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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 4098845, member: 1131"] I read the comments in this thread about the effect of NIL before I watched Geno's actual interview. Having now listened to the interview, I think it is a near certainty that when Kiki Rice talked to Geno about her decision to go to UCLA, she mentioned NIL prominently. What else would he be reacting to? Now, maybe it was an excuse rather than the real reason for her decision, but just her mention of it probably caught Geno by surprise and clearly gave him some heartburn. If that happened, then my first reaction is that Kiki's parents, or whoever else was advising her, were very astute to suggest to her that she ought to factor in NIL possibilities when making her decision. That is today's real world, and a top recruit with any chance for NIL opportunities would be foolish not to consider when choosing her college. (Although Geno did compliment Ice and Ayanna for never mentioning it, which also makes me think that he was making an unfavorable comparison to some other recruit that has recently been in focus for him. Who could that be?) But still, one would think that UConn would offer excellent NIL opportunities. After all, what other program gets such constant publicity, year after year, than the one with 11 NC's and 13 consecutive Final Fours? But, thinking about it a little further ... NIL may put a premium on being a big fish in a medium-sized, though not a small, pond. Kiki might well have calculated that even though UConn is in the public eye much more than UCLA for women's basketball, UConn's big names like Paige and Azzi would grab the lion's share of NIL opportunities for UConn players. At Stanford, Cameron Brink and Lauren Betts might do the same thing. But at UCLA, she has a very realistic chance to be the best player on a pretty good team -- one that may not compete for National Championships, but will consistently be in the Sweet 16 and will get on national TV two or three times a year. So, whatever NIL opportunities come to the UCLA women will probably find their way to her door. In other words, she will be the Bruins' Paige. And, given the size of the LA media market, that may be a larger NIL catch for her that what she could expect as UConn's 3rd or 4th best player. There is a certain business rationality in that decision-making process. [/QUOTE]

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