Goodbye Baraka Okojie

[jruby]

I guess my point is, VA Tech has tons of big time donors and old school money and even they can't compete to keep their own guys. How in the world are we supposed to compete? Just won't work from an economics perspective and I wouldn't blame people if those outside of athletics are just like "What are we even doing here?"

VT has a horrible fan base, and I doubt their NIL fund is very high and it's exactly why they are losing players. They are notorious for not selling out bowl games etc etc. It's as fair weather fan base as it gets but yes they are bottom tier power 5 but yet still higher than Mason. So yes Mason can't compete.

However NIL isn't a thing here, given he's Canadian. He's not good enough to start at top tier ACC, Big 12 or Big 10 teams. Those teams have 5 star pg's or the best of the best transferes. Feels odd, should have waited a year until he gets a 3 point shot. Then he could play wherever he wanted.

 

[KAOriginal]

It will be interesting how the coaching ranks fully react with their contracts and put pressure on schools.

Unless you are at the top, the expectations of a 5 year deal to "build a program" are kind of out the window.

Or will schools at a certain level "accept" a coach for 10 years who finishes .500 just to avoid the coach search and termination fees of changing coaches....

 

[GMUgemini]

Well, now we know why Jamari Thomas said what he said. Skinn obviously already knew Okojie was gone…

About burning bridges: who cares? There aren’t any bridges there to burn. It’s a chasm and we are on one side and they are on the other. We don’t matter.

The other negative thing about NIL is Okojie could be leaving for any number of reasons but the only thing we will be thinking is he’s chasing money.

 

[Junkees9]

Almost all are chasing money. That's what most people do. A friend of mine is an Eastern Michigan fan and they just lost their best player to Rutgers for a $200,000 NIL deal.

 

[99 Patriot]

Makes you yearn for the days when some promiscuous undergrads were enough to lure an athlete to a school...

 

[KAOriginal]

Almost all are chasing money. That's what most people do. A friend of mine is an Eastern Michigan fan and they just lost their best player to Rutgers for a $200,000 NIL deal.

Think about it. A 19yo kid in college might be making $50, 100k or way more thru NIL.

And now they don't have to wait to graduate and go to Europe to make money if they aren't true NBA material.

What a world....

 

[jruby]

Sec and Big 10 can't leave the NCAA soon enough. The sooner they leave the better off everyone is. Let everyone else go back to playing under the NCAA or whatever they reorganize to. Put in 1 time transfer rules. The NCAA being so corrupt for so many years, of course the Supreme court isn't going to validate their actions. It's time for the 2 power conferences to just break away and let everyone else go back to some sort of normal under a reorg.

 

[jruby]

Think about it. A 19yo kid in college might be making $50, 100k or way more thru NIL.

And now they don't have to wait to graduate and go to Europe to make money if they aren't true NBA material.

What a world....

It's only a matter of time before top donors start funding AAU programs and paying kids at private schools. Expect the top 14-18 year olds to start getting paid any day now!

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

To me, Gunnie jokingly (but not really) has the best plan of action. Pray to hit the Powerball because really that's the only way you make a difference. The rest is just fighting to be mediocre.

 

[jruby]

To me, Gunnie jokingly (but not really) has the best plan of action. Pray to hit the Powerball because really that's the only way you make a difference. The rest is just fighting to be mediocre.

And if you win the powerball for a bil, you are better off just buying an island and sailing off into the sunset. What Billionaire wants to stick around the DMV?

 

[GSII]

Think about it. A 19yo kid in college might be making $50, 100k or way more thru NIL.

And now they don't have to wait to graduate and go to Europe to make money if they aren't true NBA material.

What a world....

Some don't make that in Europe. That's why it's get what you can now in college. Making less as a pro just doesn't feel right. Market correction is overdue.

 

[Verdad]

This sucks. I hate that we are now a farm league team for the P5.

Keep it classy with the comments, please. I also urge those of you on Twitter/X to stay classy there too. Don't burn any bridges that don't need to be burned.

F that - burn everything

 

[GreenLantern]

I feel like leaving a bag of poop on someone's doorstep!

 

[GMUgemini]

Some don't make that in Europe. That's why it's get what you can now in college. Making less as a pro just doesn't feel right. Market correction is overdue.

The problem with trying to bring any sensible economic theory into this is you are dealing with people’s emotional connection to theee schools and these programs. The ROI is joy and a sense of being a part of something bigger than yourself (school spirit), it has no “real” monetary evaluation.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

I guess I'm at the point where if this is a business then these kids need to learn that businesses treat you differently than institutions of higher learning. There is no coddling in the business world. Sure you can leave whenever you want, but it cuts both ways. You perform or you're gone. Noone cares if you're having a bad day or your girlfriend dumped you. Also, when you leave, there's no ill will, but don't expect flowers and kind wishes on your way out the door.

 

[Patriot8]

I feel like leaving a bag of poop on someone's doorstep!

 

[Falco]

IS BO’s brother transferring from Howard as well? I wouldn’t be surprised if they want to play together.

If that’s the case, I hope Tony offers the brothers a scholarship.

 

[gmujim92]

Baraka can't even get NIL money since he's Canadian.

This is not accurate.

 

[gmujim92]

Sigh. Time go back to D3 and just play games in the RAC. At least we'd be rooting for kids who play for the love of the game and we'd get to watch kids for 4 years. At this point Justin Begg had better be ready to start on day one.

It’s not gonna come to that. The staff wasn’t caught flat-footed by this and they will add a veteran PG from the portal — maybe even one who would be a significant upgrade over sophomore Okojie.

 

[Jack Strop]

Okie was fun to watch. I wish him the best wherever he ends up.

I do recall seeing him brood a lot and appearing just not happy. Baraka said once in a post-game presser after Coach Skinn paid him a wry compliment, "That's the nicest thing Coach has ever said to me." And Baraka was not looking at all sarcastic or playful. Who knows, those are only my observations and I'm sure I'm wrong.

Damnit. Back to square one. I said it once and I'll say it again, in this new era, teams have to find ways to encourage players (or find the ones who want to) to stick around for things other than money (although I strongly suspect that $$$ is not the case for Okie). Good luck Baraka!