Class of 2019 PG Dakota Leffew (GA) Portal to Georgia

[SUFan44]

Get paid and hopefully win
Get paid
Win and hopefully get paid
Just win

That’s the new order of importance for many.

And get a free education that will set you up for a life after basketball is 135th on the list.

 

[Sbucketball]

I’m sure people will disagree, but I saw little evidence this year that being the highest bidder in the portal was the key to building a winning team. Arkansas tried to buy a team and they imploded, Kansas was meh this year and Villanova was equal to us. I think some get too caught up in Power 5 names when there’s just as good of players At mid majors who have chips on their shoulders.

Not big enough of a sample size yet. We'll see in a few more years, but there has to at least be a loose correlation. But obviously other variables matter - coaching, fit, maturity, system, etc. Whether it's sustainable is another question, and the biggest winners will be whoever can consistently find the best value, like a moneyball system.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Allow me to paint you a picture.

Every single one of these student-athletes is getting a free education. How many of the normal students come out of 4 years of college with zero debt? Not many.

Not to mention, these student-athletes are given top-notch access to facilities, athletic training, doctors, nutritionists, full meal plans plus catered meals on the road/during summer months, not to mention the publicity they receive from the school to help grow their brand.

I am all for allowing these student-athletes to make money legitimately. If they can market themselves and have a following, let them enter deals to sell merchandise, make profit, hold camps and clinics in their home towns and college towns to generate revenue. Post on social media to be a brand ambassador. All of that is what NIL was meant to be,

What it WASN’T meant to be and what it has turned into is pay for play. Collectives are a work around and a loophole for what the NIL opportunities were meant to be about. Add to that the free agency that the transfer portal has created, and there is little to no brand identity that goes along with these student-athletes and fans. And ultimately, it will slowly degenerate into a product that just isn’t watchable. It’s worse than the NBA or any professional league due to the freedom of movement. Four schools in four years is going to become common place. All of these mid majors are going to be pilfered every year. It is going to create burnout for staff members, coaches, etc., who most make enough money but many at lower levels do not. It’s ridiculous.

the root of the mess is institutional greed and orruption, imo

NCAA just doesnt want to give these players any of the actual revenue the sport generates...so they have this weird setup in place (meanwhile, all the money the nCAA generates off the sport is the basis for them getting money in the first place)...if I was a player...I would keep pushing and sue for actual revenue.

"pay to play" is here to stay and inevitable...needs to be better constructed

my solution: let students get a standard amount across schools...so there isnt competition amongst schools for players..or between players themselves for NIL money from schools...

in other words, player "salaries" are all equal and paid by the NCAA

and then allow them to make whatever they can on top of that...through actual image and likeness deals...that they establish on their own without help from schools/collectives/boosters/etc (but I suppose that would just be too "grey" and not "policeable")

 

[qdawgg]

It depends right? The NIL isn't an unlimited pot of money it is a budget. Say we have a budget of 2.5 million per year and Nova has a budget of 2.0 million per year. We could have used up 2 million of our 2.5 million budget on JJ - Bell - Freeman - Lampkin - Davis - Westry etc and only have 500k left. Nova probably has more left to give to players because they don't have people already taking money like we do. So in turn Nova can offer Leffew more NIL but that doesn't mean our NIL situation is worse than Nova's.

The fact a budget has to be explained to posters on a college fan board…..

 

[Cusefan0307]

Not big enough of a sample size yet. We'll see in a few more years, but there has to at least be a loose correlation. But obviously other variables matter - coaching, fit, maturity, system, etc. Whether it's sustainable is another question, and the biggest winners will be whoever can consistently find the best value, like a moneyball system.

If theres not a strong ROI the market may collapse.

 

[Franz69]

 

[Sbucketball]

If theres not a strong ROI the market may collapse.

Yeah 100% agreed. This might be a gold rush.

 

[RF2044]

Translation: this recruitment isn't trending villanova's way, so they've pivoted.

Also... spin.

 

[IthacaMatt]

This comparison is like saying Chris Bell is a better rebounder than McLeod because he had 75 rebounds and McLeod only had 60.

Dude, they played pretty comparable minutes. They were all 3 parts of the regular rotation, getting 20-30 minutes every game. I think the fact that JJ had far fewer abysmal games speaks directly to the point that he couldn't run the point for us, as part of a group. Is he any worse than Gene Waldron, or Brandon Triche, or Allen Griffen, who didn't start until he was a senior?

 

[albanycuse]

Translation: this recruitment isn't trending villanova's way, so they've pivoted.

Also... spin.

I think this guy doesn’t know chit honestly. But that’s just me.

 

[orange79]

Dakota, folks.

I don't want to have to state it again.

Thanks.

Ahem

 

[TheHaze315]

is he good again now?

 

[Orangezoo]

Translation: this recruitment isn't trending villanova's way, so they've pivoted.

Also... spin.

So then to make sure I’m doing this right… Xavier is the choice now

 

[djcon57]

Get paid and hopefully win
Get paid
Win and hopefully get paid
Just win

That’s the new order of importance for many.

Add in MAKE IT TO NBA ahead of either WIN

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah, that’s a problem then. How is it not? I don’t care that Big East schools only have to fund basketball. We should have a bigger or close to the same NIL basketball budget as Nova, Gtown, SJU and the rest.

I'm giving a lecture on this, in part, at Newhouse on Thursday. NIL market for players has stratified, and is pretty well understood, after a couple years. How much people might upset the current "pay scale", well, I guess there are always going to be Steinbrenners and Steve Cohens out there who are going to pay above the odds.

 

[djcon57]

If theres not a strong ROI the market may collapse.

Who's judging the return though? Maybe some Kadillionaire is fine with giving what's $1000 to you and me to see his team in the Sweet 16? It's not like they are going to get USD back.

 

[Melancer46]

So Syracuse guys saying Leffew is leaning towards Syracuse and Villanova guys saying Leffew is leaning towards Villanova. Sweet.

 

[rrlbees]

I think this guy doesn’t know chit honestly. But that’s just me.

Listen to his orange nation interview linked on the board today. Pretty smart dude.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

I'm giving a lecture on this, in part, at Newhouse on Thursday. NIL market for players has stratified, and is pretty well understood, after a couple years. How much people might upset the current "pay scale", well, I guess there are always going to be Steinbrenners and Steve Cohens out there who are going to pay above the odds.

Horrifying

 

[albanycuse]

Listen to his orange nation interview linked on the board today. Pretty smart dude

Ok but why would they make Roach their top target when he just entered the draft. Makes no sense unless they don’t care about winning. They’re hoping he doesn’t get drafted and comes to play for them.

 

[Cusesky8214]

is he good again now?

mid major scrub

 

[Orangezoo]

Who's judging the return though? Maybe some Kadillionaire is fine with giving what's $1000 to you and me to see his team in the Sweet 16? It's not like they are going to get USD back.

Euphoria runs out of steam at some point though.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

And get a free education that will set you up for a life after basketball is 135th on the list.

That is such 20th century thinking. Many of the wealthiest people in the world had little to no college. Most of what you need to learn about money and business is now available on line. My youngest was doing profitable Foreign Exchange trading based on what he learned on YouTube.
Unless you need a license to do what you want to do for a living, there is little reason for college.

 

[007]

Listen to his orange nation interview linked on the board today. Pretty smart dude.

Sam Holland is definitely plugged into many of the SU athletes at a personal level. There is no doubt he is going to hear some stuff before it goes public.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think the biggest question is why? How has football come in and raised all this NIL money? How does Indiana have all this NIL money but we don't? We have one of the biggest fan bases in the nation and constantly lead in attendance why are we lacking in NIL? What are other basketball programs doing that we are late to the party with? Why didn't the Red hire generate buzz and new funding streams for the program?

There is no reason why Syracuse, one of the top basketball brands in the nation, is taking a back seat to anyone in NIL to be honest.

My guess would be that we have a couple "whales" for football, and none (or fewer) for hoops.
I would think that there's a few people in particular who have had pretty successful careers here who might step up to bridge the apparent gap. We are clearly competing for third tier people in terms of NIL in hoops.