NCAA will lose recruits to G-League if players are not compensated
Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim began his 2018 recruiting class by landing Darius Bazley, a five-star recruit from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Soon after Bazley’s commitment, he turned the college basketball world upside down by decommitting to Syracuse and instead bypassing college with intentions of joining the NBA G-League.
The G-League has instituted a new rule in recent weeks for high school players who wish to skip college and play in the G-League. Players will be offered $125,000 contracts to play in the G-League as they develop to play in the NBA.
This creates a new obstacle for college basketball coaches, as they now will need to recruit against the likes of minor league teams that can offer a cash incentive. This may just be the push college basketball needs to pay their players.
March Madness, college basketball’s premier event, which brings in approximately $40 million each year, may begin to lose its popularity. The tournament features premier NBA prospects as they compete to be national champions and prove themselves to NBA teams and their scouts, so they can get drafted. College basketball offers its players full rides to high quality universities across the country, along with exposure and mass amounts of free gear from high quality brands such as Nike and Adidas.
However, there is one thing college cannot offer, and that is cold hard cash. The G-league route will pay prospects and give the players a direct connection to NBA teams, being the minor league for the NBA.
Former NBA and college players say they would have followed the G-League paying route, had they had the opportunity. Former Duke player, Gerald Henderson said, “It makes sense that they should have money,” in response to players following the money to the G-League.
Former UNC player, Marvin Williams said, “I do think the players from both sides should definitely see some type of benefit.” This quote regards players bringing in revenue for their universities and yet not seeing any of it for themselves.
Former players understand they deserved their money at a young age and that extends to athletes in today’s world. Players deserve to be paid. The G-League has recognized the need for players to be paid and have begun making offers. These cash offers will be difficult for players to turn down for a college basketball system in which they are not paid, despite bringing millions to their respective universities.
Current and former players recognize the G-League route to the NBA as the more profitable route. If college basketball does not begin to pay their athletes soon, March Madness will become a sideshow to the G-League’s five-star recruits.
By John Pullano, Staff Writer
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
