Also will be interesting is how it impacts the team dynamic. You have a kid like that who will be rolling in it and some kids who may only get some grub at a local eatery.
Champ
- Thread starter Usuallyunusual-partdeux
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This is just the reality that College Basketball (and College Basketball fans) have to face. Even with NIL, there generally just isn't enough incentive to stay in school one more year. Not with the current set up. Even going to Europe basically means 100,000K and probably a decent amount more than that for someone like Champ.
I don't like it, and as a fan, I wish Champ was around to watch for another year. But for his sake, it's hard to understand the logic of staying in school.
The reality is the 85K IS worth leaving for. We completely agree on this.
And not only 85k. Professional coaching/training and the ability to work on his game as much as he wants to.
And not having to worry at all about going to class or any of that stuff.
Pressure is being drafted at 18 and sent off to Vietnam to fight a war in which there is a constant threat of being ambushed. It is a lot easier to sleep on stacks of cash rather than the back of a tree in the jungle wondering if you are going to die. All about perspective.
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Oh for sure. That was kinda implied when I said about working on his game as much as he wants.
Bottom line is I think his chances of developing as everyone likes to say are far greater leaving rather than coming back.
Capel’s job is to win as many games as he can and he’d have used Champ accordingly. Developing him for the NBA would be secondary at best.
These kids have one shot to create generational wealth for not only themselves, but several others. Play it right and you can take care of your family, kids, etc. and create a better life for all. Play it wrong and, at best, you’re slugging it out overseas as long as you can, which is no picnic, before having to come home and figure out what to do with your life.
Obviously there are greater tragedies in this world than the plight of star athletes, but I wouldn’t down play the pressure they’re under. The majority of these kids are coming from less than ideal financial situations, so the prospect of being able to provide for those around them is enormous. To have that hanging on you as a relative kid is nothing to sneeze at.
The great majority of these kids go to college to play their sport and hopefully show that they can move on to play ball professionally . Very few value the educational opportunities given to them and a great majority of them would’ve never been admitted to their school if they didn’t possess superior athletic abilities. So expecting them to stay one day longer in school when there’s a potential pro career waiting for them is wishful thinking .
As a Pitt fan I wanted him to stay , as an objective observer I just don’t see JC as an NBA level player , but as a realist there wasn’t much reason for him to return . I wish him luck and I hope that I’m wrong about his potential.
As a Pitt fan I wanted him to stay , as an objective observer I just don’t see JC as an NBA level player , but as a realist there wasn’t much reason for him to return . I wish him luck and I hope that I’m wrong about his potential.
You're right, it is about perspective. Pressure is not restricted to any one situation. Bryce Young doesn't have to worry about being drafted to go to war and will never know that pressure. But he does have to worry about living up to massive expectations, failing, losing tens of millions of dollars, and becoming just another overhyped bust. That's pressure too.
I hate to say it - because I don't like the idea - but the only obvious solution is for schools to start paying the athletes so they stay. A guy like Champ is the perfect example. If Pitt were paying him, he stays.
I agree with much of what you say here, but I'm not sure it's fair to say they don't value the education opportunities given to them. Perhaps they value it plenty, but instead they value the immediate chances to make greater value sooner as the system provides.
Those that are truly college material place a value on their education because they realize the odds of ever being able to support oneself through sport is very rare . The hypocrisy of the student athlete concept is that getting an elite athlete into school and keeping him eligible is far more important than the progress they make in earning a meaningful degree .
These guys have to the second it makes any sense to do so.
I would absolutely love to see players not have to "declare" though. NBA teams can draft and sign who they want then the team and player decide if they want to stash him in college for free one more year or pay him a G-league salary. If a kid isnt happy with his draft or offers, he can go back to college just like, ummm HS baseball players.
Most people overstate what players make in Europe though. Its only the top leagues over there where can get rich. And its super hard to make those leagues because they limit American roster spots. If you end up playing in Bulgaria or Romania in front of 450 fans in a YMCA-like gym, you will need to also have a regular job.
While I would agree that the guys that I have talked to who have played overseas would agree that it can be a grind at times, I think every one of them would disagree with you when you say that it isn't fun. Those guys all kept playing because they loved playing the game and they were still having fun doing it. I think that the day that it stops being fun is the day that most guys start looking for the exits.
I don’t know Joe, I’ve heard differently from a couple of guys, one who did very well for himself financially in Europe amd was able to basically come home and retire completely in his mid 30s. He didn’t love it, lived in several non-English speaking countries, and it was hard on his family. He spent his first couple years overseas in addition to playing working with a personal coach and trainer busting his balls to get to the NBA but it wasn’t meant to be.
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One shot at creating generational wealth? Their only chance is basketball?
You have a low opinion of “these kids.”
How many people do you know that had the opportunity to immediately make enough income out of college to support themselves, their family, and possibly their extended family for life? Maybe we ran with different crowds but, outside of professional sports, those opportunities don’t exactly grow on trees.
I’m certainly not saying basketball is their only chance to earn an income post-college but generational wealth the likes of which pro sports can provide? Yeah, this is probably their only shot.
He never have the opportunity to make this kind of money out of school. He has to work for his opportunity whether he was drafted late or not.
He could do the same thing outside of basketball. Opportunity is there for everybody. How we make the most of it is a different story. Basketball players don’t only have basketball, unless they choose this.
I really think this goes both ways. I've listened to a number of interviews and an NCAA S&C coach is actually a more sought position than the S&C coach for a pro team. Every player on an NBA team is paying for their own private coaches, nutritionists, etc. and you aren't guaranteed they are actually any better than what Pitt gives you for free. Someone like Lebron actually pays his personal S&C coach to follow him on the road for the entire NBA season.
I think that stuff is a lot easier if you're drafted and have guaranteed money. If Champ earns $85K, how much of that does he end up spending on training, nutritionist, agent, tax prep, etc.? I'm not saying that makes it the wrong choice, it just isn't so clearly a great result.
I like Champ well enough but stand by my comment from right after he declared...
that it was a mistake. I wish him the best in his basketball future, but doubt it will be in the NBA
that it was a mistake. I wish him the best in his basketball future, but doubt it will be in the NBA
The money successful professional athletes can earn dwarfs the amount of money 99.9% of college graduates can ever earn .
Just for some perspective in 2018 the average Harvard graduate made 81k …. not quite NBA money or the start to creat generational wealth !
25% of Pitt graduates after 6 yrs past graduation rake in in excess of 78k .
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And the money a college graduate earns over their lifetime dwarfs that earned by folks without a college degree.................
There’s no disagreement there , but the money professional athletes can make is in a totally different stratosphere .
Nba min salary 975k
NFL 660
Baseball. 575
these are Minimum salaries while an average plastic surgeon earns 550k .
Athletes ( in the right sports ) are paid better and at a far younger age than anyone else other than the exceptional entrepreneur like a Bezos or Zuckerman .
ps …it’s much easier to get into medical school than earning a roster spot on an NBA team !
You can go back to college and finish your degree at 30, 35, hell even 50. The window to play professinal sports is far narrower. The average NBA career is 4.5 years, so staying even one extra year gives up a big portion of earnings. And you're not or going to go back to the NBA after working a few years.
Leaving ASAP is the right move, you can always get a degree later. I think several schools even honor the previous scholarship.
Leaving ASAP is the right move, you can always get a degree later. I think several schools even honor the previous scholarship.
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If your ready or even close to being ready take the money ASAP .
I want him to be successful and I think he will be. But I also think he should have came back. Much better exposure in the ACC ( especially if you have another great year) than the G League or overseas. And he would have made some NIL money and been able to play his brother this year as well.
That being said, I think the plan is to try and make the Raptors and if not go overseas and make some coin. And I can't hold that against him at all.
That being said, I think the plan is to try and make the Raptors and if not go overseas and make some coin. And I can't hold that against him at all.
Think this is a very pertinent aspect regarding NIL. An OL that has been around for several years busting his tail doing the grunt work and all of the painful S&C stuff, may not be thrilled if he’s getting peanuts from NIL, while the glamour-boy FR QB is getting mega $$$$. Could have the potential to divide a locker room. Certainly a real interesting potential dynamic.
Does this happen in the pros? Not really. In HS, QBs get the girls, acknowledgement, etc. Do OL generally get upset? Once again not really.
Guys that play football generally understand roles and who gets what attention and acclaim. NIL does not really change much in these regards and a lot of these kids were likely on the take anyway before NIL.
NIL should mean more in recruiting but once again the guys at Alabama were already getting a lot more exposure, draft status, and probably thousand dollar handshakes, so will it really mean much there as long as there are scholarship limits? Maybe in the transfer game, but I cannot think how else things will tangibly change.
Wait, so you think that he would get much better exposure from the NBA playing in the ACC rather than in a league that most of the teams are actually owned by NBA franchises? And that regularly have NBA general managers and other team employees physically in the arenas watching games? And where in a normal season they'd play a lot more games?
Big difference. Pros are all making big $$$. And if they are causing trouble they risk their jobs.
HS players? Nah. There are LOTS of girls.
So disagree. This is about $$$$. The disparity in CFB will be interesting to observe. Especially in situations where a skill position player who has never played a down is making out much better than a vet who has earned it on the field. We’ll see.
That's silly.
You realize he's playing for a team who had a coach and like... 3 significant players on a title winning team all who spent significant time in the G League, right?
Guessing exposure in his mind = tv time.
But even if I’m wrong, it is silly. The entire league will get all the exposure they need. Playing in the g league will be a step up in competition and the NBA staffs will be laser focused trying to identify anyone that can help their teams in any way.
The NBA finds its players from anywhere in the world , so no matter where you play if you can play they know . Saying that he’ll get more attention in the G League . Teams don’t call guys up from the ACC !
This will either be good for his career or really expose his weaknesses. Interesting times ahead for JC .
This will either be good for his career or really expose his weaknesses. Interesting times ahead for JC .
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