CHAPEL HILL – College athletics have changed a great deal in recent years, notably with NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) having gone into effect a year ago July 1. With it has come a bevy of distractions for players, not to mention the trickiness of its impact on the transfer portal.
For successful teams that remain relatively intact, such as North Carolina has after its run to the national championship game, opportunities have seemingly been limitless. That also means players are being pulled in directions that weren’t allowed by the NCAA until recently.
The Tar Heels, with their brand, style, tradition, massive fan base, and cache, have benefitted greatly from NIL rewards. The message within the walls of the Smith Center, however, has been simple: Remember why you have these opportunities, and there are three boxes that must be checked to maximize NIL potential.
“Number one is you have to be in a great market, and I said, ‘You can check that box,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said during his summer press conference recently at the Smith Center. “North Carolina’s at the highest level. There’s other programs that are at our level, there’s nobody higher than us. You can check that box.’
“I said number two is, ‘you personally have to play well. You’re not going to benefit from your name, image, and likeness if you’re not playing well.’ And I said number three, which is probably the most important thing, you have to have team success. I said, ‘You check those three boxes, the NIL will come to you.’”
Davis’ mission is to keep his guys balanced. Basketball is how they got to UNC, academics and basketball are why they remain at UNC. He comes from the Dean Smith school of how a program runs most effectively, though the current climate of college athletics would have challenged Smith much like it does Davis and everyone else in the nation.
And while he wants his program to resemble Smith’s in many respects, Davis embraces the shifts in the landscape. No question about it.
“One of the things I talk to them about with NIL, in which I am one-hundred percent support of our players,” he said. “I’m thankful that they get an opportunity to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness, and I think that’s terrific.”
But perspective is key here. And Davis lived it professionally, so his message shouldn’t have any trouble getting into the depths of each player’s ear.
“It wasn’t NIL when I was in the NBA, but when I was playing with the New York Knicks, I got everything,” he said. “I was in New York City, one of the best markets out there. I was getting all different types of deals because I was playing well personally, and as a team we were always going to the Eastern Conference finals and got to the NBA Finals. Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers, we were a good team.
“Then I got traded, and this deal left and that deal left, and this deal left. Another market, I didn’t play very well, and our team was not very good. So, I gave them that picture of the things that have to line up in terms to be able to benefit from that.”
That is a rather clear message. And the players likely know it, because had they not closed the season strong making a run to the national championship game, they would not have nearly as many NIL opportunities as have come their way.
The signing tour in April garnered them a tremendous amount of money, plus the key returning players have landed deals. Nobody, however, has raked it in more than senior forward Armando Bacot, who leapt into national consciousness when his incredible season was met with team success. That gave him a platform in the postseason to show off his impressive personality and wit.
Concerns about Bacot spending more time on being a star away from basketball can be alleviated, because Davis says the 6-foot-10 Virginian is grinding and improving.
“He’s been getting after it and he’s getting a lot better,” Davis said, “and I’m very happy with what he’s doing out there on the court.”
Bacot does wield his star power some. Perhaps the perfect example of how college athletics has shifted light years from what was not long ago the norm, is that Davis is working Bacot. Literally.
Bacot taped a cameo appearance on the popular Netflix show “Outer Banks” in May, and has been invited to a premiere of some kind for the show and its cast. Davis wants in on it, and for good reason.
“I never thought I’d go to a player and ask him, ‘Can you hook me up?’ My daughter wants to meet the cast, and I go to a player – big change. Man. Gosh…,” the coach said, laughing. “I don’t know what it is, but this is huge bonus points for me as a dad with my daughter.”
It is all in fun, and NIL is what it is. Davis says his players are handling it well, but wants them to keep everything in the same working order it was prior to them being allowed to cash in on who they are.
“Our guys have done a really good job of understanding of what’s important and making sure that they’re doing the things that they need to do on the court, in the classroom, and in the community,” Davis said. “And if you have time to do NIL work, then you can do it.”
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