Talking Hoops With Ted Sarandis – June 15, 2020

In our latest podcast, we look at off-court matters like a new name, image and likeness law as well as the first school to be punished by the NCAA coming out of the FBI investigation. Also, we look at a big loss for the Gators and some questions about the future of mid-major conferences, especially if they have a big geographic footprint.

Welcome to the latest edition of Talking Hoops With Ted Sarandis. College basketball’s off-season continues apace, with many players coming back to campus soon, while the resumption and completion of the NBA season is not a foregone conclusion all of a sudden and events outside the sport are understandably grabbing the country’s attention.

We start with a story that has been overshadowed by much else in the sports world, but a very significant one nonetheless. On Friday, June 12, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a name, image and likeness bill into law that will greatly shrink the timeline for the NCAA to come up with its own plan. This one will go into effect on July 1, 2021, putting the NCAA on a major league hot seat.

Next, we touch on the recent passing of Hall of Fame coach Eddie Sutton, who had been in failing health. Recently elected to the Hall of Fame, he is best known for his stints at Kentucky and Oklahoma State, though he also coached elsewhere. While we touch on those, we also get into his time at Arkansas, which came before his tenure at Kentucky.

Staying with Oklahoma State, we next talk about the school getting hit with a one-year postseason ban by the NCAA coming out of the FBI investigation. They are the first school to be punished for this, so the question naturally arises as to what this means for other schools in the NCAA’s cross-hairs, especially one like Kansas that is facing give Level I violations. The punishment for the program also looks a bit steep, especially considering the committee and Oklahoma State seemed to agree on the facts of the case.

From there we go on to Andrew Nembhard leaving Florida after he pulled out of the NBA Draft, a significant hit to the Gators. While not a big scorer or shooter, Nembhard can run a team and take care of the ball, but it appears the stylistic fit might not have been ideal.

Our final big subject is the future of mid-major conferences, drawing largely on a few notable developments of late. The CAA is adopting what it calls the Extreme Flexibility Model for Olympic team sports in the 2020-21 season, and while it is not known yet what this means for men’s basketball, it’s not a good sign although there is every reason to expect a season to come that includes CAA games. Then we have NJIT leaving the Atlantic Sun, where it was a geographic outlier, for the more convenient America East, and Robert Morris leaving the Northeast Conference, where it was a geographic outlier along with Saint Francis U, for a better geographic fit in the Horizon League in most sports, both in just a few weeks. As we talk about what the future of many mid-major conferences might be, along the way this excellent column from our Adam Glatczak came to mind about the Missouri Valley Conference as a reason to figure it will be around and in a good place. Others may not be so fortunate, and we note a bit of irony with one conference move that is happening this off-season.

Before we depart, we also get into what will happen as far as recruiting goes, and the short summary is that with the dead period extended through July, the challenge will continue for college coaches in this realm.

We hope you enjoy the podcast and share it with your fellow college basketball fans. Be sure to tune in again soon as we talk more about college basketball.