oldude
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An Easter weekend visit with Sunday brunch over Geno & Kathy’s should lock it up for Serah to become a Husky.
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- Thread starter Dillon77
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Maybe UNC has BIG $$? That could be a difference maker.
southie
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In the 'Serah Williams' thread in the main board, I recall reading weeks ago someone posting that she visited UConn during the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Not sure it was confirmed.
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It was pure?
Yeah, there was also a story written on the 18th that they were going after her and their first round game was on 22nd. It was possibly an unofficial visit. https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uc...tal-serah-williams-uconn-huskies-20226699.php
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Well, maybe WBB borrowed some of Bill’s football dollars. Anyway, my point is that I’m not sure if Geno “buys” players outright. Meaning will he just outbid others or expect someone interested in the UConn experience to accept less.
FYI - There is no such thing as an 'official visit' for transfers, just for HS kids and their family. I think the NCAA has given up regulating anything with college kids.
She ain’t coming to State. I wish. But unless she’s in it solely for the culture and winning and loves great BBQ - she will find more $$ elsewhere.
Kara Dunn committing to USC over State hurts big time. State is fishing in the G5 waters now looking around the discount bins it seems. Sobering as a fan to realize you aren’t playing the same game as the top dogs in the portal.
Why did Zoe Brooks take a stray here?
UCONN doesn't have to 'buy' players. Their selling point is national exposure, national championships and national revenue sources through national brands. That may change when Geno retires but for now all eyes are on UCONN and South Carolina. That will be a major draw for both of those programs for the near future. There will be your UCLA's and So,Cal.'s along the way but they have a lot to prove to move into that territory.
oldude
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While I agree that UConn doesn’t necessarily “buy” players per se, in this day of NIL, even at UConn, I absolutely expect that there is a conversation with any prospective HS recruit or transfer about compensation and financial opportunities. We know that Madison Reed is a big financial backer of UConn WBB, as are a number of other companies.
Geno certainly does not want to get into bidding wars. But he can point to Paige, Azzi and other players success in leveraging their financial compensation as a member of the most successful “brand” in WBB.
Charliebball
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What a pathetic state of affairs..........let's simply face the facts that players today (at least the more talented ones) are no longer student athletes, they are paid talent that use the excuse of being a student to make big bucks at a young age........I certainly can't blame them for it so at this point why doesn't the WNBA just lower the age limitations on college players so these bidding wars can be put to bed.......
I think it's super naive to think UConn isn't competing with NIL dollars to players.
Sure UConn is king when it comes to exposure, SC is probably on that level, not sure anyone else really is. But if TCU offers you $300k to play ball for a year and UConn offers $10k and exposure are we to think said player is going to pass up that kind of money to get a few more games on TV?
I think in this day and age you have to be in the ball park. The coaching, culture, branding, exposure - all of that is secondary. It can push thins over the top, say TCU offers 300k and UConn offers 250k - ok yeah maybe that is close enough to say, you know what? Lemme chase a ring and get the best coaching possible and exposure for a 50k discount. But IMO you have to be in the ballpark unless it's a super unusual case. Girls are making more playing in college than the W. It's not like you can say I'll take a significant pay cut today to get better coaching and exposure because I'll make it up on the back end when Im in the W.
Sure UConn is king when it comes to exposure, SC is probably on that level, not sure anyone else really is. But if TCU offers you $300k to play ball for a year and UConn offers $10k and exposure are we to think said player is going to pass up that kind of money to get a few more games on TV?
I think in this day and age you have to be in the ball park. The coaching, culture, branding, exposure - all of that is secondary. It can push thins over the top, say TCU offers 300k and UConn offers 250k - ok yeah maybe that is close enough to say, you know what? Lemme chase a ring and get the best coaching possible and exposure for a 50k discount. But IMO you have to be in the ballpark unless it's a super unusual case. Girls are making more playing in college than the W. It's not like you can say I'll take a significant pay cut today to get better coaching and exposure because I'll make it up on the back end when Im in the W.
oldude
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If a player can make $300,000 per year staying in college vs $78,000 per year in the W, who is going to leave early for the pros?
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A lot of players who can make NIL money in college wouldn’t even make a WNBA roster so lowering the age may not attract them to the WNBA.
oldude
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I think it’s important for college players to have good advisors around them, whether that’s their parents or someone else. $300,000 is a lot of money for someone in their early 20’s. But I would argue that it’s not “life changing money” for someone who’s going to presumably live for another 50-60 years, particularly after Uncle Sam takes a big bite out of it.
Other considerations should start with what are your long term goals? Do you want to play for a championship team? Do you want to play professionally? In this modern era of social media, many top players do consider the marketing aspect of how best to build their brand. Perhaps the most important question is simply, “Where will I be happy?”
In short, it’s easy to be dazzled by a big wad of money. But that should not be the only consideration for young athletes.
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And factor in a degree, they're further ahead when they graduate. That still matters to a lot of these athletes. They have a better footing once they leave school, which is huge in today's economy.
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For some of these athletes, it could be, even long term. That amount could a good head start coming out of college, and possibly helps them to avoid incurring debt.
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Plus if they need to raise extra money for big ticket players, they can always run some car washes and flea markets to survive the competition.
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So if the WNBA lowers its age limit will more players enroll to get drafted? It’s possible but who knows. Look at this years draft. Some players that thought would get drafted did not. All three South Carolina draftees dropped to the second round. The whole NIL deal is a joke. I don’t mean that in a bad way. There are no rules and regulations. No standards. Chavez getting one million from Oklahoma. That is good for her but bad for the game.
Charliebball
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I'm talking about top recruits who can make or break an NC run........do you think Sara Strong or Paige as a freshman couldn't make a WNBA team? The fact that recruits at this level are basing their commitments on the amount of NIL money they will receive over the quality of the school, the coaching staff/teammates and a winning environment is a new world that I will never get used to........let's end the charade and get these stars into the League already........if they are that good the NIL cash will be there for them........btw.......I'm being slightly facetious.......but just slightly........
I love the discussion and different perspectives. I never thought of lowering the age limit to allow them to be pros. The idea being that if you want to play for money and for endorsement deals just be a pro. That's interesting. Everything happened so fast but it's interesting that the universities have the money to just give out now. Do people have a dollar amount that they would be comfortable with players receiving? Would people prefer if all players are paid the same? On the flip side is it fair to put a cap on players? It just all gets tricky and I really should do more reading on the rules and regulations of it. I thought initially the coaches and universities weren't supposed to be involved at all. Like it makes sense if I'm KK Arnold and I am loved on social media and have a buzz I can take advantage of that monetarily. Or if a college kid wants to do a camp where ppl pay, that makes sense as well. But it seems it has evolved into so much more than that.
The game is resources. So yes there is a clear division, as there always has been, between the haves (top 20 resourced schools) and have nots.
This is now impacting WBB but has always been the case.
Case in point: in Flagstaff Taylor Feldman comes to NAU and sits behind Regan Schrenk for a year. Develops her sophomore year and as a junior becomes a star in the Big Dky. She now receives some compensation and gets to play in the Big 10 with Purdue
Sophie Glancey a double double machine, player of the Year in the Big Sky her sophomore year completes her studies in 3 years. Now is a graduate transfer, the grapevine has her being considered by LSU and Missouri. She will receive a paycheck and get a chance to play a P4 conference - perhaps.
As a Lumberjack fan I celebrate their success and while I will certainly miss their performance on the floor at Flagstaff I'm so glad that they have the opportunity to advance their careers and receive a slice of the revenue that they generate.
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