What’s next? Could NBA pay draft picks who return to college teams?
With college athletes able to profit off name, image and likeness, what’s next in this fast-changing world? Earlier this offseason, Mississippi State Coach Ben Howland suggested another way a college basketball player could benefit financially.
Howland noted how NBA teams “stash” draft picks (usually second-rounders) on teams in Europe and elsewhere in order to enhance playing time and the players’ development.
“I think they should be allowed to do the same thing at the college level,” the Mississippi State coach said. “And let the kids continue to get their degrees and work at their games. . . . It’s a disadvantage for our kids here not to have the same option they have in Europe.”
In this scenario, a player could be drafted, then return to college in order to continue to improve. The NBA team that drafted him would pay the player.
Howland named D.J. Stewart Jr., as a player who could fit in this scenario. Stewart, a 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore last season, was State’s second-leading scorer (16.0 ppg).
Howland saw this as a win-win for such a player.
“It’s better for kids to continue their education and play at this level,” he said. “And let them receive (pay from an NBA team).”
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on July 1 the launching of United College Athlete Advocates. It’s a non-profit organization that has multiple objectives that include enabling players to profit off more than name, image and likeness, plus ease the time demands imposed by athletics in order to improve the academic experience.
“Just in the last 15 years, this business has quadrupled in size,” Murphy said during a teleconference. “Today, the college athletic industry is a $15 billion industry, and there are thousands of adults who are getting rich off of that industry.”
These riches are made “off of the essentially free labor of the athletes who are actually out there putting the product on the field,” Murphy said.
Kyler Little, a cross country runner at Washington State and one of five former college athletes who appeared on the teleconference, said the NCAA’s 20-hour weekly limit on athletic activity was “kind of a common joke among athletes.”
Kaiya McCullough, a former soccer player at UCLA where she was the 2019 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, said of amateurism, “you can see the line between chattel slavery to where we are now (with an) unpaid Black labor force.” Amateurism was a “long-standing relic of . . . racism in this country,” she said, and “a big systemic wrong to be righted” by the UCAA.
Along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Murphy recently introduced the College Athlete Right to Organize Act. It seeks to give collective bargaining rights to college players.
Ending the concept of amateurism in college athletics was “unequivocally a civil rights issue,” Murphy said.
Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) also appeared on the teleconference. She said the UCAA provided “a chance to put a stake in amateurism.”
Pay cut?
Professional sports options for women are not as plentiful as they are for men. That college athletes can benefit from their names, images and likenesses prompted a question.
During an appearance on a podcast last week, UConn Coach Geno Auriemma was asked if female athletes might someday be forced to take a pay cut when they move from playing in college to being a professional player.
“In women’s basketball, I can see that happening,” Auriemma said.
Tranquility base
As of Friday, more than 1,700 players had entered the transfer portal since the beginning of last season. Only one college basketball program in arguably the top six conferences (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big East) had not had a player enter the transfer portal.
That program was UCLA. That’s one out of 76 programs.
Until recently, Alabama and Michigan shared that distinction with UCLA. Then Jaden Shackelford, who led the Tide in scoring last season (14.0 ppg) as a sophomore, entered the portal. And Rico Ozuna-Harrison, a 5-11 senior who played in one game last season for Michigan, did likewise.
Not that the rosters of UCLA, Alabama and Michigan have been islands of tranquility.
UCLA saw former UK player Johnny Juzang (sophomore) and Cody Riley (redshirt junior) enter this year’s NBA Draft before deciding to return. UCLA has one graduate transfer, Myles Johnson (from Rutgers) joining the team for the 2021-22 season. Johnson will be a redshirt senior.
Alabama had three players enter this year’s NBA Draft: Herb Jones (senior), Joshua Primo (freshman) and John Petty Jr., (senior).
Despite only one player in the portal, Michigan is revamping. Only one of the Wolverines’ nine seniors last season is using the extra year: Eli Brooks (9.5 ppg).
Michigan’s seven incoming freshmen comprise a highly rated class. The Wolverines got a boost when transfer in DeVante Jones (Coastal Carolina) withdraw from the NBA Draft.
On the plus side, Hunter Dickinson withdrew from this year’s NBA Draft and will play as a sophomore in 2021-22. He led Michigan in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) last season.
Kentucky is supposed to play Michigan this coming season.
‘Important benchmark’
Two years ago, the change of bleachers to chair-back seats in about two-thirds of Rupp Arena’s upper deck decreased its capacity for basketball from about 23,000 to 20,500.
Lexington Center Corporation President and CEO Bill Owen said that replacing the remaining bleachers (behind and above each baseline) would reduce Rupp Arena’s capacity to about 17,000.
“Staying above 20,000 capacity was an important benchmark,” said Owen, who added that changing additional bleachers to chair-back seats would be “the University of Kentucky’s call.”
Pride might be a factor. UK has ranked first or second in the nation in average home attendance since Rupp Arena opened in 1976: 28 seasons first and 16 seasons second (that’s not counting the COVID season of 2020-21).
Seventeen college arenas have capacities of 18,000 or more. That includes three in the SEC: Tennessee (21,678), Arkansas (19,368) and South Carolina (18,000).
Jim Host, who was involved in the planning of Rupp Arena and later Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center, suggested there might be another factor more important than pride in making a capacity of 17,000 unacceptable to UK.
“I think it has to do with revenue more than anything,” he said. There would be less revenue because of fewer tickets to sell.
‘It’s terrific’
As the first executive director of the Lexington Tourist and Convention Commission, Jim Host was involved in the original planning for Rupp Arena.
When asked what he thought of the current upgrades that promise to give Rupp Arena more of a presence in downtown Lexington, Host said, “I think it’s terrific. . . . It’s going to be a whole different look.”
Fan of Bam
During a teleconference promoting the U.S. Olympic team, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers saluted Olympic teammate, Miami Heat player and former UK standout Bam Adebayo.
“Somebody I really admire . . . ,” Love said of Adebayo. “I have his jersey in my locker. . . .I love how he plays. I love what he’s about: the story of where he came from, just how great he’s done in this league in a very short period of time.”
Adebayo’s mother, Marilyn Blount, was a single parent who raised her son in a trailer. Sportsspectrum.com reported last year that she earned an annual salary of about $12,000 as a cashier at a meat farm.
“My whole devotion became to get my mom out of that trailer,” Adebayo told ESPN.
252
For the teleconference, Bam Adebayo wore a chain around his neck with a pendant in the shape of the state of North Carolina. He grew up in Little Washington, N.C.
“If you’re from North Carolina, you know a lot of times we go by area code,” he said. “I’ll be representing 252.”
Update
Here’s an update on Ceasar Adim, one of the McLendon Minority Initiative “ambassadors” working in UK’s athletics department. His work experience at UK ended on June 30.
He has accepted a position at UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County). He will be a graduate assistant/video coordinator for the men’s basketball program.
Happy birthday
To Ashton Hagans. He turned 22 on Thursday. . . . To Carlos Toomer. He turned 49 on Friday. . . . To CJ Fredrick. He turned 22 on Saturday. . . . To Cam’Ron Fletcher. He turned 20 on Saturday. . . . To Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He turns 23 on Monday. . . . To Bernard Cote. He turns 39 on Monday.
