If not on a student visa, earning NIL makes sense. But in that case, why is DBR having angst about a pause in student visas applications affecting Sarr? Something does not add up, and it is unclear what Is the actual situation.
2025 Men's Basketball Recruiting
- Thread starter DavidBenAkiva
- Start date
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
Agreed. Perhaps LeBron can use some of his college eligibility at Duke since he never went to college.
This has been happening for a while. I am a lifelong Seton Hall fan and I am still a little uncomfortable about Andrew Gaze.
SkyBrickey
Member
They can earn money in their home country. My theory is that college teams are figuring out workarounds to pay these guys back home. Has to be. These older established professionals aren't coming to play for free. This is a huge gray area that desperately needs more rules and oversight.
I wonder how much Louisville has spent on this roster. It's got to be pushing $15M.
That is certainly true. And it seems clear they are earning NIL. But, I would not have thought that playing at a US college makes you attractive for European endorsements. Maybe collectives can strike deals where the earnings are extraterritorial? Regardless, I hope Sarr has a sharp accountant and maybe tax lawyer.
SkyBrickey
Member
Sarr and Maluach may be different because they are such high profile recruits and are on the NBA fast track.
But if UNC signs this 22 year old Albanian pro player as a freshman, my thought is it's probably a one-off crypto deal funded by some UNC alums living in London or something. That shade of gray... Is that illegal? I don't think it is today but it would violate the rules being outlined in the House settlement.
sagegrouse
Member
Well, wasn't the previous barrier that most international players were considered pro athletes and not eligible for the amateur NCAA.
soflabluedevil
Member
Logic has no place in college sports.
Not illegal for students on visas to earn money just restricted on how and how much. They can work for the university for up to 20 hours a week. They can get USCIS authorization for more and off campus but that's usually for grad students. Since most schools can't directly pay NIL to the student option one is a no go currently. Foreign athletes can receive NIL from stuff done in their home country though. The legal way around this is to front load the payments while they are not in the USA.
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You joke but JR Smith is doing this after he retired from the NBA...in golf.
Ex-NBAer turned college golfer JR Smith named North Carolina A&T's Academic Athlete of the Year
JR Smith added another impressive feat to his resume -- but this one took place in the classroom, not on the court.
That's a pretty cool story. You hear about professional athletes missing the juice of competition after retirement, but there are so many ways to challenge yourself in life.You joke but JR Smith is doing this after he retired from the NBA...in golf.
Ex-NBAer turned college golfer JR Smith named North Carolina A&T's Academic Athlete of the Year
JR Smith added another impressive feat to his resume -- but this one took place in the classroom, not on the court.www.espn.com
cato
Member
DBR has a lot of angst about things it shouldn’t. No one here knows the first thing about Sarr’s ability to enroll in school and play for Duke, but that doesn’t stop people from making assumptions and then taking off from there.
proelitedota
Member
On the other hand, are we living in a predictable and reasonable decade?
Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
Member
He was just on a pretty good podcast called No Bad Lies. He's a pretty down to earth person, it seems.You joke but JR Smith is doing this after he retired from the NBA...in golf.
Ex-NBAer turned college golfer JR Smith named North Carolina A&T's Academic Athlete of the Year
JR Smith added another impressive feat to his resume -- but this one took place in the classroom, not on the court.
MartyClark
Member
Quick answer. NO
JasonEvans
Host, The Duke Basketball Roundup
The defense being played in those clips of Bogavac is some next level lazy/awful. There is a reason the Adriatic league produces vanishingly few NBA prospects.
brevity
Member
I covered a Luka Bogavac game, vicariously, two summers ago.
In my MBB/WBB: Other Teams' Summer 2023 Practices and Exhibitions thread, I wrote three separate posts on USC's trip to Greece and Croatia, one for each exhibition game they played. (The NBA arranged to have all three Trojans games televised live on NBA TV, probably because they wanted to provide early access to Bronny James -- not knowing that he would have a health scare and miss the team trip.)
The third post was their game against SC Derby, which was better known at the time for having the Ivišić brothers: Zvonimir was an incoming freshman for Kentucky, while Tomislav was still a year away from going to Illinois. Also on the team was Uroš Plavšić, going pro after spending his career at Tennessee, as Duke fans will painfully remember. Less heralded was Luka Bogavac (white jersey #3), who primarily acted as a facilitator for the offense but also ended up leading his team that day with 21 points. Here's a partial box score.
You can still stream the game on NBA.com, or watch a full replay on YouTube.
As I wrote back then, SC Derby had recently signed former UCF player Aubrey Dawkins, but he had not yet joined the team. Dawkins and Bogavac were teammates in 2024, both on the wing. If Duke's coaching staff wanted a firsthand scouting report of Bogavac, I have a feeling that Aubrey's father, UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, could make that happen.
In my MBB/WBB: Other Teams' Summer 2023 Practices and Exhibitions thread, I wrote three separate posts on USC's trip to Greece and Croatia, one for each exhibition game they played. (The NBA arranged to have all three Trojans games televised live on NBA TV, probably because they wanted to provide early access to Bronny James -- not knowing that he would have a health scare and miss the team trip.)
The third post was their game against SC Derby, which was better known at the time for having the Ivišić brothers: Zvonimir was an incoming freshman for Kentucky, while Tomislav was still a year away from going to Illinois. Also on the team was Uroš Plavšić, going pro after spending his career at Tennessee, as Duke fans will painfully remember. Less heralded was Luka Bogavac (white jersey #3), who primarily acted as a facilitator for the offense but also ended up leading his team that day with 21 points. Here's a partial box score.
You can still stream the game on NBA.com, or watch a full replay on YouTube.
As I wrote back then, SC Derby had recently signed former UCF player Aubrey Dawkins, but he had not yet joined the team. Dawkins and Bogavac were teammates in 2024, both on the wing. If Duke's coaching staff wanted a firsthand scouting report of Bogavac, I have a feeling that Aubrey's father, UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, could make that happen.
brevity
Member
The 2025 Final RSCI Rankings were released today.
ACC-bound players make up 3 of the top 10, and 24 of the top 100.
01. AJ Dybantsa, BYU
02. Darryn Peterson, Kansas
03. Cameron Boozer, Duke (#3 ESPN, #2 Rivals, #3 247 Sports, #4 On3)
04. Nate Ament, Tennessee
05. Caleb Wilson, UNC
06. Chris Cenac, Houston
07. Mikel Brown Jr, Louisville
08. Koa Peat, Arizona
09. Brayden Burries, Arizona
10. Darius Acuff Jr, Arkansas
16. Nikolas Khamenia, Duke (#15 ESPN, #36 Rivals, #15 247 Sports, #16 On3)
17. Jalen Haralson, Notre Dame
19. Cayden Boozer, Duke (#16 ESPN, #23 Rivals, #23 247 Sports, #28 On3)
20. Matthew Able, NC State
22. Shelton Henderson, Miami
30. Sadiq White, Syracuse
32. Kiyan Anthony, Syracuse
36. Mouhamed Sylla, Georgia Tech
40. Jaden Toombs, SMU
43. Derek Dixon, UNC
48. Sebastian Wilkins, Duke (#25 ESPN, #NR Rivals, #47 247 Sports, #56 On3)
57. Chance Mallory, Virginia
60. Dante Allen, Miami
64. Isaiah Denis, UNC
68. Zac Foster, Clemson
71. Nigel Walls, SMU
78. Zymicah Wilkins, NC State
81. (tie) Akai Fleming, Georgia Tech
81. (tie) Dame Sarr, Duke (#NR ESPN, #NR Rivals, #NR 247 Sports, #17 On3)
99. Ryder Frost, Notre Dame
100. Brady Koehler, Notre Dame
ACC-bound players make up 3 of the top 10, and 24 of the top 100.
01. AJ Dybantsa, BYU
02. Darryn Peterson, Kansas
03. Cameron Boozer, Duke (#3 ESPN, #2 Rivals, #3 247 Sports, #4 On3)
04. Nate Ament, Tennessee
05. Caleb Wilson, UNC
06. Chris Cenac, Houston
07. Mikel Brown Jr, Louisville
08. Koa Peat, Arizona
09. Brayden Burries, Arizona
10. Darius Acuff Jr, Arkansas
16. Nikolas Khamenia, Duke (#15 ESPN, #36 Rivals, #15 247 Sports, #16 On3)
17. Jalen Haralson, Notre Dame
19. Cayden Boozer, Duke (#16 ESPN, #23 Rivals, #23 247 Sports, #28 On3)
20. Matthew Able, NC State
22. Shelton Henderson, Miami
30. Sadiq White, Syracuse
32. Kiyan Anthony, Syracuse
36. Mouhamed Sylla, Georgia Tech
40. Jaden Toombs, SMU
43. Derek Dixon, UNC
48. Sebastian Wilkins, Duke (#25 ESPN, #NR Rivals, #47 247 Sports, #56 On3)
57. Chance Mallory, Virginia
60. Dante Allen, Miami
64. Isaiah Denis, UNC
68. Zac Foster, Clemson
71. Nigel Walls, SMU
78. Zymicah Wilkins, NC State
81. (tie) Akai Fleming, Georgia Tech
81. (tie) Dame Sarr, Duke (#NR ESPN, #NR Rivals, #NR 247 Sports, #17 On3)
99. Ryder Frost, Notre Dame
100. Brady Koehler, Notre Dame
Including Rivals after they were purchased by on3 was probably a mistake. I don't know when they last updated their rankings (obviously not since they were purchased and my guess is a fair amount of time before that), but they appear to be major outliers for a lot of players, including Nik Khamenia (they rank him #36 when none of the other services has him lower than #16), Shelton Henderson (they rank him #12 when none of the other services has him better than #25), and especially Sebastian Wilkins (they didn't rank him at all after he reclassed, they still have him listed as #24 in the 2026 class). Obviously there's nothing anyone can do about it, but like I say, I think it's a mistake to include old data in otherwise updated rankings.The 2025 Final RSCI Rankings were released today.
ACC-bound players make up 3 of the top 10, and 24 of the top 100.
01. AJ Dybantsa, BYU
02. Darryn Peterson, Kansas
03. Cameron Boozer, Duke (#3 ESPN, #2 Rivals, #3 247 Sports, #4 On3)
04. Nate Ament, Tennessee
05. Caleb Wilson, UNC
06. Chris Cenac, Houston
07. Mikel Brown Jr, Louisville
08. Koa Peat, Arizona
09. Brayden Burries, Arizona
10. Darius Acuff Jr, Arkansas
16. Nikolas Khamenia, Duke (#15 ESPN, #36 Rivals, #15 247 Sports, #16 On3)
17. Jalen Haralson, Notre Dame
19. Cayden Boozer, Duke (#16 ESPN, #23 Rivals, #23 247 Sports, #28 On3)
20. Matthew Able, NC State
22. Shelton Henderson, Miami
30. Sadiq White, Syracuse
32. Kiyan Anthony, Syracuse
36. Mouhamed Sylla, Georgia Tech
40. Jaden Toombs, SMU
43. Derek Dixon, UNC
48. Sebastian Wilkins, Duke (#25 ESPN, #NR Rivals, #47 247 Sports, #56 On3)
57. Chance Mallory, Virginia
60. Dante Allen, Miami
64. Isaiah Denis, UNC
68. Zac Foster, Clemson
71. Nigel Walls, SMU
78. Zymicah Wilkins, NC State
81. (tie) Akai Fleming, Georgia Tech
81. (tie) Dame Sarr, Duke (#NR ESPN, #NR Rivals, #NR 247 Sports, #17 On3)
99. Ryder Frost, Notre Dame
100. Brady Koehler, Notre Dame
To bolster my previously stated opinion on the inclusion of Rivals, I just went through all 100 player rankings, and Rivals is either alone as the highest rating among the four services or alone as the lowest rating among the four services for 52 of the 100 players. (That does not include instances in which they were tied for the highest or tied for the lowest.) It's really kind of shameful that these out of date rankings were included in this year's final RSCI.