Bombshell: Europe Rejects Sports-School Marriage

We all agree that Europe has better K-12 schools than does the US. More precisely, the US education system runs aground at about grade 6 or 7; US kids K - 5 or so place nicely against international academic competition. I proudly stand on record as one of the first to prescribe that the US education system divorce itself from competative interschool sports competitions. It looks like the Europeans have followed that path; those great basketball players over there move from high school to semi-pro leagues rather than to universities, and the gifted players in high school go to special athletic schools. WHY NOT?