Hardaway said the NCAA's decision to allow college athletes to profit off their NIL may not be enoughGETTY IMAGES
Univ. of Memphis men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway said that he "disagrees with the G League's new approach to lure potential one-and-done prospects away from the college game," according to Jason Munz of the Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL. Hardaway said, "I didn't think the G League was built -- and I could be wrong -- to go and recruit kids that want to go to college out of going to college. I thought they were going to be the organization that was going to be, if you want to go overseas or you absolutely did not want to play college 100 percent, that this would be the best situation for you before you go into the NBA." He added, "But taking guys out of their commitments (or) they've already signed and continuing to talk to their parents, it's almost like tampering. I really don't agree with that." Hardaway said that the NCAA's recent decision to allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness is a "step in the right direction, but it may not be enough." Hardaway: "If they don't keep taking steps forward to help these kids make money, they're going to take $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 for five months to play on a select team and just do basketball instead of having to go to class. (The NCAA) just (has) to take some desperate measures to make these kids understand that we want you to come to college" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 5/2).
MORE THAN MONEY: In L.A., Kyle Goon noted top high school prospect Daishen Nix decommitted from UCLA last week and signed with the new G League pathway program and is "expected to make 'in the $300,000 range.'" However, G League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said that "money is just part of the picture." He added, "It's the aggregate of what we're putting together, and kids wanting to be part of that. What this program does is it targets your development for the NBA in a way that prepares you for the NBA." Meanwhile, Goon noted as the more immediate threat to the NBA this past year was the "stream of prospects headed overseas, the increased appeal of the Select Team poses an existential threat to college basketball." Abdur-Rahim said that the idea "isn't for the G League to compete with the NCAA for prospects and interest, but to offer another path for the players who are likely good enough to play in the league and aren't interested in the college experience" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/2).
