How NIL, NBA evolution has allowed players to stay in college basketball

Name, image, and likeness has changed just about everything in collegiate sports since it began. For college basketball specifically, though, it has led to player retention that has been to their benefit and for the better of the sport.

On3’s James Fletcher III spoke about NIL’s impact on collegiate hoops during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Friday. He said the shift in the sport, especially at the professional level, has led some college stars to be less effective in the NBA. That has left those who fit those molds to stick around in the college ranks where they’ve continued to succeed and, as such, make an earning.

“You look at the types of players that are becoming stars in college basketball, what are they? They’re centers and they’re point guards,” said Fletcher. “There’s a definite reason for that because the NBA game has gone so heavily towards wings. You want to have tall, athletic guys who can shoot the three and drive to the basket. You want versatile centers.”

“So, these really big guys, these seven-footers who are bigger? They’re stronger, they’re playing in the post? There’s just not as much space for them to play in that NBA,” Fletcher continued. “So, what do they do? They go where the most money is for them to have a sustained basketball career.”

The NBA Draft can be a risk for those players who don’t match this era of the association. That could mean that they never truly reach their dreams of a prolonged pro career like they hope

So, for said players, it makes sense to stick around and play college basketball as long as they see fit. That’s the level where they can best maximize their talents as well as their own personal brand through NIL.

“There’s no guarantee if you hop in the NBA Draft. You might not get drafted. You might end up in the G-League for one, two years, you get a two-way contract,” said Fletcher. “But, in college basketball? You know that for another one, two, three, sometimes even four extra years beyond when you breakout, you can make sustained money. You can even enter the transfer portal if you need to to up your value the next season.”

“We’re seeing the Hunter Dickinsons, the Zach Edeys – who has carved out, potentially, a future in the NBA for himself by continuing his success and growing in different areas. An Armando Bacot as well. Those kind of guys? Yes, they are sticking around much longer in college basketball. This is where they are going to be the biggest deal they’ve ever been in the sport.”

As an example, Fletcher used someone like a Drew Timme, the three-time All-American for Gonzaga. He played four years for the Bulldogs and averaged 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds en route to all kinds of individual honors, four years of winning both the WCC and WCC Tournament, and finishes of a national title appearance, a Sweet 16, and an Elite Eight.

Now, after not being selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, few people would know that he now plays for the Wisconsin Herd out of Oshkosh in the NBA G-League.

“You look at a guy like Drew Timme, someone who was right there in this conversation with these guys, the biggest stars in college basketball just a year ago? Now, I’m not sure there’s many fans who can tell you where he’s playing today,” said Fletcher.

Players often felt like they had to go pro, regardless of their readiness, to make the most of their career. With NIL, though, that’s no longer the case as college basketball can be a place where they thrive while their returns also improve the sport’s product as a whole.

“I mean, just in general, the sport of basketball? It’s such a short window so you might as well make the most of it,” Fletcher said. “These guys are making the most of it and they have become the biggest stars we have in college basketball by sticking around for a few years, using NIL to kind of prolong what is the best part of their career.”