Interesting article in the MPLS Strib about the challenges of the transfer portal and NIL and how it requires the assistance of sometimes multiple people on staff to deal with the realities of today’s college basketball environment. This is just a portion of that article:
March 21, 2023 — 12:27pm
Kelvin Sampson has been around college basketball long enough to remember when preseason practices started in October following a true offseason, teams remained largely intact for multiple seasons and players weren't permitted to pursue endorsement deals.
It might as well be a different planet now.
The way Houston's coach sees it, the top-tier programs must evolve to better manage recruiting, the transfer portal and roster demands, and athlete compensation deals.
''Absolutely, you have to,'' the 67-year-old Sampson said as March Madness headed to Sweet 16 weekend. ''To (manage) those kinds of things, you've got to have specialization on your staff.''
That means bolstering support staffs, much like how analysts and quality control staffers have become common across college football. Specialized roles for recruiting, scouting or analytics. Adding special assistants to aid head coaches, general managers to navigate the new era of players profiting from use their name, image and likeness (NIL), even creative-content staffers to pump out videos or social media to promote the program's brand.
If anything, staffs are starting to resemble their counterparts in the pros.
''I've got three – I guess there are four of them now – former (graduate assistants) and managers that work in the front office at the (NBA's) Phoenix Suns,'' Kansas State first-year coach Jerome Tang said before clinching a Sweet 16 appearance. ''Those guys told me that the four guys that are on the bench across the country are probably the same. It's the next level that separates you.''
March Madness resumes Thursday, and there are examples of these increasingly specialized staffs on teams still chasing a national title.
Six teams — Houston, Xavier, Texas, Arkansas, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic — have an assistant or special assistant to the head coach, often designed as catch-all helpers who shoulder administrative duties while potentially taking on tasks such as breaking down film. Tang and Michigan State's Tom Izzo each has a chief of staff.
Top overall seed Alabama has a director of scouting and analytics. Fellow Southeastern Conference team Tennessee has someone overseeing analytics.
Titles vary. The goal doesn't.
''I have people on my staff in charge of something with one of our kids 24 hours a day,'' Sampson said. ''And it's all built around relationships. You know, these kids can transfer today and not even have to tell the coach. They can just go to the compliance office. … So in order to combat those kinds of things, it's more and more important that you're involved in their daily lives.''
College hoops staffs specialize to meet roster, NIL demands
By AARON BEARD Associated PressMarch 21, 2023 — 12:27pm
Kelvin Sampson has been around college basketball long enough to remember when preseason practices started in October following a true offseason, teams remained largely intact for multiple seasons and players weren't permitted to pursue endorsement deals.
It might as well be a different planet now.
The way Houston's coach sees it, the top-tier programs must evolve to better manage recruiting, the transfer portal and roster demands, and athlete compensation deals.
''Absolutely, you have to,'' the 67-year-old Sampson said as March Madness headed to Sweet 16 weekend. ''To (manage) those kinds of things, you've got to have specialization on your staff.''
That means bolstering support staffs, much like how analysts and quality control staffers have become common across college football. Specialized roles for recruiting, scouting or analytics. Adding special assistants to aid head coaches, general managers to navigate the new era of players profiting from use their name, image and likeness (NIL), even creative-content staffers to pump out videos or social media to promote the program's brand.
If anything, staffs are starting to resemble their counterparts in the pros.
''I've got three – I guess there are four of them now – former (graduate assistants) and managers that work in the front office at the (NBA's) Phoenix Suns,'' Kansas State first-year coach Jerome Tang said before clinching a Sweet 16 appearance. ''Those guys told me that the four guys that are on the bench across the country are probably the same. It's the next level that separates you.''
March Madness resumes Thursday, and there are examples of these increasingly specialized staffs on teams still chasing a national title.
Six teams — Houston, Xavier, Texas, Arkansas, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic — have an assistant or special assistant to the head coach, often designed as catch-all helpers who shoulder administrative duties while potentially taking on tasks such as breaking down film. Tang and Michigan State's Tom Izzo each has a chief of staff.
Top overall seed Alabama has a director of scouting and analytics. Fellow Southeastern Conference team Tennessee has someone overseeing analytics.
Titles vary. The goal doesn't.
''I have people on my staff in charge of something with one of our kids 24 hours a day,'' Sampson said. ''And it's all built around relationships. You know, these kids can transfer today and not even have to tell the coach. They can just go to the compliance office. … So in order to combat those kinds of things, it's more and more important that you're involved in their daily lives.''
