This week, Kamiar and Stephen welcome Drew Schneider of Shakin’ the Southland
Fans of the Oklahoma Sooners are obviously familiar with new head coach and former DC Brent Venables. However, to gain some perspective on his evolution over the past ten seasons, we welcome Drew Schneider of Shakin’ the Southland to give use a bit of the Clemson perspective to this week’s podcast episode.
Kamiar and Stephen also discuss the transfer portal, OU basketball and more!
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Fair warning: As usual, this week’s podcast has some NSFW language.
One of Oklahoma’s best and most versatile defenders of the 21st century, former defensive back Roy Williams was named Monday to the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame.
After falling behind by 11 early in the second half, Porter Moser’s team hit its stride and earned a quality W.
Four days after putting a scare into the No. 1 Baylor Bears, the Oklahoma Sooners (12-3, 2-1) picked up their first marquee win of Big 12 play by topping the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones (13-2, 1-2), 79-66.
Right out of the gate, Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington was on fire for the Cyclones, hitting seven of his eight field goal attempts and scoring 16 points in the first half. Overall, ISU hit two thirds of its shots before intermission, but OU was able to stay in it (36-32) with three-pointers and an ability to get to the line. After the break, the hot shooting continued for the ‘Clones, who jumped out to a 47-36 lead by the 17:11 mark. However, the heat would be transferred to the home squad, who would hit 18 of their 22 field goal attempts in the second half, including nine of their final nine.
The key to the offensive success? That would be none other than freshman point guard and Kingfisher, Okla. native Bijan Cortes. The ball movement was absolutely terrific when he was on the court, as evidenced by his five assists and plus/minus of +20 in 17 minutes of action. Cortes carried the load down the stretch, and the result was half-court offensive execution that was as impressive as anything we’ve seen from an OU basketball team in quite some time.
In the points column, the Sooners were led by Umoja Gibson, who ended with 20 points on 4-6 shooting (2-3 from 3) and 10-10 from the charity stripe. Tanner Groves was his usual efficient self, going 7-13 from the field while securing a team-high six boards. Elijah Harkless added 13 points of his own on 5-9 shooting to go along with his typical lock-down defense.
Up next for OU is a Tuesday trip to Austin to face the No. 14 Texas Longhorns (7:30 p.m. CT, LHN), followed by a Saturday game in Fort Worth against the TCU Horned Frogs. After that? Back-to-back home games against No. 6 Kansas and No. 1 Baylor, respectively. The difficulty of this stretch underscores the importance of picking up this win over the Cyclones, but the Sooners are more than capable of winning any of these games — even against Baylor.
Oklahoma hung tough with No. 1 Baylor, and the Sooners are now presented with a great opportunity for a quality win.
After giving No. 1 Baylor a competitive game in Waco, the Oklahoma Sooners a presented with an opportunity for a quality win as the host No. 11 Iowa State.
Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing
Line: Oklahoma-6.5 (as of 3 p.m. CT Saturday)
About Iowa State
Iowa State has picked up victories over Oregon State, Xavier, Memphis, Creighton, Iowa and Texas Tech thus far in 2021-22. Their lone loss came in the form of a 77-72 defeat to Baylor at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones currently sit at No. 21 in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, which is a tool the selection committee uses to seed the teams.
ISU also ranks 36th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rankings, which includes a No. 4 national ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency. Offensively, they’ve left a bit to be desired, as they’re currently 161st in adjusted offensive efficiency.
The Cyclones are led by senior guard and Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington, who averages 16.8 PPG while shooting over 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.
One Big Thing
Turnover trouble: A common theme throughout the season has been the issue of turnovers — particularly in the first half of games. A good example was Tuesday’s loss to Baylor, when the Sooners trailed by nine at the half in spite of the fact that they were shooting over 68 percent from the field. While far from the only factor, OU’s nine first-half turnovers were indicative of a trend. If they can buck said trend, the Sooners will have an easier time getting out to quick starts and will have a great chance to steal a few games during this brutal January stretch. Starting this reversal today is imperative, as Iowa State’s defense is about as suffocating as they come.
Prediction
Oklahoma’s ball movement was superb in its last outing, and continuing this will go a ong way in breaking down the Cyclones. It’s also something that should give OU the edge in a battle of quality defensive teams.
Charlie Nye/Indianapolis Star via Imagn Content Services, LLC
On the differences between inducements and economic NIL deals for college football players.
The big story of the early signing period for college football recruits this year wasn’t who signed where. Thanks to so-called NIL deals, it was for how much.
NIL refers to “name, image and likeness” rights. We just went through the first batch of recruits signing with teams since the NCAA allowed athletes to trade on those rights. Meanwhile, NIL is also playing a role in the movement of players via the transfer portal, with coveted prospects like (former?) Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams incorporating their marketing value into the calculus of where they will play next.
The NCAA rules on NIL are non-specific, and disparities between state laws render discussions about the overall mechanics of the deals pointless as of now. Although the rules will likely evolve and converge over time, the economic picture of the NIL marketplace won’t change much. So let’s delve into the long-term implications of the NIL world order.
Broadly speaking, we can sort NIL deals into two categories.
Type 1: Economic
The first bucket contains what we’ll call “economic” NIL deals. In economic NIL deals, the sponsors have reasonable expectations – or perhaps hopes – of receiving returns on the transactions. These expenditures have legitimate business purposes, in other words.
For example:
A car dealership might lease a vehicle to a player at a reduced rate in exchange for the player appearing in a promotion for the dealership;
A restaurant could pay an athlete to participate in an event for exposure;
A memorabilia broker could pay a player for a collectibles deal.
In each case, the business is entering into the arrangement with the athlete is hoping for a financial return.
Type 2: Inducements
The second group includes what we’ll refer to as “inducement” NIL deals. In these transactions, the sponsors have no reasonable expectation of a financial return. Instead, inducement deals aim to attract players to join a program by funneling money to them directly. The sponsoring entities essentially serve as vehicles to pay the athletes to join a program.
In practice, booster-owned small businesses striking NIL deals with players in blatant excess of their true marketing value would qualify as an inducement. Similarly, the Horns with Heart charity’s Pancake Factory program constitutes a clear example of an inducement NIL deal. The organization is handing out the annual $50,000 awards blindly to every offensive lineman at the University of Texas “to participate in charitable endeavors.” Aside from the absurdity of a college lineman’s NIL rights being worth $50,000 in the first place, it’s notable that the deals don’t distinguish between the values of players with different levels of skill and notoriety.
In effect, these inducement deals are replacing some of the under-the-table payments that have flowed throughout the black market of college football recruiting for decades. We should say “some” because surely a percentage of players would prefer to continue receiving cash and in-kind payments that don’t involve: a.) compliance paperwork; and b.) reporting to the IRS.
If boosters want to pay players to come to their favorite schools, it’s their money. Guess what – rules against paying players never stopped jock-sniffers in the past.
Many economic NIL deals will turn out to be very stupid.
A deal made with the legitimate intention of generating a financial return does not guarantee a financial return. Businesses are about to find out that few college football players have true NIL value, and the risks are especially high with young, unproven prospects.
Alabama’s starting quarterback? Worth it.
That five-star freshman? Buyer beware.
Frankly, though, economic NIL deals are straightforward and boring. The inducements could get fun.
Inducement deals will likely cause headaches for athletic departments.
On the surface, the idea of well-heeled boosters marshaling resources to help their favorite teams recruit sounds like a godsend for programs. The reality will probably look much different from the perspective of the schools and their athletic departments.
First, anything that shifts more power to people outside the formal structure of the football program invites problems. Boosters already exert significant influence over many college athletic departments. Opening the door to inducement deals gives them even more power and, in some ways, an even more personal stake in the program. That can be a recipe for chaos.
Second, think about what it means if recruiting turns into a competition of which teams can offer the best inducement packages. Boosters will essentially face a decision between using money to fund NIL deals and donating that money directly to athletic departments. In other words, that means more money for players and less money for all the other things athletic departments fund – including the salaries of coaches and administrators.
Taking money out of the pockets of the people who write the rules? Guess how that ends.
