’re just never gonna break the bond of college sports.”

Cronin finds more turmoil in the new one-time transfer rule, the one in which more than

1,000 players will change locales and play immediately. He has heard other coaches say they won’t recruit high school players more, preferring to chase a 20-year-old veteran.

“This will destroy mid-major basketball,” Cronin said. “Five Players of the Year from midmajor conferences are transferring. It will also make high-major basketball harder to win, because teams can plug gaps, have quicker rebuilds.

“Fans get attached to players. You’d like to know who’s on your team from year to year. A lot of my friends are distraught over it. I say, hey, you can laugh or cry. It’s here.”

The NBA draft, on July 29, will clarify some of this. In the mocks, Ignite alumni Jalen

Green and Jonathan Kuminga are predicted to go in the top six. But Nix and Isaiah Todd might last until the second round, which means college might have been a more strategic route.

For the rest of us, maybe it’s best to cherish the high schools with the kids who didn’t transfer and who approach these games as if they will never play another, which they won’t. This is really their time of year.

Otherwise, basketball has a way of sorting its players and showing them where they belong. That hasn’t changed. So let the baller beware.