Did NIL render Matt Abdelmassih superfluous?

[Norm Peterson]

Discuss amongst yourselves.

[basketballjones]

Do you mean in general, as in the “recruiting first” assistant coach type? Or are you specifically talking about MA, here?

[Handy Johnson]

Whoever takes over for Matt A. or if his responsibilities are diveed up, we’re heading into uncharted waters. When K-State guy headed to Miami for 800,000 dollars had a teammate say, unless I get a million dollars I’M walking, I’m not sure if there’s an established protocol or strategy for that. You don’t get a little pregnant, this is the reason the NCAA wants nothing to do with overseeing the NIL phenomenon. 

[OmahaHusker]

30 minutes ago, Handy Johnson said:

Whoever takes over for Matt A. or if his responsibilities are diveed up, we’re heading into uncharted waters. When K-State guy headed to Miami for 800,000 dollars had a teammate say, unless I get a million dollars I’M walking, I’m not sure if there’s an established protocol or strategy for that. You don’t get a little pregnant, this is the reason the NCAA wants nothing to do with overseeing the NIL phenomenon. 

Football is one thing because of the sheer size of the roster and the money available, but for basketball and how close knit the locker room is and needs to be I think its important for most of the prominent players to be making at or near the same on NIL. Otherwise issues arise much like Miami. If transfers are coming in looking for amounts larger than what most of the team is making, you either increase the amounts of everyone to keep it level or just say thanks but no thanks. You’re creating issues otherwise. You can’t have a guy who knows nothing about the team come in making way more than the guys that have already committed to play for you and have been through the ringer with you. It creates disconnect before even stepping foot on the court. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by OmahaHusker

[Norm Peterson]

10 hours ago, basketballjones said:

Do you mean in general, as in the “recruiting first” assistant coach type? Or are you specifically talking about MA, here?

Maybe Matt A. was a bag man. Maybe he was really good at establishing relationships.

 

Does any of that matter when the money is now out in the open and players are looking for the best NIL deal rather than who picked up the phone and called them the most and told them how wonderful they were?

 

There might not be a better example than the one Handy just described. In what world is it an advantage to have someone on staff like Matt, an assistant coach whose only responsibility is recruiting, when players now seem to be picking schools based almost entirely on who offers the best NIL deal?

Edited May 2, 2022 by Norm Peterson

[Huskerpapa]

If the NCAA cannot control the dispersal of NIL money, can it gain more control by restricting and/or penalizing player movement; i.e. the transfer portal and eligibility limitations? 

I would also argue that Matt A was superfluous prior to NIL coming into being...

[jimmykc]

I have not cared enough about the basics of NIL to pay much attention to the details. This article makes it a little clearer and there is a photo of Jordan Bohannon for someone's basement. It sounds like Matt A. will make a fine agent if he decides to go that route. NCAA name, image and likeness FAQ - What the rule changes mean for the athletes, schools and more (espn.com)

[basketballjones]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

Maybe Matt A. was a bag man. Maybe he was really good at establishing relationships.
 

[Swan88]

Here is one good thing about NIL: it puts everything out in the open.

The prior system brought us $100 handshakes, FBI bribery stings, inconsistent (or non-existent) NCAA enforcement, and cheaters who get caught insisting that "everyone does it."

NIL puts it all in the open, makes payments legal, and puts everyone on the same page (instead of rewarding the least scrupulous among us).

Right now, everyone is playing the NIL hand they are dealt--and it's the same NIL hand for everyone.

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.

[basketballjones]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

There might not be a better example than the one Handy just described. In what world is it an advantage to have someone on staff like Matt, an assistant coach whose only responsibility is recruiting, when players now seem to be picking schools based almost entirely on who offers the best NIL deal?

I think it's pretty clear at this point you're going to basically just need a "GM," that actively works with your recruiting department. There's really no other way around it. This will move towards a salary cap and have stricter guidelines as the P5 schools move away from the NCAA. 

But relationships and fit are still going to be paramount. As the dust settles here, it will no longer just be about "who is offering me the most," and I think that will settle relatively quickly to be honest. Once these equal out a bit, it will definitely still be about the usual things (relationships/fit/school). 

[Chuck Taylor]

20 minutes ago, basketballjones said:

I think it's pretty clear at this point you're going to basically just need a "GM," that actively works with your recruiting department. There's really no other way around it. This will move towards a salary cap and have stricter guidelines as the P5 schools move away from the NCAA. 

But relationships and fit are still going to be paramount. As the dust settles here, it will no longer just be about "who is offering me the most," and I think that will settle relatively quickly to be honest. Once these equal out a bit, it will definitely still be about the usual things (relationships/fit/school). 

Maybe school doesn't matter. Why do they need to be students? (kidding/not kidding)

[jimmykc]

So that they will be less likely to squander all of the money they are going to make.

[cornfed24-7]

1 hour ago, basketballjones said:

Once these equal out a bit

 I think we have quite some time before that happens. These NIL groups have just started becoming organized. I don't think they have even come close to scratching the surface of their potential to raise and distribute cash to players. 

I imagine T. Boone Pickens is sitting in whatever afterlife he believes in like "This is some BS. I wanted to buy players for decades and they told me I couldn't! BS I say!"

Edited May 2, 2022 by cornfed24-7

[basketballjones]

https://huskerextra.com/commentary/sipple/steven-m-sipple-why-ochaun-mathis-mom-trusted-nu-chinanders-wisdom-and-toures-rise/article_42565c47-dfd9-5f71-aa6b-7e9fe0505e35.html
Relationships and the culture still matter. 

[Norm Peterson]

So, I mean fit obviously matters to some extent. But I suspect fit is a distant second to money as a consideration when it comes to where recruits are going to be committing in the age of NIL.

 

Which leads me back to Matt A.

 

Not saying he is or was a bag man, but it seems to me that NIL has done to bag men what streaming services did to Blockbuster, which is to put them out of business. You don't have to hide it anymore. Now, you can do it openly. So, the whole profession is basically out of a job.

 

And as far as being an assistant, now the most important attributes an assistant could possess would be identifying talent that maybe other programs have overlooked, and then helping to develop those players so that programs can maximize their talent level without having to pay as much for it.

 

And it seems to me that combination of considerations leaves Matt A sort of out in the cold. He's not useful any more. What he could bring you before is either a) no longer unique or b) no longer as valued.

 

So, him and his BFF mutually agree to part ways. And I guess that makes sense to me. But it didn't really hit me until a couple of days ago, when I heard about some of the numbers being thrown around for players here at Nebraska, that this rule change may have just rendered his role here moot.

[49r]

24 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

NIL has done to bag men what streaming services did to Blockbuster

 

To get totally pedantic here, it wasn't streaming per se that killed Blockbuster.

 

It was Netflix's original business model of mailing unlimited DVD's that you can keep for as long as you want (three at a time) direct to the customer that killed Blockbuster.

 

Streaming services like Apple/Paramount/Peacock/Amazon Prime et. al. are what are killing Netflix - because streaming is a loss leader for companies like that.  Netflix can't compete because they have streaming as their only revenue source.

[Huskerpapa]

Perhaps our State slogans now have a slightly different twist...

 

"Nebraska, the good life", and

 

"Honestly, it's not for everyone"

 

Okay, that is sort of stupid...

[Norm Peterson]

1 hour ago, basketballjones said:

https://huskerextra.com/commentary/sipple/steven-m-sipple-why-ochaun-mathis-mom-trusted-nu-chinanders-wisdom-and-toures-rise/article_42565c47-dfd9-5f71-aa6b-7e9fe0505e35.html
Relationships and the culture still matter. 

 

Let's say hypothetically, Mathis is getting $1.2 million from NIL to play here next season. Just throwing that number out there hypothetically.

 

Do you think any program would get their foot in the door to even have their relationships and culture considered if they were south of 7 figures?

 

But when they talk to the mom, do you think she's going to say, hey, it was a sweet deal from the highest bidder? Or do you think she's going to talk about, hey, we really liked the place and it looks nice and the folks there were good to us when we were in town?

[basketballjones]

2 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

Let's say hypothetically, Mathis is getting $1.2 million from NIL to play here next season. Just throwing that number out there hypothetically.

 

Do you think any program would get their foot in the door to even have their relationships and culture considered if they were south of 7 figures?

 

But when they talk to the mom, do you think she's going to say, hey, it was a sweet deal from the highest bidder? Or do you think she's going to talk about, hey, we really liked the place and it looks nice and the folks there were good to us when we were in town?

Haha. you’re not wrong. But also consider the hypothetical that there might have been teams who offered equal, if not more. 

[cipsucks]

Is superfluous the next covid?  

 

I think nil doesn't make M.A. superfluous, it makes him focus on what's important: focus on donors first, then go after athletes. Who this makes superfluous is the NCAA.  Legally, they knew they were screwed. No way they could not allow athletes to be paid. get hundreds of millions from those same athletes and think this garbage wouldn't go to court. They also knew the Power 5/6 conferences would sooner, rather than later, tell them to pack sand so the revenue stream they've grafted on for years goes bye bye.

 

My prediction is the Power Conferences still break free from the NCAA and they're relegated to ruling over DII, III and whatever.

[hhcmatt]

Generally speaking the answer is no.  Assuming that one wants to acquire players with NIL deals/money as an incentive, one still needs to build a relationship with a future recruit.