Maybe NIL is not the reason for Kentucky basketball's woes

It is easy to point to big NIL deals as an excuse for why Kentucky players don’t appear to be fully invested in the effort department as of late. I know I’m certainly guilty of it. Kentucky’s extremely high payroll is low-hanging fruit as to why this team looks like it would rather be doing anything else than playing basketball with each other.

After every embarrassing loss (the likes of which keep piling up), the term “$22 million!” gets thrown around not only from fans of opposing teams mocking Kentucky, but also from within Big Blue Nation, embarrassed that this staff appears to have totally botched their epically large piggy bank.

However, I’m not talking about the roster construction aspect of NIL frustration. Assembling basketball pieces that don’t fit is its own gigantic problem, but oftentimes, fans place blame on players’ paychecks for their lack of hustle.

The argument goes something like, “Why would that player dive on the ball for a loose ball when they are being paid a couple of million dollars?”

But the money is far from the issue.

It ain’t about the money

As Jessie J says, it’s not about the money. Former Kentucky backup point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed a $285 million dollar contract this summer, a number far exceeding anything these Kentucky players (or most humans) will ever see, and that doesn’t stop him from playing hard every night and leading his team to an NBA record-setting 22-1 start.

But even if you dismiss this hyperbolic analogy and call it an unfair comparison to liken college role guys to one of the biggest stars on the planet, look at any of the many other transfer portal rent-a-players and elite freshmen who are getting paid big bucks. Take your pick. Most of them don’t seem to be having a problem leaving it all on the line every night and winning along the way.

If this were the issue, what is the fix for this? Pay less? If a player only gets paid $500,000 instead of $1,000,000, is he going to be more motivated to hustle? To give effort? To show more pride in wearing the name Kentucky across his chest?

I don’t have that kind of money, but I don’t buy that argument. At some point, it’s not the money. It is the personalities to whom you gave the money in the first place.

Oh, and coaching too

The blame doesn’t stop with the players. There is clearly a disconnect between the coaching staff and the group of guys they handpicked to wear the Kentucky jersey. Mark Pope makes more than twice as much money as any particular player, and while it is impossible to judge effort as he stands stoically, arms crossed, on the sidelines, his post-game press conferences would suggest he cares deeply. However, he also seems lost on how to motivate his team to care.

Money doesn’t factor into poor coaching just like it doesn’t factor into poor play. However, it would be that expectations and promises associated with money do.

Mark Pope’s relentless positivity is one of his more endearing traits, but is it possible his sunshine-pumping is coming back to haunt him? Everyone spun the fact that Kentucky’s roster was 12-plus players deep as a good problem to have, but if you tell each one of them about how big a role they will play and compensate them accordingly, promises will inevitably be broken.

It’s just math. There are only 200 minutes to be played in every basketball game. Kentucky averages 72 possessions per game. Not everyone can play 30 minutes and get up 10 shots. I’m not in the recruiting room with Mark Pope, so I can only speculate as to what he is promising recruits and portal transfers, but big money often comes with big player expectations, at least in players’ eyes, and when those expectations become incompatible with reality, egos get bruised and frustration kicks in.

Ultimately, this is all just an attempt to grasp at straws. Money, expectations, chemistry, personalities, coaching, whatever. Fans and (unfortunately) coaches are searching for answers, and as of now, there is one to be found.