EDIT: TL;DR - Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard because they got paid without earning it AND the coaching staff isn't used to/hasn't adapted to managing said paid talent. Identity crisis, culture lost, SILS banged, **** us all.
When NIL began I personally thought it would be bad for Tech. Not because we don't have the big donor base to pay players, but exactly because we do have that! Tech has always thrived off gritty, hard-working players willing to come to a less desirable location and put in the work hours to become great. NIL puts you in a situation where a player gets paid and comes for all of the wrong reasons. I imagine this isn't as much of an issue at KU, a storied basketball program where almost every player dreams of playing or would at least appreciate getting the opportunity to play there.
I look at football, where NIL appears to have been reined in to some extent, and were have a coach with a lot of charisma that can attract players to stay for culture in some regards. We had that in BBALL, but I wonder if the structure and ease of a assembling (and paying) a smaller roster allowed us to (potentially) outlay big dollars and poison the well. Do we have a situation where we have bench players potentially making more than starters? How has that prospect of getting paid spoiled the culture to some extent? I think of the old saying "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard".
To be clear, there could absolutely be (and likely is) coaching-related issues combined with the aforementioned problems that leads to what we have. I will definitely say the players on the court don't lack talent, but they certainly (with the exception of a few like Pop) appear to be going through the motions. I have seen several games where I've watched players not even attempt to move towards and fight for a rebound and lazy passing that just reeks of lack of care or effort. I know that when I watch this basketball team I just don't see that tough and gritty team we are known for. In fact, I cringe when the broadcasters mention it about our team due to our history as you watch the players on the screen look like anything but a hard-working, gritty, get down-in-the-weeds, and work-type team. As I watch that I can help but wonder how NIL and money may have sunk the culture we had built prior. Maybe a solution would be to target underdog-type players and then reward them with the bigger NIL payments once they come, buy in, and prove themselves on the court? Curious to hear everyone else's thoughts...
When NIL began I personally thought it would be bad for Tech. Not because we don't have the big donor base to pay players, but exactly because we do have that! Tech has always thrived off gritty, hard-working players willing to come to a less desirable location and put in the work hours to become great. NIL puts you in a situation where a player gets paid and comes for all of the wrong reasons. I imagine this isn't as much of an issue at KU, a storied basketball program where almost every player dreams of playing or would at least appreciate getting the opportunity to play there.
I look at football, where NIL appears to have been reined in to some extent, and were have a coach with a lot of charisma that can attract players to stay for culture in some regards. We had that in BBALL, but I wonder if the structure and ease of a assembling (and paying) a smaller roster allowed us to (potentially) outlay big dollars and poison the well. Do we have a situation where we have bench players potentially making more than starters? How has that prospect of getting paid spoiled the culture to some extent? I think of the old saying "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard".
To be clear, there could absolutely be (and likely is) coaching-related issues combined with the aforementioned problems that leads to what we have. I will definitely say the players on the court don't lack talent, but they certainly (with the exception of a few like Pop) appear to be going through the motions. I have seen several games where I've watched players not even attempt to move towards and fight for a rebound and lazy passing that just reeks of lack of care or effort. I know that when I watch this basketball team I just don't see that tough and gritty team we are known for. In fact, I cringe when the broadcasters mention it about our team due to our history as you watch the players on the screen look like anything but a hard-working, gritty, get down-in-the-weeds, and work-type team. As I watch that I can help but wonder how NIL and money may have sunk the culture we had built prior. Maybe a solution would be to target underdog-type players and then reward them with the bigger NIL payments once they come, buy in, and prove themselves on the court? Curious to hear everyone else's thoughts...
Last edited:
