Editor’s Note: This column was published before Armando Bacot announced his intention to return to UNC for his senior season.

 

Maybe Carolina is learning to play the NIL game.

If Armando Bacot will be joined by Leaky Black and Caleb Love in returning to the Tar Heels next season, there must be some pretty good reasons behind their consideration.

While Bacot is still not a first- or second-round pick on the NBA Draft boards, his stock as a record-setting rebounder may never be higher, and he will eventually play in the NBA or certainly in Europe.

Black got such well-deserved praise as a star defender last season that he is being mentioned in the same sentence with Dudley Bradley, UNC’s Secretary of Defense in 1979 and a first-round draft pick despite averaging 9 points as a senior and 4.5 in his college career.

And Love showed such shooting range late in the season and the NCAA tournament, you know some NBA teams will give him a tryout.

So why were all three thinking about coming back to school? Sure, if Hubert Davis can find another stretch four to replace Brady Manek, the Tar Heels have a chance to get back to the Final Four.

Over the last year, athletes in football, basketball and some women’s sports have made into the hundreds of thousands from their NIL rights. And some, like Duke’s Paolo Banchero, are supposedly already millionaires from their ties to corporate money from wealthy alumni.

UNC began NIL with the idea of getting money for as many athletes as possible, and they fell behind those schools raking it in from so-called “collectives” of boosters and businesses.

And with the transfer portal playing a role, the ban on “pay for play” is being violated every day when some athletes transfer to other schools that are guaranteeing them the most NIL money.

Carolina will have to get into that game, as against its principles for college athletes as that is. Eventually, schools not competitive on the NIL stage will be hard-pressed to sign the best athletes.

So Bacot, Black and Love may be getting offers for their NIL services while, not into the millions, may be enough money to make it worth playing college basketball for one more season.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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