Providence basketball coach Kim English has a warning for teams attempting to poach his players.Kim English spoke the calm portion aloud.
His heated social media statement late Tuesday night seems like a suitable conclusion to the latest round of transfer portal mystery. That window was set to close Wednesday, with no more basketball players eligible to compete before the 2024-25 season.
Providence College’s men’s coach made some not-so-subtle comments to alleged tampering with members of his projected squad for next season. The Friars finished their work early in this cycle, securing four commitments that were expected to be completed with additions and subtractions well ahead of schedule. It appears that there were some late attempts to entice at least one of their players to further assess his value on the open market.
“Just call me and (let me know) if you want to recruit our players,” English said. “Leave them and their families alone. Call me. I’ll see if they want to play for your programs.”
Type shii… To all the tampering Head Coaches and Assistant coaches and flunkies… just call me and lmk if you want to recruit our players. Leave them and their families alone. Call me. I’ll see if they want to play for your programs. Yall have my number.
English did not provide a specific name of any opposing coach who may have made contact. He also did not say whether Providence’s returning players or newcomers were targeted. The question here is not whether he will eventually make that information public.
This method begs for significant improvement. The NCAA hindered, diverted, and denied for years until being kicked out of state and federal courts in a series of humiliating setbacks. What has been clear over time is that whatever form of amateurism they sought to instill while earning tremendously has been broken.
What remains? Anarchy, in part. Administrators and coaches are standing on the rulebook equivalent of quicksand, and it can shift at any moment. Think about all that’s changed in the recruiting landscape over the past five years – the next five could lead us to an equally unrecognizable place.
Let’s start with what we’ve always known to be fact and work from there. That involves bringing the truth into the open and adjusting to it.
Stop pretending this was ever fair.
Legacy brands have always attracted the most talent one way or another. Surreptitious spending to bring in recruits has been rumored longer than cable television has existed – we’re verging on a second generation of internet streaming. Now it’s just closer to the surface through the establishment of name, image and likeness collectives.
Smaller schools hire a game-changing coach? They’ve just about always been whisked away to bigger jobs with more resources on hand. Those personalities and their new homes were the only ones allowed to openly profit – that’s very clearly changed.
The system has never favored low majors. It’s rarely worked in the long run for mid-majors. It occasionally doesn’t satisfy some high majors. Accept it or adapt to it creatively to change your circumstances — there aren’t many other choices.
∎Players have always been paid in some way, shape or form – just not with cash that was publicly acknowledged.
Palatial on-campus amenities, private flights, easy access to merchandise, sports-specific academic concerns, and exposure across multiple media outlets are all examples of cash. Actual monies in bank accounts have now supplemented or replaced these benefits. Don’t complain because another school gave more to recruits on your list or lured them with a different financial opportunity; the existing guidelines allow you to match or exceed the price.
Cannot do it? That isn’t really any different. It’s simply taken on a different form.
Do you want your administration and supporters to reclaim some power? Give something in return: a good-faith employment model.
Grant athletes the benefits that come with unionized labor. Access to quality health care, limits on their working hours, guarantees when it comes to standard or minimum compensation – those should be the baselines. Replace an elective course with something mandatory that teaches financial literacy.
Revenue sharing is about to be approved by the NCAA. That will require some widespread disclosure, and it should be adopted on an individual basis as well through contracts. Multi-year deals, mutual options to extend, buyouts – publicize what athletes take home in NIL to create a fair, representative market in which to do business.
How many of those entries into the portal are chasing a payday that was never there? How many coaches and collectives have bid against a suitor and a number that never existed? Add some transparency to those conversations. Taking away the secrecy could help blunt the edge both sides feel entering what is, at its core, a negotiation.
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