NIL is revolutionizing college basketball for good, looking to see if the Nets recent success is sustainable, and DeMarcus Cousins wants a reunion with the Kings.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NIL is Revolutionizing College Basketball for Good

College basketball has seen more big men return this offseason compared to any other in recent years. Four of this year’s five AP preseason All-Americans are all returning big men. With the NBA continuing to phase out the traditional center more and more everyday, this is no surprise. Therefore, college basketball has teamed with these elite centers by gaining the right to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Let’s take a look at some of the most elite returning big men in college basketball and how they’ve taken advantage of NIL.

Armando Bacot: After suffering an ankle injury late in North Carolina’s Final Four upset over Duke, Armando Bacot wasn’t healthy enough to work out for NBA teams this offseason. Having the opportunity to cash in on NIL deals with the Tar Heels played a huge role in Bacot's decision to return to North Carolina. Since last March Bacot has sold t-shirts, Cameo videos, and even his own signature burger for a North Carolina burger chain. Furthermore, he has partnered with a lawn mower manufacturer and a seafood restaurant as well as taken a paid acting role on the Netflix show “Outer Banks”. Compared to the maximum $508,891 he could’ve made on an NBA two-way contract, Bacot claims staying in North Carolina is making him more than that.

Drew Timme: Drew Timme from Gonzaga made a tough decision to stay with the team for his senior season. Less than an hour before the NBA's midnight deadline to declare for the draft, Timme put out a graphic on Twitter that stated “I’m Back”. Within the last year and a half very few college athletes have better taken advantage of NIL more than Timme. His signature mustache turned into him becoming a “Chinfluencer” for Dollar Shave Club. He has a series of commercials for a Spokane casino as well as ads for a Washington-based furniture company. Not to mention his own website which has anything from stickers, to t-shirts, to pint glasses.

Oscar Tshiebwe: Oscar Tshiebwe from Kentucky had more rebounds per game last year than any college player in decades yet he still might have gone undrafted. College basketball’s reigning national player of the year decided to return to Kentucky where he reportedly made a total of $2.75M off of NIL deals. There was even a seven day team trip to the Bahamas earlier this year where Tshiebwe made around $500,000 just that week!

BROOKLYN NETS

How Long Will the Nets Recent Success Last?

After a 2-5 start with former head coach Steve Nash, the Brooklyn Nets needed to make changes quickly before things got out of hand. Once they had gotten rid of Nash there were many questions up in the air about who would be the next head coach to take over Nash’s role. At first many speculated Ime Udoka, however, Joe Tsai quickly leaned on former assistant coach Jacque Vaughn to take over.

So far the Nets have shown signs of improvement going 3-2 in the first five games under Vaughn. Several players have even expressed their happiness with Vaughn taking over as head coach. "I know the work that he puts in every day. I know how much he cares about the development of each player, and this team as a whole. Look forward to playing for him. All the guys have responded to how he wants us to play, so I'm looking forward to how we progress after this," Kevin Durant stated.

Even with the Nets recent success the ultimate questions will always be how long can this success last and is Vaughn the right piece for this group? Over the span of the next six games the Nets will have some tough games against the Clippers, Grizzlies, 76ers, and the red-hot Blazers. Although with the ongoing suspension of Kyrie Irving, it is nice for the Nets to see some recent success to change up the locker room mentality.

DEMARCUS COUSINS

DeMarcus Cousins Wants a Reunion With the Kings

After butting heads with his former coaches Cousins is looking to take Sacramento back to the playoffs. Former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has talked about wanting to return to the league for quite some time now. Cousins in a response to SacTown Sports 1140 host Carmichael Dave said “Would love to help get Sac back to the playoffs.” But is this one of the missing pieces Sacramento needs to make that playoff push?

Cousins absolutely dominated in his prime and now remains on the market as a free agent. Throughout his career with the Sacramento Kings, Cousins played 470 games averaging 21.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. However, since his time with the Kings, Cousins went on to play for New Orleans, Golden State, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, and Denver. Since 2018, Cousins has not played over 35 games in a single season with his minutes dropping from 36.2 a game to just 13.9 last year. He has battled numerous injuries throughout the years and at age 32 he will not nearly be as valuable for the Kings as he was when he was in his early 20s.

Furthermore, Cousins didn’t quite go out on good terms with the Sacramento Kings. Cousins is very aware that his name had almost become synonymous with ejections and technical fouls at one point but believes he can turn things around quickly. “Have I done things the wrong way? Absolutely. For that, I’m very apologetic. But I’ve done even more things the correct way and I’ve done even more positive things compared to my negatives. I just don’t want those positives to be overlooked,” Cousins said. Cousins also went on record saying he has “a lot of love for the city (Sacramento)”. Cousins has told reporters he is working out daily to be ready for a comeback, and has proven he can be efficient in limited time off the bench. Cousins can be a missing piece the Kings could look into at a cheap price, but the ultimate question will be if it is worth it or not.

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