Posted on 04/01/2019 8:42:17 AM PDT by C19fan
More players are choosing to play in Europe straight out of High School.
He will sign with Nike for at least $100 million. Bank on that.
Given a NIKE shoe blew out on him on National TV, and could have ended his career before its started, I would think Nike has already paid him millions indirectly or “in waiting” to keep his mouth shut about it.
Ron Guidry, a star pitcher for the New York Yankees back in the 70s and 80s, would not sign endorsement deals for products he didn’t already use before the endorsement deal was offered.
I think State will beat them easily. Their point guard can handle good defenses, and will make the difference.
I do think it will be Michigan State and Virginia in the Championship Game.
I’m leaning towards Virginia, because you know they are playing with that chip on their shoulder, after what happened last year.
I'd bet he got a lot more than that under the table.
Probably better prep. Longer games, longer season.
No, the news cycle would be bad press for Nike on that. Every step, from the signing to the shoe unveiling to the first commercial will get the blowout replayed a thousand times on all the sports news organs. They need that to go away first.
Luka Doncic proved that playing in Europe is better preparation for the NBA than playing in college.
Both games should be good, but I'm betting State pulls ahead the last five or so minutes, and that Virginia's chip may be fragile. Their Purdue escape is the kind of thing that usually happens once in a tournament of this caliber.
It's going to be fun to watch.
That amount of money is really a lot for a young man like Zion (or anybody) to have and not change them (for the worst). Hopefully, Zion has some intrinsic strength of character and will be able to endure the trial.......
Too bad for the Dukies...not really....that he will be gone. Too bad that they lost - by one little point....sorry but that is so nice (this from a Tar Heel fan).
LOL, I still want to know what did Michael Jordan know, and when did he know it?
Everyone is aware of the blowout. It’s not news anymore. If he signs with a different shoe company, THEN the blowout will be newsworthy again because the assumption will be that the blowout was the reason Zion went with another company. If he signs with Nike, the blowout will be forgotten. Therefore, Nike will move heaven and earth to sign him, IMHO.
The only people I listen to for an endorsement are the people that actually use the product.
I went into the local shoe store a couple weeks back to buy a new pair of sneakers just for walking around.
This is a store where they actually have salesman that work on commission. The guy looked at my feet and stated my size and width without measuring my foot.
He pulled out a pair of Brooks Ghosts and had me try them on. I said I do not have to try on another pair. He pointed out that he was wearing the same shoe as were three other salesman working on the floor. These guys are on their feet all day. I walked out with my new shoes 5 minutes later.
There's a reason, with the exception of Grant Hill and maybe Seth Curry (Curry moreso by name recognition), all Duke basketball players have been relative NBA busts. As with most colleges, Coach K had always coached fundamental team basketball which developed skills that didn't transfer well to the NBA.
Nowadays it seems, the only NBA players with Duke on their resume were just passing through Durham for the TV exposure. Coach K figured out this also meant exposure for the school and himself as well and made a deal with the (blue) devil, so to speak.
Corey Maggette, 1999
Luol Deng, 2004
Kyrie Irving, 2011
Austin Rivers, 2012
Jabari Parker, 2014
Jahlil Okafor, 2015
Tyus Jones, 2015 (brother Tre is a possible this year One and Done)
Justise Winslow, 2015
Brandon Ingram, 2016
Jayson Tatum, 2017
Frank Jackson, 2017
Harry Giles, 2017
Marvin Bagley, 2018
Trevon Duval, 2018
Gary Trent Jr., 2018
Wendell Carter Jr., 2018
Looking at 3 to 4 more for this year.
Woo Pig Sooie he should bring his talents to fayetteville, AR has been down to long AR needs to pay a coach to fill Bud Walton Arena and he is the guy.
Call back ole Nolan Richardson.
I don’t think he will be a dud, but he won’t meet the expectations people have for him. He is about as physically mature as he is going to be. He won’t be able to overpower players in the NBA like he has done in college. A body that big will be taking a pounding running up and down the court.
His biggest challenge will be playing defense. NBA players will blow by him or shoot over him.
I thought Greg Oden would be a bust because his foot speed wasn’t very good; and most of all, he had an old man’s body. He had features of a 50+ year-old body when he was 21.
Need someone younger but would rather have him than some mediocre no one.
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