2024 Roster (Enter Antonio Reeves & Tre Mitchell)

[DA#23]

Didn’t that already happen?

It did with Tubby, but I don’t think it has with Cal. I think that would really chap his butt though.

[DA#23]

Do we think the players weren't "calling the shots" back in the 1970s? Of course they were.

Sure, but I think one interesting aspect of NIL combined with the current transfer rules allows for more players to be able to bargain and bid.

Antonio Reeves on line 1

[Joneslab]

I doubt Reeves is the only one bargaining this summer. I would imagine Hunter Dickinson rolled in there and asked for more money than God. Kansas might win the national championship behind him. If that happened I doubt anybody would sit there and say, "Man, I really wish we wouldn't have let the players call the shots."

The players are doing what's allowed by rule. Some creative soul will have to come along and make it so that these numbers are flattened out a little--and in fact that may happen by natural selection. This whole thing looks pretty darn unsustainable to me.

[DA#23]

I doubt Reeves is the only one bargaining this summer. I would imagine Hunter Dickinson rolled in there and asked for more money than God. Kansas might win the national championship behind him. If that happened I doubt anybody would sit there and say, "Man, I really wish we wouldn't have let the players call the shots."

The players are doing what's allowed by rule. Some creative soul will have to come along and make it so that these numbers are flattened out a little--and in fact that may happen by natural selection. This whole thing looks pretty darn unsustainable to me.

Reeves is far from the only person out for bid, but now even players like Reeves can be a little more aggressive and demanding with their price.

[justafan]

I’m not sure anything can be done. It’s a ‘free market’ now that the NIL money genie is out of the bottle. They tried ‘you can’t be paid’ and so what’s the difference between that and ‘you can’t be paid more than $X’?

There is zero chance all D1 schools are going to agree to a ‘salary cap’ sort of situation. The best course of action is to eliminate the 1-year NBA rule, let kids jump straight to NBA, but set an early deadline so teams can settle rosters, eliminate late transfers by imposing the ‘sit a year’ if you transfer past the deadline.

if NIL is going to force the hand of schools to deal with players as ‘employees’, then impose company rules to protect the business.

It sucks and college bball will never be the same, but manage it the best way possible and move on.

[George]

I’m not sure anything can be done. It’s a ‘free market’ now that the NIL money genie is out of the bottle. They tried ‘you can’t be paid’ and so what’s the difference between that and ‘you can’t be paid more than $X’?

There is zero chance all D1 schools are going to agree to a ‘salary cap’ sort of situation. The best course of action is to eliminate the 1-year NBA rule, let kids jump straight to NBA, but set an early deadline so teams can settle rosters, eliminate late transfers by imposing the ‘sit a year’ if you transfer past the deadline.

if NIL is going to force the hand of schools to deal with players as ‘employees’, then impose company rules to protect the business.

It sucks and college bball will never be the same, but manage it the best way possible and move on.

It’ll take federal legislation, for which Cal and Mitch were lobbying in DC a week or two ago.

[Joneslab]

Right now college basketball is vying for market share with these semi-pro organizations. If some governing body (not the NCAA but something else) tried to impose a salary cap then they'd be laughed out of business by Ignite and OTE.

I've always maintained that the Ignite/OTE business model is severely flawed simply because there aren't enough eyeballs on it so you don't have that ever-generating revenue professional sports has to have to exist. So at a certain point (five years? Ten?) those things will dry up and die.

Then college basketball can operate in a space on its own. But until then...yeah, it's very difficult to reign it in. The competition college basketball has is too chaotic right now and will be for some time. Players have more options available to them than ever and they can still walk if they're forced into a box. I don't think college basketball can ever go back to the way it was, but I do think a cap to these negotiations is probably what will inevitably happen--and as I said, I'm not entirely sure a governing body needs to do that. Think about the atrocious return on investment some of these businesses are getting when they dish out crazy NIL deals. When they see that they aren't really getting a return I think they'll back off and the landscape for wild deals is going to shrink a little.

[DA#23]

Think about the atrocious return on investment some of these businesses are getting when they dish out crazy NIL deals. When they see that they aren't really getting a return I think they'll back off and the landscape for wild deals is going to shrink a little.

I think some of the crazy numbers, like those that are being claimed for QB recruits, will fall some as that’s not sustainable.

The rest though? I’m not so sure because I don’t see how it’s any different than boosters buying the players just as they always have. That’s what NIL is except now it’s on paper and taxable income. Uncle Sam wanted his cut, that’s the real reason why this happened imo.

[justford]

Maybe Reeves thinks/knows Hart is going to come to UK and is looking at other options.

[Spiritof96]

I think some of the crazy numbers, like those that are being claimed for QB recruits, will fall some as that’s not sustainable.

I believe Matt Jones when he says EVERYONE is lying about the numbers. Everyone has an incentive to say so and so got a big bag.

He posted a chart of some actual data and the national averages for both football and basketball were much lower than what people claim.

[George]

Maybe Reeves thinks/knows Hart is going to come to UK and is looking at other options.

Hart’s imminent commitment shouldn’t affect Reeves. The former wouldn’t be any sort of threat to the latter’s PT.

[Matt Dillon]

Jeff "Corky" Goodman reporting that Reeves IS enrolled currently at Illinois State, but Jack Pilgrim is saying that he won't be able to get the necessary credits in time to get the grad transfer waiver.

So he is literally holding Cal and the program hostage.

If he can't get the credits, why is he going to summer school? He could have taken the summer off and returned to UK in the Fall.

[KCKUKFan]

Newest scoop from Jack Pilgrim: Flory Bidunga wanted to come to Kentucky, and tried to schedule a visit three times, but felt like the staff was dragging their feet.

Now he's going to end up going to Duke.

So that's delightful.

[Spiritof96]

Newest scoop from Jack Pilgrim: Flory Bidunga wanted to come to Kentucky, and tried to schedule a visit three times, but felt like the staff was dragging their feet.

Now he's going to end up going to Duke.

So that's delightful.

LOL!

[KCKUKFan]

LOL!

I'm glad you find the humor in it.

Gotta keep from crying, I guess.