Louisville basketball head coach Kenny Payne spoke on his NIL stance over the weekend, and, while admirable, his opinion feels unrealistic.
A significant issue Louisville basketball had in its first offseason under new head coach Kenny Payne was its ability to land high-level players in the transfer portal.
Upon Payne’s arrival, guards Dre Davis and Noah Locke were among the names of players that were not encouraged to return. Davis’s bother Tae- a Louisville signee- was let out of his letter of intent.
Fans saw this as exciting news because, while it is never great to see players leave for other teams, Payne and the Louisville staff have been lauded for their ability to reel in high-level names.
Players like Malachi Smith, Isaiah Mosley, Tyrese Hunter, and Emoni Bates would have made a big splash at Louisville. All of these names were heavily connected with the program and Hunter and Bates were even considered near “locks” to join this year’s team.
However, the opportunity to sign a big-name guard came and went. Ultimately, the Cards replaced Locke, the Davis brothers, Mason Faulkner, and Jarrod West with 2023 reclass Fabio Basili.
Plenty of logical reasons explain Louisville’s inability to haul in a big name. The new staff had no time to develop relationships with players in the 2022 class- Most of whom had already signed letters of intent with other programs.
However, there was plenty of time to hit the transfer portal. And given the lack of depth at the guard position, Louisville either needed to keep a couple of names in the fold or ultimately land a player transferring in from a different team.
Neither of those things happened.
While the gap this season can be bridged by walk-on Hercy Miller and freshmen Mike James, Devin Ree, and Kamari Lands, Louisville basketball needs to win in the 2023 recruiting cycle in a big way in order to avoid another offseason of swings and misses.
Payne’s thoughts on NIL
That leads to Payne’s recent comments on NIL deals.
A few weeks back, Payne went on the record to say that he doesn’t discuss NIL with players.
NIL, or Name Image and Likeness, gives NCAA student-athletes the ability to profit off of their own likeness. This will play a major role in how all college basketball coaches view recruiting and approach landing top-name players.
Current Louisville players are taking full advantage of the new NCAA rules. Big man center Sydney Curry has reportedly signed a lucrative deal with multiple local brands. Tennessee transfer Brandon-Huntley-Hatfield is extremely active on social media, busy promoting numerous brands. And Miller- the son of rap moguel Master P- received a lot of recognition when he signed a four-year $2 million deal last season.
There is no question that Louisville players are going to do extremely well on the NIL front- Including players that enter the fold in 2023 and beyond.
However, over the weekend Payne doubled down on his stance when speaking with a local church group.
Check out his comments here, as captured by Tyler Greever of WHAS.
“Yeah, I have NIL money,” Payne said. “But you’re not going to come to this university because of that. I have something that’s more special than NIL.”
Let me first say this.
Payne, ultimately, is not wrong. What he says in this video is admirable. It’s leadership. It’s heartwarming.
However, it’s how NIL is presented and sold in a negative manner that feels like it is not steeped in reality.
Let’s be real here. This is not the recruiting world of 20 years ago. Hell, this is not the recruiting world of 5 years ago.
When Payne was at Kentucky, his relationship building and ability to sell players on coming to play for his school was second to none.
But while Payne was gone to the NBA for 2 years, a lot changed across the college basketball landscape. Between one-time transfer rules and NIL opportunities, there is no room for players and coaches to not leverage their brand as a tool for players to make money right away.
There are so many options for players now. Between opportunities to go overseas, to play in the NBA development league, and to play in start-up leagues like Overtime Elite, there is more competition than ever. Players can choose not to go to college and get paid even before they finish high school.
Amateur basketball, at the power five level, is a thing of the past. The ability to make money now is one of the major factors that players are going to be considering.
Elite five-star players like DJ Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, and AJ Johnson are all heavily considering joining next year’s Louisville squad.
However, when the ability to make money is one of the defining factors, the leader of your program has to be on board with at least having a conversation about that.
Otherwise, we could be looking five years down the road at the same levels of discontent around the Louisville program.
Kenny Payne is going to make a massive difference while building a culture, righting the wrongs of the past, and bringing the community together in a time when it is desperately needed.
However, if Louisville basketball cannot land top players, the program may be spinning its wheels on the court against programs that are leaning into NIL.
Teams like Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina are on Louisville’s schedule on a yearly basis- All of whom are on board to discuss NIL. Other programs at UofL are on board to discuss NIL. At this juncture, Louisville basketball can ill afford to fall behind.
I hope Kenny Payne continues to keep the same energy. But here is to hoping he can change his tune just a little when it comes to discussing NIL in the future.
Coaches don’t need to be in the discussion of NIL deals. They have staff and UL has a whole department for that. Coaches stay out.
The NCAA spelled out numerous activities that were permissible and impermissible.
Broadly, the NCAA said schools cannot be involved in sourcing, negotiating or facilitating NIL deals for their athletes. Services related to NIL deals, such as legal review of contracts, can only be provided if those same services are available to the entire student body.
“The only services that schools are really allowed to provide for athletes under this new guidance are educational services: How to build your brand. How to handle finances, taxes and stuff like that,” sports law attorney Mit Winter said. “But [schools] can’t be providing any service that’s going out and helping the athletes actually find deals unless that service is available to all students.”