Depends...what are we perceiving as my conclusion?
A generalization based on two obviously outstanding examples? No, just a reply to those same specific examples in a previous post, with no guarantee that those two examples represent the typical blue-chip player and the typical high school programs.
The idea that Donovan and Onyewu would have still chosen high school if the DA had been an option at that point? Nope, no way to tell what those choices would have been at that point, and I wouldn't begin to assert an assumption.
The thought that Donovan and Onyewu reached the top of their games and would not have been further developed by something like the 10-month DA? No, again, no way to tell; although every athlete has some point of peak potential after which additional training has a much lessened effect, it's hard to know when the athlete has reached that peak unless fully pushed.
The thought that it was playing in high school that led to their development as elite players? No...as I said, they may not have relied on high school for their development. Both players had high-level club experience in addition to playing on their high school teams, so from the information available in this limited context, it's impossible to definitively say where they received the majority of their player development.
The fact that both players given as examples combined high-level club training and high school play as part of their collective experience, and both have achieved status as elite international players--therefore playing in high school did not prevent them from reaching that developmental level? That's not a conclusion; it's just an observation.
