egregiousbob Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 2 real factors: 1. His price tag is rising 2. Bud Wentz's portfolio - like everyone else's - isn't looking so great right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 9 minutes ago, Zippy87 said: Looked up Nate's numbers against Arizona, Yale, Arkansas State, and St. Marys: 9 ppg on 8-41 (19.5%) shooting I loved watching Nate but against the better teams he never looked like a MAC POY on offense or defense. I'm not taking shots at him for being in the portal, just being honest. I have no ill will towards him for his decision. I just hope his year away is not like Ali Ali's at Butler but I would not be surprised if it was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronAlumnus Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Stupid but so long as we keep Young, I won't lose any sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip JD Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 On 4/13/2025 at 1:16 PM, kreed5120 said: It's hard for me to fault the kid. I love my job, but if a recruiter reached out to me telling me they would double or triple my pay to do the exact same job for a competitor, I'd probably leave as well. That doesn't necessarily mean he didn't enjoy his time here. Agreed. Next season is probably the most money he will ever make in his life before he heads overseas to play. I hate it but I can't blame him. The games against really good comp showed his size, strength and quickness were elite in the MAC but not against the power programs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 17 Author Report Share Posted April 17 Assuming no more defections, we now have two spots open. I'd think a big and a wing are the ideal additions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Came out of the delivery room to this crap news. Happy for Nate - life changing money coming his way. In no way, shape, or form should players ever be shamed for taking the money; always blame the NCAA and the greedy bastards that have let this be a free for all with no guardrails. In addition, continue to hold guys like Freeman on the highest pedestal for their loyalty. I don't think this is that big of a talent loss. As Captain said, you'll struggle to improve by losing your will-be-senior and reining MAC POTY, but the discussion all season was how average the competition was for that award. Nate isn't that great of a shooter and he had so many boneheaded plays over the years. The biggest hits will come in the experience & fit departments. If we can find a shooter or even another front court player to replace Nate, I don't think we'll see much - if any - drop in success. Good luck to Nate and thanks for some wonderful memories, especially the euro floater just over a month ago. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZIPS96 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 I have no problem with anyone leaving, you have to do what’s best for you, but waiting till now screws us. Limited time to find someone in the portal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronAlumnus Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 11 minutes ago, Zip JD said: Agreed. Next season is probably the most money he will ever make in his life before he heads overseas to play. I hate it but I can't blame him. The games against really good comp showed his size, strength and quickness were elite in the MAC but not against the power programs. Yeah, I get the logic—this coming season is probably his best shot to cash in before heading overseas, and I can’t fault a guy for trying to secure his bag. But honestly, if he hadn’t made a public return announcement, I wouldn’t even be mad about him exploring his options or jumping in the portal. What rubs me the wrong way is making two big public statement about coming back and then flipping on it. That feels bush league to me. I lose some respect for that move, not for him portaling. It’s one thing to weigh your options quietly, it’s another to put it out there and then backtrack. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) 3 minutes ago, ZIPS96 said: I have no problem with anyone leaving, you have to do what’s best for you, but waiting till now screws us. Limited time to find someone in the portal. There are thousands of players in the Portal. Auburn just lost their 2nd best player today. We'll be fine. The Portal closes next week and we've already seen transfers decommit and re-enter the Portal. Edited April 17 by Let'sGoZips94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 When one door closes, another one opens. Before I judge his leaving, what is his NIL value? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 15 minutes ago, GP1 said: When one door closes, another one opens. Before I judge his leaving, what is his NIL value? The Toledo Blade ran an article a week or two back where they pulled MAC coaches to find out what MAC teams are paying and what players are making. If I recall correctly, one anonymous MAC coach said he believed Nate Johnson would be worth $400k on the open market and said Akron's total roster had to be $1+ million. What exactly Nate will sign for I have no idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Looking on the bright side, I imagine the number committed to keep Nate wasn't small, so we should have an okay budget for the roster spot 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Nate could have told us this before I made my $5000 "anonymous" donation this morning. 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy87 Posted April 17 Author Report Share Posted April 17 https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/the-10-million-club-college-basketballs-portal-recruiting-hits-unthinkable-levels-of-financial-chaos/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 20 minutes ago, Zippy87 said: https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/the-10-million-club-college-basketballs-portal-recruiting-hits-unthinkable-levels-of-financial-chaos/ Very revealing article. I remember a news story on Nate Johnson, discussing when he came to UA and Groce wanted to redshirt him. His mom said "Does that mean he gets and extra free year of education?" Groce replied "Yes", and mom was excited to have him redshirt. Fast forward to today: "Five years ago, more than 4,400 Division I men's basketball players were legally and collectively paid a grand total of $0 in NIL earnings. That number is now promised to be in the hundreds of millions." We live in The United States of America, and every citizen is free to make as much money as they'd like. That's what makes our country great, and I can't fault any kid for taking the cash being thrown at them today. But it has destroyed what made college basketball so cool. It's created a G-League disguised as college basketball, and that isn't nearly as cool. It's money-driven and corporate. It's eliminated the underdogs and Cinderella's and created a handful of Yankee's, Mets and Dodgers. And no, Rob Senderoff...the Zips ain't the Yankees. 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illini Zip Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) I guess I am in a wait and see mode because either (A) we have some serious holes that will make this season way more difficult than we thought a week ago or (B) Groce and Wentz are playing money ball and systematically addressing issues position by position within a set budget. We already replaced Gray with Evan. Maybe replacing Okonkwo was intentional and we helped him land somewhere safely. Maybe his replacement is already lined up, but we just don’t know it yet. Maybe we needed to cut Nate’s salary to acquire these players. And maybe there are cheaper options for Nate’s replacement in consideration at this very moment. I know that’s a lot of “maybes”, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. Edited April 17 by Illini Zip 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 The article mentions that back when it started top players were making $400k. Now those same caliber players are making $2.5-4 million. P5 payrolls have climbed to $5-10 million. At some point one would think it will level off. Not saying we're there yet, but players pay doubling annually isn't sustainable long-term. Also, one wonders if donor fatigue settles in at some point. Not at a place like Florida or Purdue as you're seeing your dollars are making a difference. More so at places like Georgia Tech, Boston College, Penn State, etc where alumni are spending millions a year and the team still isn't competing for Tournament appearances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 We've gone from thinking that kids deserved an opportunity to make some pocket money signing autographs at the local car dealer to backups making millions. It's ridiculous. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGoZips94 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) 17 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said: We've gone from thinking that kids deserved an opportunity to make some pocket money signing autographs at the local car dealer to backups making millions. It's ridiculous. The issue isn't backups making millions. It doesn't matter what the young adults make. The issue is 99% of the schools in the country are feeder schools every single year for the 1% without any return on their investment. If the NCAA is going to allow this to be free agency, they need to establish a legitimate group of approved agents and put in place contractual requirements and a transfer fee. If P4s want to poach, they need to pay the school for their development. This current iteration of NIL is BS. Edited April 17 by Let'sGoZips94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Any time the NCAA tries to put rules in place to get things under control they get sued and lose in court. They have no authority. Without the players forming a union and a collective bargaining agreement being formed, there is no way to restore order. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalBlu Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 3 hours ago, ZIPS96 said: I have no problem with anyone leaving, you have to do what’s best for you, but waiting till now screws us. Limited time to find someone in the portal. I take a different view ... big guys aside (they are rare and coveted) - there are a plethora of unsigned guards and wings in the portal, not to mention prep decomits from coaching changes and the ever available jucos. Time for Groce and Dustin to recalibrate and beat the bushes. As time goes by the asking prices will drop for guards and wings .... then they start looking for winning programs to validate their new decisions. Patience grasshopper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkwgriswold Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 18 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said: The issue isn't backups making millions. It doesn't matter what the young adults make. The issue is 99% of the schools in the country are feeder schools every single year for the 1% without any return on their investment. If the NCAA is going to allow this to be free agency, they need to establish a legitimate group of approved agents and put in place contractual requirements and a transfer fee. If P4s want to poach, they need to pay the school for their development. This current iteration of NIL is BS. Agreed. It's definitely a symptom as opposed to "the issue." We'll eventually end up with another division in D1 athletics as the Akron's of the world can't compete financially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 (edited) 4 hours ago, AkronAlumnus said: Stupid but so long as we keep Young, I won't lose any sleep. I'm a bit concerned that only 6 of the "Back to work" images are still up on the ZipsMBB Instagram. Young and Tavari Johnson's specifically have both been deleted. I think a lot more dominos are still yet to fall. Edited April 17 by akzipper 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 There was a recent court ruling stating that two years of JUCU do not count against your four years. It raises what I think is an interesting question based upon college athletics now being minor league pro sports. At what point can a player no longer play in college? For example, a player goes to the NBA after two seasons at School x. The player bombs out after three years in the NBA or some other professional league different than college. Why can't the player go back to college, finish a a degree and get paid NIL money? I would imagine a man with three years of NBA or D League could name a pretty high price at a college. I hate to even bring this up because as disgusting as it sounds, the logic connects. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed5120 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 22 minutes ago, akzipper said: I'm a bit concerned that only 6 of the "Back to work" images are still up on the ZipsMBB Instagram. Young and Tavari Johnson's specifically have both been deleted. I think a lot more dominos are still yet to fall. Losing either of those 2 would be devastating as it magnitudes the loss of Nate that much more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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