Enlightening Article About Josh Christopher's Recruitment via Brandon Quinn

I know, right? Honestly -- thank God he didn't come here. Sounds like an extreme diva. No way in hell Michigan is going to change their mindset as a program for a kid that is here for one year lol. Laughable.

Making it sound like quite the prima donna.  Not sure actually true, but no program should completely alter itself for one kid (who may only be here for one year).  And creating a clothing line before any demonstrated success at the college level, let alone pro?  Seems a bit much.

Speaking of student-athlete a firm recently did a study around value in Name, Image and Likeness...then they took it to high school athletes.

Josh Christopher was #1 or #2 of all high school athletes (any sport) in terms of his current value with NIL.

He was worth getting paid something like $400,000.

What I found most interesting is for the current college student-athletes there were like 3 gymnasts that were pretty high. Also there were college basketball players higher than Trevor Lawrence.

There is a reason Josh dragged it out. There is a reason he hunts for Twitter and IG likes and followers. Releasing his decision at 8:24pm local.

Everything is calculated. 

That said, the kid can ball. If he wants to be a superstar with his own TV show in 15 years, whatever.

I couldn't care less about entitlement. Losing him and Todd fucking sucks and it's a huge blow. That doesn't mean we can't win, they are not mutually exclusive. 

That's my same takeaway. I don't blame JC one bit, I'd be doing the same thing if I had a single marketable talent like that. Good for him for looking out for himself. However, we absolutely need to get rid of the one-and-done. I really wonder, in quantifiable terms, what the impact is on the NCAA/NBA to keep that rule in place? 

Both the NBA & NBAPA are targeting the 2022 Draft as the end of the one-and-done rule, I think.

There is another way: JB+.  JB almost won two NC and with a small upgrade in recruiting JH could do that.  If I were JH, I would stay away from many OAD players.  Bring 1 if the person really fits the program and is not a diva. Otherwise go for players that could be play at the 5-star level in a couple of years. You can win NC with a few 4-star players who stick around for 3-4 years and one OAD. Going for a bunch of OAD is too risky and will not be as much fund as watching a kid for 3-4 years improving his game.

And until we do, we need to stop recruiting guys who think they've already arrived.  Need guys with something to prove and work for.

I wish there was a way to push Magnus's comments to the top so I don't miss them

A smart and intelligent young man trying to leverage adult men being obsessed with the decisions of a 17 year old to make money during what could be a career cut short due to injury at any point? The horror. Considering you are a guy who makes money off people obsessed with the decisions of 17 year old amateur athletes and utilizing pictures of women to lure in people to your website you should completely understand.

I don't understand how every athlete thinks they can be the next Kanye West or Jordan when it comes to a clothing line.   It's just bad business sense.  They had a great product and continued to build the brand off that.  

Even Curry's Under Armour line has taken a huge step back the last few years. 

The ME, The ME, The ME.

I'm fine with them wanting to commercialize his unique talents but their logic is insane.

The idea that he's going to "change a school" is ludicrous.  What does that even mean?

He's going to toil in relative anonymity for a team that probably won't make the tournament and he'll get to the NBA with virtually no fans.  He's making the mistake Ben Simmons made, Jaylen Brown, Micheal Porter, Anthony Edwards, and so many others make.  So dumb to take 50k or 100k to go to schools where nobody will care about you, you won't play in big games, and you won't come to the NBA with a fanbase that'll follow you and buy your stuff throughout your career.

Do they not understand that brand building requires exposure? It requires doing big things that a lot of people care about.  ASU is not a place for any of that so he's going to miss the chance to get started on his brand in college. 

That makes plenty of sense. Having a big school like Michigan courting you, looks good that's for sure. Might help bring in some extra money too. It also makes sense as to why Kentucky or Duke weren't in on him; can't con a con man.

If you guys listened to Sam Webb's interview with the father, this was all brought up, which the exception of the clothing line. Nothing really new here. If you want 1 and done talent this is the negative side effect. These kids are gonna get paid some how some way, and no one will tell them differently. That's the reason they go to Duke, Kentucky, NC and Kansas. Big brands that help promote them. Having said all that, why did he pick Arizona St? Michigan and MSU are the biggest brands in basketball in the B1G. He was offered, promised, incentivized something to go there. 

The family motivations behind this recruitment make Michigan's continuing interest in this recruit beyond questionable. It goes against all the principles of the program, historical and otherwise. What's more, the recruitment itself apparently played a certain role in the staff's standing with two other team members without offering any program stability going forward.

So sticking with this recruitment to the bitter end has ramifications that raise other questions about coaching choices and winning at all costs. And it explains why the staff had such belated interest in the transfer portal in recent weeks. 

I think losing Christopher under these circumstances is actually a good thing, not a detriment because no program needs an interloper bending itself to accommodate him at the expense of team-building culture. The same goes with Todd. You have the rest of your life to pursue money as your sole reason for being. College is about preparing you for your professional life. I hope Christopher and Todd get the education of their lives as they brand themselves as future pros.

The family motivations behind this recruitment make Michigan's continuing interest in this recruit beyond questionable. It goes against all the principles of the program, historical and otherwise. What's more, the recruitment itself apparently played a certain role in the staff's standing with two other team members without offering any program stability going forward.

So sticking with this recruitment to the bitter end has ramifications that raise other questions about coaching choices and winning at all costs. And it explains why the staff had such belated interest in the transfer portal in recent weeks. 

I think losing Christopher under these circumstances is actually a good thing, not a detriment because no program needs an interloper bending itself to accommodate him at the expense of team-building culture. The same goes with Todd. You have the rest of your life to pursue money as your sole reason for being. College is about preparing you for your professional life. I hope Christopher and Todd get the education of their lives as they brand themselves as future pros.

It’s not about maximizing your value, it’s about; ‘A college shouldn't be above a kid coming in and changing the direction of the school".   While you should obviously mold the team to the strength of your players, this seems to go beyond that.   It doesn’t sound like a player ready to play within the structure of the team, that should always be a huge red flag.