Chet Holmgrem, Paolo Banchero sign NIL deal ahead of March Madness
It’s March, which means the Madness is coming up quick. One of the big storylines is how NIL will impact this year’s tournament — and Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero are already diving in.
The two have signed deals with Yahoo Sports as the company promotes its March Madness pick ’em contest, according to NIL attorney Mit Winter. Since the game is free, it doesn’t fall under “gambling,” according to NCAA NIL rules.
Holmgren and Banchero have been two of the more high-profile players in college basketball this year and are in converstation to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Banchero, a Duke star, averages 16.9 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Blue Devils this year.
Holmgren arrived at Gonzaga as the top recruit in the country in 2021, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He averages 14.4 points on 61.6% shooting and 9.7 rebounds per game.
Both Duke and Gonzaga are in the top five of the AP Top 25 — Gonzaga is the nation’s No. 1 team while Duke is No. 4. They’re getting ready for the last week of the regular season as conference tournaments loom. Gonzaga plays the West Coast Conference tournament March 3-7, while Duke competes in the ACC tournament March 8-12.
Coach K addresses Paolo Banchero’s surprising admission on recent play
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has a loaded roster full of five-star talent all over the place. That doesn’t mean his players haven’t gone through their share of rough games during the season, including future first-round pick, Paolo Banchero.
After Duke defeated Syracuse on Saturday, 97-72, Coach K took some time to speak with the media about his star power forward, who struggled mightily in his team’s last two games against Virginia.
Jayden Gardner gave Banchero problems in Durham, limiting him to a season-low nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. The Cavaliers’ defense also caused him to turn the ball over four times in their 69-68 upset victory. In Charlottesville against Virginia (Feb. 23), the former five-star prospect once again struggled against Gardner and the Cavaliers’ pack-line defense, posting another season-low of eight points. He only connected on 2-of-13 shots from the field and also had three turnovers in that game.
After the Syracuse win, Coach K talked about Banchero working through his recent rough stretches.
“Working through it is the main thing,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ve talked. He and Jon (Scheyer) have worked a lot. The workouts have been at a greater speed to try to get him to play at a greater speed. These guys at times, put a lot of pressure on themselves. You can get stuck in your own head.”