Buckets, Bronny and the Big Ten

Anytime you see a surprising result from a foreign basketball tour — like UNLV’s 79-72 loss Tuesday to the University of British Columbia — it’s always helpful to repeat “it’s just a summer exhibition.” The context always matters (UNLV didn’t have Elijah Harkless and was playing with FIBA International rules), and the official season is still months away.

We’ll dive into more of the foreign tour results in Thursday’s Daily and do our best to live up to that advice. Probably.

Let’s get to the news.

STARTING FIVE

1. Vols add a #Certified bucket getter

Freddie Dilione impressed the hell out of Rob Dauster earlier this summer. Turns out, Rick Barnes was already there. Now, Tennessee has itself one of 2023’s impact players.

Dilione, a 6-5 shooting guard, chose the Vols over a host of candidates, including Alabama, Virginia, N.C. State, Wake Forest and VCU.

And while Dilione checks in as a 4-star prospect right now, he could significantly rise as a senior. His strong summer (he played for Team Loaded NC) showcased his ability to score at all three levels and consistently produce (averaged 22.5 ppg on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit). He’s confident, quick and skillfully reads defenses. Pair that with his size and Dilione figures to be an impact player in the SEC.

Tennessee missed out on some high-profile recruits in recent weeks (Justin Edwards, Aden Holloway), but its latest addition pairs with Cade Phillips as the Vols’ second Top 100 recruit for 2023.

2. The recruitment of Bronny James

At the risk of over-playing recruiting news about a 4-star prospect, this is the second post in three days about Bronny James. But hey, it’s the slow summer months, and the impact of wherever LeBron’s kids play is meaningful.

Anyway. After an ESPN report last week about five schools in the mix — Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA and USC — Jamie Shaw from On3.com reported that the Bruins and Wolverines aren’t actively recruiting Bronny.

And Oregon seems to have the inside track.

As the de-facto Nike school, Oregon makes sense. It’s a strong brand, a steady basketball contender under Dana Altman (7 NCAA tourney berths since 2013, and a Final Four appearance) and they’ve added impact 2023 prospects in Mookie Cook and Kwame Evans. Perhaps just as crucially, neither is a guard. Bronny could immediately compete for a starting spot. In fact, him playing with them makes for a compelling show.

Shaw gives Oregon a 50/50 shot at landing Bronny (if he doesn’t play in the G League). Or we could just ask dad.

More recruiting news:

• 4-star prospect Corey Chest, a 6-8 forward is headed to LSU as part of the 2023 class.

• Oregon is adding the nation’s leading junior college scorer, 6-5 guard Tyrone Williams. He averaged 27.6 ppg and hit 43.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.

3. What happens to all the Big Ten basketball games?

As the Big Ten finalizes its new media deal with CBS and NBC, there’s a lingering question for college basketball fans: What happens to all those ESPN games?

Last season, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU aired nearly 40 men’s college basketball games. For fans, knowing there was usually a Tuesday & Thursday ESPN game was a comforting fact. While it’s possible CBS or NBC could air those games, it’s more likely CBS Sports Network or USA Network picks up those games, with a dose of Paramount+ and Peacock thrown in. FS1, as the main Big Ten media partner, also could air games, but bifurcating games from a familiar home to networks and potentially even streaming services for games is going to be a nightmare for fans.

Bob Thompson, former president of Fox Sports Network, also told Bryan Fischer of D1.ticker that ESPN could very well sub-license some of those basketball games. That makes sense from an inventory perspective, but ESPN could just use NHL games, among other programming.

It’s also unlikely everything is shuttled to a streaming service. The Big Ten wants that linear TV exposure that places like ESPN and USA Network provide.

If there’s an important lesson to learn from the failure of the Pac-12 Network, ESPN exposure matters, not only because of the total footprint, but it’s often the only way alums can watch games. Airing games locally doesn’t work for grads who don’t live in the area.

Even when the new media deal becomes official, a sub-license deal wouldn’t be clear until months afterward, and potentially into the spring. Or maybe the Big 12 and the Pac-12 fill that void for ESPN.

By this time next year, we might need Charlie Kelly to make us a handy viewing guide for Big Ten basketball games.

4. Emoni Bates drama? Nah.

This tweet made the rounds yesterday.

Bates announced earlier this summer that he’ll play at Eastern Michigan this season, though he is not listed currently shown on the roster. But here’s the thing: Classes don’t start at EMU for another few weeks. Bates has been on campus and is still expected to play for Stan Heath’s squad in 2022-23.

It’s understandable given the drama around Bates last season, but this happens as athletic departments prep for the school year. Is Kentucky freaking out because Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso isn’t listed on the Wildcats’ current roster? Nah. Same deal with EMU.

5. India as a basketball incubator

Amaan Sandhu is a 7-foot freshman who’ll play at Monmouth this season. Perhaps that sounds routine, but he did make history as the first player from the NBA Academy in India to receive a Division I scholarship.

The Mohali, Punjab native first played at First Love Christian Academy in Pittsburgh before moving to the NBA Academy in 2020. He’s been a part of the Indian Men’s National Team at different events. The biggest thing could be what Sandhu signals.

Per this Sandhu feature at The Athletic, there are 10 million kids playing basketball in India thanks to outreach done by the Junior NBA Program, which hired scouts to look for talent and opened schools in nine cities. Cricket still rules, but hoops is the second-fastest growing sport in the country.

One can imagine a regular Indian pipeline to U.S. colleges, with stops as teenagers along the way to various basketball prep schools. As someone like Sandhu potentially develops into a star, his appeal can only help foster more interest in India. He could be an anachronist, considering he had a push toward hoops.

Monmouth plays Syracuse on Dec. 12, one of the earliest opportunities for a larger audience to see Sandhu before MAAC play begins. Wonder if that game will somehow get broadcast in India?

THE FAST BREAK

Links as you hold out hope that Idris Elba will still be the new James Bond.

• Kylan Boswell, who re-classified as a 2022 prospect and enrolled early at Arizona, isn’t expected to be a factor until midseason as he recovers from foot surgery.

• Arkansas freshman Nick Smith suffered a knee sprain during Monday’s foreign tour but isn’t expected to suffer any ill effects.

• Creighton’s depth took a minor hit Tuesday. Guard Rati Andronikashvili is leaving school to play in Europe. He played 33 games last season, averaging 1.8 points and 1.1 assists.

• As part of a benefits rule change, schools may now pay parking expenses for athletes. An all-time benny.

• UC regents discuss UCLA’s Big Ten move today. Sounds like it’s a preparation for athletes eventually being compensated as employees.

OFF THE CAROUSEL

Florida’s Golden guy

Todd Golden is 37. He led San Francisco to just its second NCAA Tournament berth in the last 40 years in 2022 and now takes over a Florida program that’s won more than 21 games just once since 2015.

Safe to say, expectations are high in Gainesville. I mean, Golden sure sounds like the second coming of Billy Donovan. Listen to him explain what’s ahead for Florida in our Off the Carousel series.

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