Everybody has their view of how NIL has effected college sports and I ma not sure if anyone can call out someone else's view when no one truly knows the real impact of all this.
Just for thought; I owned a successful maintenance company for many years. Like most companies, you had your "go to guys" and then you had what seemed to be levels of commitment. For some, it was just a job and for others it was more than that and they demonstrated this when it was super cold outside, a holiday and they showed up knowing you needed them. Others had excuses why they could not be there.
When it came to paying these guys, I tried to emphasize the importance of keeping our employment relationship between the two of us. I treated my guys with total respect and paid them good.
If one guy found out another was getting paid more then they were, I always had to deal with the fallout. some folks do not want to hear the truth but want to always point the finger elsewhere.
Accountability starts with you as a person. If you do not hold yourself accountable, you will not understand when someone else holds you accountable.
Take this NIL. You have a player making a million bucks but is not giving his best effort then you have another guy who busts his tail off and only gets a few bucks signing basketballs. Players see this and at some point it will surface.
Come game time, the player who is only getting a few dollars in NIL might not want to continue playing team ball and not pass to the player making the big $$$, thus the breakdown of team ball starts.
I have watched 00 stand around, not be aggressive at all and now many in the media is calling 00 out for the same thing. I have to believe this affects the overall team unity. Does 00 think he doesn't have to put out the effort? He is not alone in lack of effort but he is the senior and makes the big bucks.
A freshman starts over Garrison and you have to wonder if when Garrison gets in he either doesn't give a rats a** or he tries to make an impression and not stay within the team concept.
My point is, I truly feel NIL has a bigger impact on this team than others due to most of them are equal in talent and there is not much separation between them but there is in NIL money.
Players transfer for a reason and for me this should be a warning sign, a red flag. I am not sure UK has done a good job of navigating these red flags like some other teams have.
If you are player and is upset over playing time, the first thing you need to do is look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are doing all you can but no, they just transfer. Players do not seem to want to fight for playing time and think they are worth more than they truly are. Just like my guys, some are worth more to me that others. I can replace those who do not want to work for what they get easier than I can the ones who earn their way.
Nick Saban retired for this reason and didn't want to deal with this crap.
One solution would be pay all players the same. When someone says well the kid at BYU is a stud and deserves more, well let's see how he does 5 on 1. No matter how good you are, you need the other 4 guys around you to help you be the player you think you are.
Pay them all the same, then give initiatives like the pros do; make the tournament, win a natty, then you get a bonus.
I paid my guys bonuses for coming in under budget, getting the job done sooner and they put in the effort to get these.
This is not UK basketball right now. Not by a long shot.
There is an old saying that nice guys finish last. Pope needs to use his bench as a motivator and let the players explain why they are sitting and not playing.
I would much rather watch a team like our Unforgettables who truly had one stud but had a team of guys who were team players and loyal then a bunch of "rent a player" for a season who has more excuses than answers.
Years after the Unforgetables, every UK fan remembers them. In five, ten years from now, these guys will be an after thought.
As much as this sucks, I still am UK and try to deal with this.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
