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Q: Eric, thank you for all of that information on the recruiting trail, I am sure the fan base will appreciate your insights. Now, I would like to transition to some broader questions about collegiate athletics and current hot-button topics/issues.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about the one time no sit out rule and its effect on college basketball. I am curious to see how you view it playing out?
A: I don’t think the NCAA wants to have to deal with ruling on transfers and who gets an exception and who doesn’t. I think as a governing body, they would prefer that college coaches decided yes, you can transfer and not have to sit one time or no, everybody has to sit a year outside of grad transfers. It seems like every time they make a decision on a transfer; they are getting blitzed and it’s a can’t win situation. They want it cut and dry.
Coaches do not want a no sit policy because it is going to create chaos for them. I feel like it's eventually going to pass, but I don’t think it is going to pass this year. There are a lot of guys who are currently sitting in the transfer portal or they picked schools because they were told this is going to pass but I think it's a long shot as of today.
The other hand of it is, if it does pass, there is going to be a tidal wave of transfers coming through. We’ve had 600 or 700 transfers already and I would not be surprised that you would see another 300 or 400 just for this season alone. There are a lot of guys sitting back as no one wants to wait their turn anymore.
These guys who are transferring, they are not taking into account who is signed out of high school or junior college or other transfers that may be coming in. They have to understand that there are not enough spots at some of the places that these players want to transfer to in order to accommodate them all. It is going to end up with guys who were thinking they can get to a better place either returning to the program they were at or going to a lesser program. There is also going to be some guys who really can’t find anywhere to go. It is going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
I am of the mind that the players should be able to transfer (no sit out) if they want to. I also think that it is going to be chaotic for a little while, but programs and coaches will adapt and learn how to deal with it. However. I don’t see it happening for this year.
Q: Given the environment with the pandemic and quarantine, there are so many question marks, to have the transfer rule implemented without being able to make visits would make things even more chaotic, it would be the wild, wild West.
A: It is going to be crazy. Once it happens, the first couple of years will really be wild.
Q: Another issue pertaining to college athletes has been the issue surrounding compensation for the name, image and likeness of players. How do you view the issue and its effect on the college landscape?
A: It is going to happen. The NCAA is doing the right thing by taking the steps to do this because they need to get with the times here. But it does not seem like they have a very good plan for implementing anything yet. You are trying to eliminate as much outsiders and unsavory characters being around programs as possible, so you’re saying, ‘yes, you can do this, but no one from the program is allowed to assist in this.’ But doing that is just inviting more outsiders in to do things. It would seem to me that you would want someone inside the program who is tasked with helping to create these opportunities and most importantly monitor them.
You wonder if they are going to try and put guidelines on who you can or can’t endorse and stuff like that. Once you’ve opened this can of worms you kind of need to let guys do what they are going to do. The thing about it is, they’ve waited so long on this that they could have done something years ago and it could have been like capping earnings at say $50,000 and everyone would have been happy. Now they have waited so long that they’ve created a problem and people are going to test it.
Further, to suggest that we’re not going to allow coaches to discuss this in recruiting is laughable. Of course, they are going to bring that stuff up.
Q: It really is because in some cases, that may be the main selling point for some schools and program.
A: If I am a college coach and I need to hire a new assistant, I am going to look to hire the best marketer in local businesses to get kids that you’re recruiting top dollar. I don’t know why the stigma on college players getting paid. But at least now they have done the right thing in taking the correct steps towards making it happen. Still, I don’t think it has been really well thought through. I can’t blame them for that because they are having to do it on the fly after being against it for so long.
Q: If it’s coming sooner than later it’s better to have more answers than questions, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be the case right now. One of the college basketball beat writers in New Jersey had mentioned that the NCAA should create and implement a mechanism to make sure the contracts the kids are signing reflect fair market value to curb any abuse or foul play.
A: Here is the deal though, I am a firm believer that your worth is what someone is willing to pay you. There’s only so much money to go around. It’s not feasible that every kid who goes to Lexington or Durham or Bloomington, that there are enough businesses locally that can all afford to pay them a lot of money.
Can the local Lexus dealership pay everyone a million dollars? Can they do that and have an effective business? I don’t think so. It also opens up the idea that maybe Kentucky or Duke or whomever can still get a couple of the top guys because they have the fan base and the donor base, but what about guys that are four through seven on the roster? Maybe Seton Hall or whoever can say ‘hey, you need to come here and be our number one option.’ You may be fourth fiddle there, but everyone in town here is going to know you and you’ll be their go-to guy. You can make more money on your name, image and likeness here than you can at Kentucky or you can be the star of the show in the Tri-State area.
It opens up a lot of questions and possibilities. I think we can all agree that not everyone is Zion Williamson. Will some guys be able to get aid a little bit more? Yes, but I don’t think you are going to have teams with salary caps of $15 million. There is only so much to go around and how much is the tenth man at Kansas really worth to a local advertiser? He’s probably worth a 12-pack of Mountain Dew.
Q: Eric, thank you for all of that information on the recruiting trail, I am sure the fan base will appreciate your insights. Now, I would like to transition to some broader questions about collegiate athletics and current hot-button topics/issues.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about the one time no sit out rule and its effect on college basketball. I am curious to see how you view it playing out?
A: I don’t think the NCAA wants to have to deal with ruling on transfers and who gets an exception and who doesn’t. I think as a governing body, they would prefer that college coaches decided yes, you can transfer and not have to sit one time or no, everybody has to sit a year outside of grad transfers. It seems like every time they make a decision on a transfer; they are getting blitzed and it’s a can’t win situation. They want it cut and dry.
Coaches do not want a no sit policy because it is going to create chaos for them. I feel like it's eventually going to pass, but I don’t think it is going to pass this year. There are a lot of guys who are currently sitting in the transfer portal or they picked schools because they were told this is going to pass but I think it's a long shot as of today.
The other hand of it is, if it does pass, there is going to be a tidal wave of transfers coming through. We’ve had 600 or 700 transfers already and I would not be surprised that you would see another 300 or 400 just for this season alone. There are a lot of guys sitting back as no one wants to wait their turn anymore.
These guys who are transferring, they are not taking into account who is signed out of high school or junior college or other transfers that may be coming in. They have to understand that there are not enough spots at some of the places that these players want to transfer to in order to accommodate them all. It is going to end up with guys who were thinking they can get to a better place either returning to the program they were at or going to a lesser program. There is also going to be some guys who really can’t find anywhere to go. It is going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
I am of the mind that the players should be able to transfer (no sit out) if they want to. I also think that it is going to be chaotic for a little while, but programs and coaches will adapt and learn how to deal with it. However. I don’t see it happening for this year.
Q: Given the environment with the pandemic and quarantine, there are so many question marks, to have the transfer rule implemented without being able to make visits would make things even more chaotic, it would be the wild, wild West.
A: It is going to be crazy. Once it happens, the first couple of years will really be wild.
Q: Another issue pertaining to college athletes has been the issue surrounding compensation for the name, image and likeness of players. How do you view the issue and its effect on the college landscape?
A: It is going to happen. The NCAA is doing the right thing by taking the steps to do this because they need to get with the times here. But it does not seem like they have a very good plan for implementing anything yet. You are trying to eliminate as much outsiders and unsavory characters being around programs as possible, so you’re saying, ‘yes, you can do this, but no one from the program is allowed to assist in this.’ But doing that is just inviting more outsiders in to do things. It would seem to me that you would want someone inside the program who is tasked with helping to create these opportunities and most importantly monitor them.
You wonder if they are going to try and put guidelines on who you can or can’t endorse and stuff like that. Once you’ve opened this can of worms you kind of need to let guys do what they are going to do. The thing about it is, they’ve waited so long on this that they could have done something years ago and it could have been like capping earnings at say $50,000 and everyone would have been happy. Now they have waited so long that they’ve created a problem and people are going to test it.
Further, to suggest that we’re not going to allow coaches to discuss this in recruiting is laughable. Of course, they are going to bring that stuff up.
Q: It really is because in some cases, that may be the main selling point for some schools and program.
A: If I am a college coach and I need to hire a new assistant, I am going to look to hire the best marketer in local businesses to get kids that you’re recruiting top dollar. I don’t know why the stigma on college players getting paid. But at least now they have done the right thing in taking the correct steps towards making it happen. Still, I don’t think it has been really well thought through. I can’t blame them for that because they are having to do it on the fly after being against it for so long.
Q: If it’s coming sooner than later it’s better to have more answers than questions, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to be the case right now. One of the college basketball beat writers in New Jersey had mentioned that the NCAA should create and implement a mechanism to make sure the contracts the kids are signing reflect fair market value to curb any abuse or foul play.
A: Here is the deal though, I am a firm believer that your worth is what someone is willing to pay you. There’s only so much money to go around. It’s not feasible that every kid who goes to Lexington or Durham or Bloomington, that there are enough businesses locally that can all afford to pay them a lot of money.
Can the local Lexus dealership pay everyone a million dollars? Can they do that and have an effective business? I don’t think so. It also opens up the idea that maybe Kentucky or Duke or whomever can still get a couple of the top guys because they have the fan base and the donor base, but what about guys that are four through seven on the roster? Maybe Seton Hall or whoever can say ‘hey, you need to come here and be our number one option.’ You may be fourth fiddle there, but everyone in town here is going to know you and you’ll be their go-to guy. You can make more money on your name, image and likeness here than you can at Kentucky or you can be the star of the show in the Tri-State area.
It opens up a lot of questions and possibilities. I think we can all agree that not everyone is Zion Williamson. Will some guys be able to get aid a little bit more? Yes, but I don’t think you are going to have teams with salary caps of $15 million. There is only so much to go around and how much is the tenth man at Kansas really worth to a local advertiser? He’s probably worth a 12-pack of Mountain Dew.
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