Jaden Hardy buzz
- Thread starter Anon1712715885
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You're probably correct. One thing keeps nagging me on this, is you'd think Strickland would give Cal a heads up not to waste his time, like he did with Green. Best thing for me to do is not have expectations either way. If it happens, great. If not, go find another guy. Like an Alvarado type kid.
I've got my Mangroomer all charged up for you.
That 1998 team might have gone a long way with T-Mac, though the dynamic would have changed with so much emphasis on a freshman star, and the team not have had the resilience to weather the murderer's row tournament. But an Elite Eight or better team for sure.
As for AI, his last college game was getting blown out by Cal's UMass team by 24 with Iverson playing one-on-five. That was the game just before Kentucky beat UMass in the Final Four. So, it's not hard to imagine UK basketball history as worse, not better, with Iverson. He ended up 0-for-Lifetime on championships, at least after high school.
My thing is, would Zion have gotten an $80 million shoe deal as a rookie without that season at Duke?
I don’t know what the G-League is promising these kids, but it has to be something more than 500 grand, or I don’t understand wasting a year of your life in the G-League.
I forgot Jonathon Kuminga existed and he was the #1 player of 2021 originally.
I don’t know what the G-League is promising these kids, but it has to be something more than 500 grand, or I don’t understand wasting a year of your life in the G-League.
I forgot Jonathon Kuminga existed and he was the #1 player of 2021 originally.
This....Everyone knows Hardy has been going G League, he is Big Name they need. No way I’m thinking we have a shot with him until he actually comes out at midnight madness. And if we miss on both, full meltdown, far Cal calls a again. But I think TyTy cometh.
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This is an excellent point I haven’t seen raised before....I think the reports are true that Hardy doesn’t want to be mostly alone on the Team with Foster and wants a group of 4-6 guys like this year.
Since you purport to know, has Hardy taken more, or less, money than Zion Williamson took before playing his first game?
Would you say it is significantly more than the amount Silvio De Sousa took the two times he was bought? Because that seems to be the minimum threshold for taking money, playing, and no consequences ensuing.
I doubt AI would’ve been here in 1996. If the legal thing didn’t happen, he would’ve been a freshman in 94, instead of 95. Plus, G’Town was nowhere near as talented as those 90s UK teams. He wouldn’t have had to play 1 on 5 here.
Hopefully the G League can at least pull some players away from Gonzaga and Duke if they’re going to build a team attractive enough for Hardy to choose the G-League.
Duke will be as loaded as anybody if Baldwin goes there, and if Holmgren suits for Gonzaga they probably deserve preseason #1.
Better yet, where is this info coming from? Or is it just assumption? IMO, Cal wouldn’t be putting forth this type of effort if his eligibility is already gone. That just doesn’t make any sense. The epitome of counter productive.
agreed. If anything all of this shows just how important and imperative having fans are. Many will say “it should not matter what the fan base things blah blah blah” but without a solid fan base there is no program.
Remember the guy on the board who fought everybody about Bam being bought and paid for by NC State?
Zion....probably...but very few of thee kids are Zion/Lebron type highschool hype. Zion was already an internet sensation. 99% of these kids are better off building their brand with a season of nonstop TV coverage.
Kuminga really flew under the radar and he had a season as good or maybe a little better than Green did.
Green may or may not have increased his stock playing in college because his game is flashy and exciting anyway, so it’s marketable enough on its own.
Kuminga absolutely would go higher if he went to college. He would have been up there with Cade, Mobley, or Suggs in terms of exposure.
Has there been any empirical evidence of this or this just based on a hunch. The effect seems to be overblown
True, a lot to turn down. But you can make that up a year later by just being drafted 1-2 spots earlier.
Johnathan Kuminga is relatively unknown to casual basketball fans. Jalen Suggs has more immediate appeal to a company looking to sign a rookie bc he has a recognizable name to kids buying shoes etc. Mac McClung currently has more marketability than Kuminga and with NIL coming into play, "building a brand" will matter even more because having an immediate fanbase will matter. Nobody is a G-league fan.
How many pro Wall/AD jerseys alone do you think were bought by UK fans? You see UK fans holding up signs at their games all the time, especially early on in their pro careers.
Does it mean Kuminga can't recoup that brand equity, absolutely not. But he will be trying to build name recognition his first couple years in the league against grown men. Where as a Lonzo Ball type had tons of "fans" and brand recognition coming into the league and had to underperform for a couple years to lose a little of that sparkle.
Just because there isn't a hard way to measure the impact, or bc there can be exceptions to every rule, doesn't mean that it isn't a real thing. Playing at a major college with a huge built in fanbase makes you more marketable immediately, impact lessens after the first couple years.
Good post. I would’ve just answered with common sense. Literally, common sense tells me college is the better route to build one’s brand.
I read where these leagues were really coming after the two current Duke recruits, if one of them left and they lost Baldwin they would be looking at a rough year.
How the hell did you guys get a pic of my old lady!
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In other words, no. There hasn't been any empirical evidence. You're basing on your common sense, which is fine. But you're ignoring the fact that when kids could go straight from high school to the pros they still got huge endorsement deals, without college. Personally, I'm far from convinced there is a lot of crossover between college fans and pro fans. Sure you have some in Ky, KS, NC but I don't know that it extends, on a significant basis, beyond that.
You're also ignoring the fact that the NBA is pushing the G-league. If they thought that college exposure was that significant then it wouldn't make sense for them push for kids to skip college. Unless you argue that they're trying to build the G to a place where it would take air time from college ball, but that doesn't seem like a smart idea. Minor baseball doesn't exactly get lots of tv time and I'd have to assume they see the G as similar to the baseball model.
I'm not arguing you're wrong, I don't know the answer, but I don't think either side can say conclusively one way or the other. Common sense is not fact, it's heavily biased.
What is the difference between the number 1 pick in the draft and the number 5 pick over the lifetime of the first contract, not to even mention shoe money.
Ah so you got my sloppy seconds?How the hell did you guys get a pick of my old lady!
I was under the impression Adam Silver was trying to build the G-league brand, at least that's how I understood it, which makes sense being that they changed the NBA entrance rules to allow kids to jump straight in.
Which would lead me to think that it makes perfect sense to push the best hs kids to the GL. The NBA has never cared about college ball in my opinion, all their rules appear to go against the NCAA's best intetests.
Let’s not forget Daffy. Needs his right arm and hand massaged. I’ll pay for an hour but that’s it.
He’s doing a bad job building the brand. Nobody gives a crap about the G League, I would watch soccer before I watched a minor league NBA game.
Someone compared it to minor league baseball earlier and that’s laughable. Minor league baseball teams have fan bases that care, thousands of fans at game, and players with bright futures developing for MLB teams.
The NBA’s lower leagues are filled with guys that aren’t going to make it, fighting for their lives to stay in the NBA. It’s hardly a developmental league, and there’s not a significant fan base for it.
Yeah, I'm a big basketball fan at both levels, college and the NBA. I've never watched a G-League game and don't care to.
I’d rather join the team at UK and win a national championship! Just me though, the money will always be there for him.
Do you think he’s going to commit to UK with no intention of coming here ?
It’s weird to me to have a commitment date to tell everybody you’re going to play for a team no one cares about in the G-League.
The funny thing about Adam Silver, to me anyway, is it appears he is as surprised as anyone that his ideas worked and he rode that wave for a while. It seemed like every plan he concocted, worked and you just know he was fist pumping in the bathroom mirror every night knowing he had no idea if his plans would work or not.
As we've all seen in life, eventually your luck runs out and the wave crashes. The G-League was a good idea in theory, but he failed in 0ne area, exposure. He should find a way to make it exciting to watch and make it easier to watch. Make it a competitive season with a tournament at the end. Right now it seems like it's all about prepping for the NBA and nothing more.
Alternately, what will Green get over BJ Boston? Everyone seems intent on comparing Green to Suggs, when we have guys like Boston and Whitney that have destroyed their draft stock by going to college. It's still a risk exposure-wise to go to college over going to the G-League.
i think you missed what i was saying
Sampson had decided on UK until he announced then at that moment he picked Virginia
so the moral of the story is you just never know
yes i do think he had decided on UK when he set the date
now whether or not he ever steps on campus is another story
