2024-25 NCAA Basketball Thread

[MU82]

I’m sure they’re giving kids some nice bread, but if I’m 17 I’m not feeling great about being an ambassador for freaking “New Balance”

From Yahoo Sports:

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the most hyped basketball recruit in years and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, has inked a shoe and apparel deal with New Balance.

This is the latest high-profile signing for the Boston-based brand, which has put together an impressive roster of athletes after spending most of the 1990s and early 2000s on the sidelines. Sports business reporter Darren Rovell explains…

‌For almost 20 years, New Balance went with the "Endorsed By No One" philosophy, which was born after main spokesperson James Worthy was arrested for solicitation of prostitution in November 1990.

Until 2009, owners Jim and Anne Davis resisted signing big stars, thinking it wasn't worth the risk. As a result, New Balance became a "dad" brand, with its average consumer in their 40s. But 15 years ago, New Balance hired a Nike marketer and was ready to make another go.

‌The results are undeniable: New Balance has tripled its annual sales since lifting the endorsement ban, going from $1.6 billion in 2008 to $6.5 billion in 2023, per Rovell, which put the company ahead of Under Armour ($5.76 billion). Athletes aren’t the only ones who made New Balance cool, but they clearly helped the brand redefine itself.

Flagg, 17, joins a growing roster headlined by real-life superhero Shohei Ohtani, NBA stars Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray, reigning U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, and Brazilian soccer prodigy Endrick.

‌The 6-foot-9 Maine native is the second college hooper to land a signature shoe deal, joining UConn women's star Paige Bueckers, who signed with Nike last fall.

For decades, shoe companies (mainly Nike and Adidas) ran college basketball — sponsoring the teams, paying the coaches and stacking the rosters. They controlled the recruiting circuit, which meant they controlled the recruits, which meant they could nudge players (or pay them...) to join their preferred programs.

"Big Sneaker" is far less powerful now that NIL rules allow brands and schools (or their boosters) to make deals directly, and legally, with student-athletes. The "bag men" days are over.

Consider how much has changed: In 2018, Duke freshman Zion Williamson was strictly prohibited from making money. Six years later, Flagg parlayed his status (No. 1 prospect) and celebrity (807k IG followers) into what is likely a seven-figure endorsement deal... before he plays a single college game.

Duke Athletics has an exclusive contract with Nike, which means Flagg will be wearing "Swoosh" shoes and apparel during all practices and games. Don't expect to see him rocking the "N" in any official team settings.

[DoctorV]

New Balance is making moves amongst the youth.
It used to be an old folks comfort show, but now it’s becoming hip.

He will wear Nike for one year and then be off as the top pick in the draft rocking the NBs. Nice move by the company

[Billy Hoyle]

New Balance is making moves amongst the youth.
It used to be an old folks comfort show, but now it’s becoming hip.

He will wear Nike for one year and then be off as the top pick in the draft rocking the NBs. Nice move by the company

Kawhi Leonard has been endorsing them for a few years and they made a push into the NIL space last year by signing Cameron Brink. Their running shoe line has been highly regarded for years. Good move by them and Flagg.

[wadesworld]

New Balance is making moves amongst the youth.
It used to be an old folks comfort show, but now it’s becoming hip.

He will wear Nike for one year and then be off as the top pick in the draft rocking the NBs. Nice move by the company

And by the time he's proven himself in the NBA Nike will jump in and offer him 10x what NB can.

[Billy Hoyle]

And by the time he's proven himself in the NBA Nike will jump in and offer him 10x what NB can.

Maybe, but Nike is in the midst of layoffs and cutbacks.

[MarquetteMike1977]

Maybe, but Nike is in the midst of layoffs and cutbacks.

Heard Nike’s Knight recently said he will do whatever he can to help Oregon to win a football title during his time. Has anyone else heard this

[Billy Hoyle]

Heard Nike’s Knight recently said he will do whatever he can to help Oregon to win a football title during his time. Has anyone else heard this

This accurate, but that’s coming from his personal fortune.

https://www.mediaite.com/sports/nike-founder-phil-knight-providing-alma-mater-with-unlimited-nil-funding-in-hopes-of-winning-college-football-championship/

[Jay Bee]

Maybe, but Nike is in the midst of layoffs and cutbacks.

Everyone is. #BrokenEconomy

[brewcity77]

Heard Nike’s Knight recently said he will do whatever he can to help Oregon to win a football title during his time. Has anyone else heard this

He better hurry up, he's not getting any younger.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Heard Nike’s Knight recently said he will do whatever he can to help Oregon to win a football title during his time. Has anyone else heard this

He's been saying this for decades. They got to a national championship game once.

[WeAreMarquette96]

I thought it would be fun to start with this item I just read in the Yahoo Sports e-newsletter:

Alright, this needs to be a bigger story: A freshman on the Florida basketball team is the tallest teenager in the world — and he just keeps getting taller.

‌Meet Olivier Rioux: The 18-year-old from Terrebonne, Quebec, played high school hoops at IMG Academy in Florida, where he was a 3-star recruit and the No. 310 player in the 2024 class, per 247Sports.

++ At eight years old, Rioux was 6-foot-1. By sixth grade, he was almost 7 feet tall. When he signed with the Gators last fall, he was 7-foot-6. Now, he's listed at 7-foot-9.
++ That makes him the tallest teenager in the world and the tallest player in college basketball history, topping 7-foot-8 Paul Sturgess. It would make him the tallest player in NBA history, too, should he make it to the league.
++ And what if he keeps growing? Well, then Gainesville, Florida, may just become home to the world's tallest man, a title currently held by an 8-foot-3 Turkish farmer named Sultan Kösen.

What he's saying: "We're still not 100% sure why I'm so tall … doctors could only explain it with the genetics that my family has. My father is 6-foot-8, my mom is 6-foot-2 and my older brother is 6-foot-9," Rioux told Guinness World Records. "This is what nature planned for me. I learned to be peaceful and happy about it."

‌

Another Canadian giant who played at IMG is here? (Zach Edey the other)

[WeAreMarquette96]

Cooper Flagg signs a shoe deal with New Balance before he ever laces 'em up at Duke.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/41000405/duke-cooper-flagg-signs-new-balance-shoe-endorsement-deal

There was a rumor when he committed that Nike paid him $1 mil to cancel his visit to Kansas (Adidas) and solidify his standing with Duke. If true it makes it even funnier that he didn’t sign a deal with Nike and went to New Balance

[WeAreMarquette96]

https://x.com/cbb_central/status/1828436156129673307?s=46&t=5FASZRHgruhjFLVJKu-4pQ

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

There was a rumor when he committed that Nike paid him $1 mil to cancel his visit to Kansas (Adidas) and solidify his standing with Duke. If true it makes it even funnier that he didn’t sign a deal with Nike and went to New Balance

Maybe Nike should have offered him a contract at that point.

[Hards Alumni]

Everyone is. #BrokenEconomy

Not me

[WhiteTrash]

Oh Memphis. Oh Penny.

Do they teach "If you ain't cheat'n, you ain't try'n" in schools down there?

[tower912]

Always choosing the Hardaway to do things.

[WhiteTrash]

Wojo to Memphis!

[Tyler COLEk]

Wondering how this affects Kam's plan of transferring to Memphis for his fifth-year bag season.