GoCal80 said:
4thGenCal said:
HearstMining said:
I probably saw the last quarter of the game. I know Ft Worth is a long way from Houston, but it was surprising how small the crowd was on a Saturday night. Mahaney looked like the classic freshman who still needed to put on some muscle, whereas Jason Kidd had a man's body at 18. Still, he's a poised confident ball-handler and most importantly, hit the open three-point shot consistently, which is more than any Cal player can do. Based on this small sample, if I had a choice between Mahaney and Askew or Brown, I'd take Mahaney.
Agree - Aiden Mahaney has a smooth shot, good handles and sees the open teammate. Big loss to not be able to recruit Him to Cal. Though Bennett had a solid relationship thru his youth coaching, the program cannot lose a key local player to a smaller program/conference - especially if one has next level aspirations. Failure by staff to effectively connect with Him and Mom. Btw Arizona opponent today has an ongoing 40 donors who donate (just for NIL - not counting other donation areas) $25k each year - solely for NIL. Cal......virtually nothing in place for a ongoing program, though Cal Football is making good progress (more needed) with NIL fund raising. All the more reason to hire a Hoops coach who will connect with the donor base, to bring in much needed funds for recruiting.
I support the right of student-athletes to earn NIL money but envisioned that these students would be hired to appear in advertisements for local businesses and stuff like that, not the NIL collectives. Creating a purely professional class of "student" on campus is something I can't get comfortable with. Does anyone know if the people who contribute to NIL collectives generally also contribute to the academic missions of their universities? Am I the only one who is disturbed to see money funneled to athletes on top of all of the advantages they already get - free tuition, living expenses, preferential admissions and special academic support? There are lots of regular students on campus who struggle with food and housing security, with options for donating to their support (e.g., https://basicneeds.berkeley.edu/donate). Has any thought given to having these collectives share their income with students in need of help with food and housing?
I understand your reluctance to be comfortable with donating monies toward NIL, I was in the same boat (I donate to Caliber Fund, Excellence club and support/donate toward improved housing). 1) For housing support is applied per NCAA regulations (50/50 ratio of students to student athletes for apartment offering) meaning same quality/rates/same complex are applied and actually the students end up with lower rental costs, because of additional room sharing. Myself and others also support academic missions when one is impactful and of personal interest 2) The student athletes are putting in 40+ hours/week when factoring in practice, game prep, film study, workouts, and travel - plus they are putting their health on the line and bring in revenue to the university. This is a different matrix/deal than what the students sign up for. I have just recently contributed toward NIL (just $15k to start) as the rules have changed and without raising significant monies, our major sports have little to no chance to have winning records, let alone compete for a conf title. Yes sad, but legislators put the new rule in effect. The players do put time in to earn/receive NIL monies - from recently Turkey give aways to poor communities, toy drive, clothing advertising along with many other endeavors. I along with several key people who have set up/coordinated the NIL Collective per NCAA rules, are willing to support our key athletic programs. because we want excellence in these sports, and to be competitive it must be done . Otherwise turning around the current state of both major programs will not happen. I definitely plan on upping my donation toward NIL and would hope other passionate alums do as well, in whatever amounts they are comfortable doing. These important funds retain our key players and frankly the loyalty of the players thus far, is remarkable in that they likely are accepting less than they would receive elsewhere.
