🌰 THE Tuesday edition of the Field of 68 Daily

It’s been nearly a month since Jeff Goodman reported that serious change could be coming to the NCAA Tournament. Well, now school officials are openly discussing the prospect of automatic qualifiers not being a part of March Madness.

A March without the madness of Saint Peter’s beating Kentucky or UMBC stunning Virginia? That’s just dumb. We have thousands of subscribers to The Field of 68 Daily, many of them college coaches and school officials.

Here’s a request: Please do everything in your power to retain automatic bids. The NCAA Tournament is one of the truly equitable championship events in all of sports. That’s what’s elevated the tourney from just another postseason contest to March Madness. Don’t ruin it.

Let’s get to the (rest) of the news.

STARTING FIVE

1. Buckeyes built for now … and the future

The slow burn Chris Holtmann’s doing at Ohio State is something. In his five seasons, the Buckeyes have averaged:

• 21 wins

• 11 losses

• a No. 22 finish on KenPom

• A 6-seed in the NCAA Tourney

All solid numbers, but nothing spectacular. Maybe that’s why I’ll be so interested to see how the next three years shake out given his 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, both of which look stellar on paper.

The 2022 group features five freshmen and three transfers, two of whom (Isaac Likekele and Sean McNeil) could start, and is tabbed as the eighth-best class this year. Part of that is due to quantity, but they are also quality additions. Four of the five freshmen are four-star prospects. Next year’s class is even better. Four players, headlined by Scotty Middleton, provide Ohio State with a bevy of high-end talent that could make an impact in their first season. But more importantly, they should factor heavily into the team’s success over the next two to four years as guys develop.

That’s the ideal blend for high-performing college programs today — good-to-elite talent that stays. The formula programs like Kansas and Villanova perfected.

“I’m not downplaying bringing in seven or eight transfers per year. Guys have done that well,” Holtmann told John Fanta last week. “But, that’s not what we want to do here. I’ve talked with Gene a lot about this. Our collective vision is to have a blend of experience with a class like we're bringing in now. This is the best recruiting class we've had in our five years. We could struggle some early on, but I think we’ll be better for it this season and in the long haul.”

2. ESPN and Big Ten breaking up?

Per the Sports Business Journal, that TV relationship may suffer the same fate as Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian. Things don’t sound good.

ESPN has carried Big Ten games for the last 40 years, but Fox snagged the “A” package a few months ago — as a reminder, football is driving this — and CBS and NBC are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating the Saturday afternoon and primetime slots. In all, the Big Ten could fetch more than $1 billion per year for rights. (The small school ADs are right to be worried).

The SBJ reports that ESPN could still pull off a comeback, but given it paid $2.25 billion for SEC rights that start in 2024, giving another $350 million every year to the Big Ten seems unlikely, even if Disney (which owns ESPN) is run by a Big Ten alum. Enjoy the ACC/Big Ten showdown this season and next. Who knows what’s ahead for it?

3. Take those Cyclone warnings seriously!

Right behind that 2023 Ohio State class that I raved about earlier? Iowa State, which added another piece to its recruiting puzzle on Monday.

Fish is a 6-6 forward, tabbed as a 3-star prospect. But more importantly, he’s an ideal addition to an Iowa State class that already features impact players such as Milan Moncilovic and his AAU teammate Omaha Biliew.

“I feel like I’m a hard-working player, always doing all the little things that are needed to win," said Fish. “Also my ability to connect everyone on the team. I can help early on by doing the intangibles that I do best. Overall I would just say I’m honing my skills as a player and doing as much as I can to be prepared to play on the next level.”

It’s not just talk, either. Fish played on the MoKan Elite team that just won at Peach Jam, meaning he’s been a part of a winning culture, not just around talented players. Lots to like about that kind of roster assembly.

4. NIL rules not changing anytime soon

Bad news for those who dislike the Name, Image and Likeness flurry. It’s not changing anytime soon.

The short answer to the above question: no.

For a slightly longer answer about why the “interim” policy is the de-facto permanent solution, legal experts agree that any new NCAA NIL rules would stem from a federal law that contains an antitrust exemption. And the odds of that are (checks notes) zero. especially not in today’s political environment (no matter what Tommy Tuberville thinks is possible).

The good news? NIL is still paying dividends for schools that have their act together. The latest example is New Boulevard Collective, which will pay SMU basketball and football players $36,000 each (stemming from a $3.5 million annual payout), no small thing for a school that’s not inclined toward hoops.

More notable is what UNC just did with its Carolina NIL Exchange. That’s an online marketplace that connects Tar Heel athletes with local and global businesses for NIL deals. (And also helps with tax questions.) Other schools have partnered with companies to produce a marketplace, but this may be the first time a school has done it.

It’s a bold new world out there.

5. Transfers looking for the right fit

This bold new world isn’t for the meek, either. Transfer portal activity always slows by this point of the summer — much to the chagrin of those still seeking a new place to play.

That’s a massive number, though I don’t know where Tobias (who works for The Athletic) sourced his stat. Maybe he included football as well.

 VerbalCommits.com tracks all the basketball transfer movements, and it shows that 483 of 1,752 transfers have yet to find a new program. That’s 28%. Significantly lower than above, but still. School’s starting back up and most players are already on campus. If more than a quarter of the 2021-22 players haven’t found a spot yet, I wish them luck.

SUMMER READING

Wake’s task? Replicating its transfer magic

Summer reading assignments suck. Trying to absorb info when your brain just wants to zone out is like trying to outrebound Oscar Tshiebwe. Well, good news. We did the assignment. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Sean Paul gives CliffsNotes on programs that aren’t Top 25 contenders but are worth knowing entering the 2022-23 season. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. 

The Wake Forest synopsis: The Demon Deacons won 25 games and finished 35th in KenPom but still missed the NCAA Tournament. Making matters worse? The two players who emerged as stars — and arrived as transfers — are now professionals. ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams and first-rounder Jake LaRavia aren’t going to be easy to replace. For coach Steve Forbes to continue his impressive rebuild (from 6-16 to 25-10), he’ll need to strike transfer gold yet again.

Main Characters: I LOVE Florida transfer Tyree Appleby coming into Winston-Salem. He's not overly efficient but can catch fire (34 percent from 3) on offense. He and Daivien Williamson should form an electric shooting duo. Williamson averaged 11.8 points and is the team's top returning scorer. The most intriguing guard may be Marist transfer Jao Ituka, though. He's only 6-1 but is sensational at getting to the basket and finishing — a primary reason he shot 52.6 percent from the field. Can his skill set translate to the ACC?

Freshman Bobi Klintman is a long, rangy wing with terrific playmaking ability for his size. The FIBA U20 event allowed him to showcase his skills, and he averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in seven games for Sweden.

Two frontcourt transfers, Davion Bradford (Kansas State) and Andrew Carr (Delaware) should play impactful roles. Bradford is a more traditional bruising big, while Carr can stretch the floor at the 4. Damari Monsanto is another frontcourt option. He averaged 7.3 points and shot 39 percent from 3, but a preseason injury held him to 16 games.

The conflict: Wake’s trending in the right direction, but replacing two All-ACC players is tough. How does the new talent mesh? This is the most unpredictable part of the transfer era.

Spoiler Alert! The ACC didn't have an ideal regular season, which hurt Wake's NCAA Tournament chances. Expect the conference to be better in 2022-23, which should put the Demon Deacons near the 7-9 range in the preseason polls — and in decent shape for a tourney bid.

THE FAST BREAK

Links as you realize for the first time that Netflix has video games.

• 2023 forward J.P. Estrella will decide on a program on September 2. ‘Cuse, Iowa, Tennessee and Marquette are in the mix. Meanwhile, Coen Carr will announce today.

• K.D. Johnson is ANGRY at this ball. Or maybe just pumped up?

• Cool shot of Marquette celebrating its 2003 Final Four team. Spot a pro!

• It’s a little amazing Greivis Vasquez wasn’t already in the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame.

• How do coaches keep up with all that transfer activity? Here’s one way.*

*This is sponsored content. Want your business to be highlighted here? Contact us about advertising opportunities.

THE DTF PODCAST

Replacing legendary coaches

Jon Scheyer is now the man at Duke. Kyle Neptune takes the helm at Villanova. Between the two of them, they have a total of one year of head coaching experience. They’re replacing two coaches who won more than 1,800 games and 7 NCAA Tournament titles, including 3 since 2015.

So. Whose job would you rather have? Who will have a tougher time replacing a legend? Rob Dauster, John Fanta and Terrence Oglesby weigh in.

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