option for who? The schools? the players?

Again, the schools don't want it. But they ain't paying them as employees either, not until some state legislature gets involved.

Of course the schools don't want it. Athletics are a source of revenue and publicity and there's price fixing to control the costs. It's a good deal for them.

But it doesn't matter what the schools want anymore. They're going to lose in the courts if they continue to insist on the amateur model at they have.

Especially now that 800k gets you a win away from the final four.

+1

Not sure why others are so quick to dismiss this as no big deal.

Miami fans, as expected, trolling Boals today hard on his twitter page. Which of course means our recruits and their parents can see it as well.

These Canes fans can gloat forever on this one. Will be a hell of a storyline next March if we make the tourney and play Miami. Now that would be fun for Boals and Canes fans.

+1 And this is my point. There are people on here acting like this is no big deal and I am simply asking what did Boals have to gain by tweeting his 800K comment out? He had zero to gain by going down this rabbit hole on twitter….zero to gain.

Hmmmm. Like MOST folks these days. You are seeing what you want to see.

Analytics has Wong, Pack and Omier as the guys who have the ball most possessions. Eye test says same. He has been a contributor the entire tourney

NOt a fan of him ....or his P's. From the same HS as Kyle Guy in INdy. Definite difference in how the 2 went about their business and represented themselves and their teams. Just personal taste I guess.

Yes, what are the unintended consequences? Who knows but all are free to speculate.

Perhaps one is this: Not a single player in the portal who expects an NIL payday will EVER consider going to OUr alma mater. But, it is entirely possible that a blue collar--Treg Setty type might look at that tweet and may say, "Man, I'd go to war while playing for a coach that speaks his mind and has the backs of us castoffs."

Wait. So you are telling me we could have a roster full of Treg Setty’s? That would get us almost to 5-26 and no MAC Tourney bids. Jesus, that sounds awful. Hard pass.

On a side note, now is the time to see if we can get that home-and-home with Butler. After that 14 win first year with Thad, nows the time.

Hinkle would be an awesome trip.

Even if a guy has a chip his shoulder I don't think that this chip leads him to be opposed to student-athlete empowerment in almost all cases when he is a student-athlete himself. That's just shooting yourself in the foot. I buy the idea that a lot of players won't care. We haven't had anyone in the portal yet. I don't even remotely buy an argument that says there will be as many guys that want to play for a coach that tweets that as don't want to. THAT seems absolutely crazy to me. I don't fathom how anyone who isn't seeing the world through green colored glasses that loves Jeff Boals or personally hates NIL because it could make it hard for all but a few schools to compete could think that. But your feelings on NIL or Jeff Boals or the potential truth of the tweet (and a lot of the Miami tweet has proven untrue) are not really relevant to how student-athletes are likely to feel about it. And doing something like that, to me, seems way out of Boals normal modus operandi. It makes me wonder what happened to prompt it. Something set him off.

Now while I think the idea that there will be anywhere near as many athletes that like the tweet rather than don't is crazy, I will admit that when you are operating against a vast number of competitors doing something seen as unfavorable by most might sometimes help you. Sometimes a company might hire a controversial spokesperson on purpose knowing that they have alienated 75% of their potential clients because if 1 out of 10 that aren't alienated seek them out then their market share could be 2.5%. In a large market that might be a lot more than they have. That's why I won't call this overall idea crazy. I don't subscribe to it but I won't call it crazy.