Khani Rooths opens up his recruitment
Just as things were looking good for us the man himself says to get in touch with him. I wonder if this will start a bidding war for his services.
That's what I would do if I had the talent. Gotta make that money.
Likely means either that a) he needs money, like most of the people who will criticize him, or b) that he or coach May don't see him thriving in the system May's trying to put on the floor. Either one is perfectly acceptable from the point of view of almost everyone in the universe, other than M fans who want him in the fold. And even most of them won't have a clue whether he's a good fit or not.
The book on Rooths when he declared was that Michigan should aim higher.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:25 PM ^
"aim higher"
That just sounds like sour grapes.
It is possible that he is high on Michigan and [FSU] still but that he doesn't want to cut off potential suitors with all of the NIL flowing. A top [40] guy like Rooths who will play 2-5 years is a lot more valuable to college programs than a top 10-20 guy who might suck their freshman year but still go pro. (See Jett, Houstan and Diabate) Rooths is exactly where we should be aiming.
"amateur sports" at its finest! Good luck young man
My guess is that the 'get at me' is for the coaches to tell the NIL collectives to get at him.
Right. Just because Muskdeen is coming here, to him it shouldn't mean it's automatic he does too, and get less in NIL. Or not.
Didn't he already open up his recruiting? Did I miss another commitment?
Yawn...
If the book on Michigan is that you receive NIL money after you've, well, done anything for Michigan, yeah, get at him.
I hope the NIL money is saved for those who have earned it. In the long run, Michigan comes out ahead. Seems to be a short-run world these days, but that won't last.
Why put parameters on who should get NIL at all? If May thinks he is a good fit then send the NIL his way. This is why the transformational not transactional is so silly. If you don't think he's a good fit, then don't try to get him back in the fold. Just don't make this about players needing to "earn" their money. He can receive NIL up front and still be a high character guy.
I know nothing about his character. And in the short term, all of this is silly. In the long term, players will appreciate opportunity if they know the money works out if they stay.
Optimally, a system where players earn money based on how many years they've been in the program, combined with starts, makes this work better. That maximizes both impact and experience.
The point is that the money isn't the problem. It didn't destroy the Lions that Aidan Hutchinson got millions of dollars when he was drafted. If you find the wrong guy like Frankie Collins then yeah maybe using money to recruit him is bad for the team.
If you want to compare NIL money to a system where players are paid a specific amount for four seasons (five for first-rounders), I'm not sure what to say.
Hutchinson received bonus money up-front because that's how NFL teams work with a salary cap that increases a lot each year. If Hutchinson retired, for example, before he even played a down for the Lions, he would have to give that bonus money back. His NFL rights belong to the Lions. He can't decide next week that he wants to be drafted again or enter free agency.
You gave two examples. One was a problem, the other wasn't. On a team which only has 13 scholarship players, I'm not taking a 50/50 chance on discord in the locker room.
The players collectively bargained with the owners is why NFL players drafted high get more money. There is a huge difference between that and what is currently going on with NIL.
Let an NFL player find out that a bench player is making more than them, and they have no contract. They will be playing somewhere else and the coach gets to deal with the attitude the rest of the year.
The NFL and other pro sports use a rookie contract system.
A similar "freshman" NIL arrangement would get NIL compensation closer to production.
April 16th, 2024 at 10:27 PM ^
Perhaps some of the parameters should be that the NIL bucket is not infinite and acting as such could be poor roster management. Dusty May might have thought he was a fit, but not at the asking price?
April 16th, 2024 at 11:10 PM ^
The earn-your-NIL approach seems to be working very well for the football team. I'd expect it to work for the basketball team.
Any corporation or business. "Before we pay you a salary on par with what youll be generating in revenue we would like you to perform for free for a year then we can talk."
Eff that Id go someplace else too.
I hope the NIL money is saved for those who have earned it.
Remember that time when we all worked at our jobs for two years without getting paid, to prove that we were worth it first?
Me neither.
I don't remember taking any job where I could expect pay before I did anything. There's always a contract, even for the fast food work at what was then $3.35 per hour.
I think this discussion illustrates the need for a CBA of some sort.
Siri tells me that the average hourly wage for an apprentice in the United States is $19. Let’s round that up to $20/hr. The NCAA limits sports related activities to 20 hours per week. That works out to $20k per year. BTW, I would love it if someone paid me to workout for 5-10 hours per week in UofM football’s weight room.
The full cost of attendance for out of state students at the University of Michigan is $76K.
I made $3.50 an hour for my first job. I made $1k per month as an undergrad at UofM. In grad school, I made $15k annually. After I graduated, I got a job making $70k/year. I have no problem with freshmen proving themselves first, and making a name for themselves, before making 6 figures.
April 16th, 2024 at 11:07 PM ^
How many people watched you do that 3.50/hr job? In person? On TV? how much did your company pocket by showing you working on TV? How much did advertisers pay, during your work “show”?
Asking for a friend.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:52 AM ^
Yeah comments like the above from ST3 are so incredibly self centered and lacking any awareness. It basically boils down to "this is what I did, so it should apply to everyone. No one deserves a cent more than I got, because it isn't fair to me. I'm the best and what I earned as a fast food worker 40 years ago is the absolute peak of what anyone deserves to be paid, because again, I am the best, and everyone else is worth less than me."
That’s not at all my point. My point is that generally speaking, people learn a trade. As they gain experience and abilities, their earning potential increases. That’s true almost across the board.
But the folks on the other side of the argument want to pay freshmen 6 figures because they dominated the AAU circuit against other 18 year olds. Prove it at the college level and earn your money.
How many people pay to watch freshmen sit on the bench?
April 17th, 2024 at 11:11 AM ^
If we are talking about a GA on the coaching staff sure. We arent though.
April 19th, 2024 at 12:07 AM ^
What did you get a degree in accounting because you seem like the typical bean counter.
The great thing is that your convoluted concept of free market is that of an old man who thinks "these kids make to damn much money" because, "I walked uphill in the snow both ways and I got paid .25 cents to shovel my neighbors driveway, and I liked it".
Your analogy is tired and irrelevant, get with the 90's at the very least.
April 16th, 2024 at 10:06 PM ^
Well, they are getting a scholarship after all 🙄
I generally support this approach with football, and think the same approach can be applied in basketball to non-NBA types and developmental recruits, but I don't see it working as well if you are fighting for high-end recruits that will only be in college for a year or two regardless (not that Rooths falls in that bucket or should be given massive NIL).
Whatever. I mean what else is there to say?
May should just focus on those who want to play at Michigan first and then try to set up some kind of NIL compensation for them. Hard to start something successful with a bunch of NIL mercenaries who possibly present a culture problem in your locker room. Just my two cents.
"Any other information is false."
I wonder if he had any specific sites or "X" accounts in mind?
Wonder who gets the next commitment, May or Moore?
Michigan has adopted the commitless program status. It will be interesting to see how this strategy works out.
So this guy is an inefficient scorer who also has TO problems is what my quick research has uncovered....
Rooths shot 41.1% overall and 31.4% from the three-point line. IN HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!
April 16th, 2024 at 10:05 PM ^
That's a bit unfair. He's got good size, is a decent mid-range shooter, is a developing playmaker in terms of a passer and has defensive versatility. He may not fit for May's plan but he's absolutely the type of recruit May and UN would want more generally - a high-upside player who's at least a 2, probably 3-year player who isn't likely to get NBA buzz unless he absolutely explodes as a freshman.
the problem of such players is that a large proportion of them will hit the portal after a year, the coaches will never re-coup their investment of time/effort/NIL. There is a reason that other schools have not shown greater interests. They are not staying away because they felt their chances of landing him are low.
April 16th, 2024 at 10:29 PM ^
Tbf, we have no idea the kind of shots he was taking.
April 17th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
Fair points, but it was against the best competition in the country. What's IMG's strength of schedule?
Makes sense and I don't blame him. I sort of assumed he wasn't going to UM once Howard left, even if the Georgia coach switch upped the odds. We'll see how it goes.
Didnt he open up his recruitment when Howard was let go?
College basketball coaches have adapted to stay away from recruits who are unlikely to contribute much in Year 1 then hit portal after, leaving their effort and NIL budget wasted. It is much better for them to acquire mature and proven players off the portal.