Pasha

[BigBlue4Life]

So pasha left us for this???
8.5 mpg
2.0 ppg
0.7 apg
0.7 rpg
He was prime for a great sophomore season. Instead he throws up this gem.

[Youdee Blues]

It may be all about the NIL dollars these days. In addition to these numbers: 7618 vs 1748

[DaveB]

The rumored $1m pay day makes riding the pine easy although I have a hard time believing he got a mil to play at Vtech

[hoopster]

Read an article recently noting his year hadn’t gone the way he had hoped. Oh well, there is always that risk that you won’t fit into a new program. Probably regrets choosing VTech over his other options.

Hope these kids realize that money isn’t everything. He only has 4 years in life to play college basketball and sitting on the bench this season is one year he will never get back. Hopefully next year is better, but wouldn’t surprise me to see him transfer again.

On the other hand, John Camden is thriving at Cal in the same ACC conference as Pasha.

[Hens79]

Camden was a can’t miss in the P4 with his shooting ability being 6’8”. Pasha, while showing flashes at UD was really raw and can’t do anything really well (yet?). As far as the rumor for $1 Million NIL’s, I think it makes sense. At a BHTC earlier this year I asked how we were faring keeping guys, especially against G5 competitors. The SID said we were doing well but did discuss Camden and Pasha when the big guys come knocking . He didn’t disclose amounts but the math he discussed could have easily led to $1 million. He said UD offered each 5 times what they previously paid them and Cal and VT offered them 10 times on top of that. So if UD was giving them $20K and offered them $100K, their new schools offered them $1 million. Even if UD was originally only giving them $10K, the math would lead to $500K. Makes sitting on the bench a little more tolerable.

[Cluck U]

Read an article recently noting his year hadn’t gone the way he had hoped. Oh well, there is always that risk that you won’t fit into a new program. Probably regrets choosing VTech over his other options.

Hope these kids realize that money isn’t everything. He only has 4 years in life to play college basketball and sitting on the bench this season is one year he will never get back. Hopefully next year is better, but wouldn’t surprise me to see him transfer again.

On the other hand, John Camden is thriving at Cal in the same ACC conference as Pasha.

Speaking of a year or two/three/four/five/six/seven no one will get back...how many years would it take Pasha to make up for that $900,000 of lost money?

Good grief...if he is getting paid $1,000,000 to sit on a bench at WV, while still getting to experience everything else that a college athlete experiences (there is life outside of basketball), and UD only offered him $100,000, then that would be $900,000 that was foolishly left on the table.

Who in the world would give up $900,000 (for one year...let alone any additional money for any other years) at that age? Set that money aside, even if it is only $500,000 after taxes, and invest it and your future retirement is set...at 20-some years old. You could do whatever you want for a job and have the peace of mind that you don't have to worry about your older years. Two years of that income at that age and you have your house paid for and your retirement set...in your early 20s!!!!!

And yet some folks think that a kid would be better off missing out on $900,000 so that he could play a few more minutes of a game (a game, for goodness sake!) called basketball a couple times per week?

I sometimes can't fathom what goes on in some folks' minds. Bouncing a ball a bit more or a life changing amount of money. That should in no way be a hard choice.

[DaveB]

Speaking of money, no idea if this is accurate but a solid read on CUSA and rev share.

Shows estimates for CUSA schools with a $1m rev share budget for FB and roughly $330k for hoops

Delaware is 2nd in CUSA with a $48m athletic budget, behind Liberty $60m and ahead of 3rd place MTSU $43m

https://nil-ncaa.com/cusa/

[BlueHenBill]

The overwhelming majority of athletes will never play true pro sports, even less at the highest level of pro sports. Few HS athletes have the opportunity to play college sports, even less at the Div I level. So for almost all of these college athletes their college years are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play a sport they presumably love at the college level before their playing days are gone for good. Before college athletes got paid (other than scholly, room & board, & cost of attendance) college athletes frequently transferred down to a lower level of Div I, Div II, and/or Div III in search of meaningful playing time. Many who aren't making big NIL $ still do. If they get a good college education, they will have the opportunity to make a good living, though most won't anywhere near a million $ at one time. So I guess it comes down to what each individual values more very large payday(s) to not play meaningful minutes or a solid college athletic career with all of the joy, lifetime friendships among teammates, and memories that ensue.

[Cluck U]

BHB,

Are you saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters?

Look, if the difference in pay is only $10,000, then a student might decide that staying in place is a better alternative than going somewhere else...especially if the transfer would mess up the timing for graduation or if the present school is a better school for job prospects, family ties being nearby or some other intangibles. $10,000 can be made up by many. But, once that delta gets bigger, especially the P4 offers, the choice becomes obvious.

Glory Days is a sad song about athletes holding on to memories...much better to have a boat, home, vacations, etc. to take one's mind off of the old glory days.

[UDHoops]

Pasha was in for a large role until they landed 6'8" playmaker Neoklis Avdalas in the summer, who is from Greece and pulled his name out of the 2025 NBA Draft to go to VT. NCAA coaches at the high major level have lately been targeting Round 2 NBA international prospects as multiple have stated they are more ready to go from Day 1 and they are noticeably cheaper than the top freshmen/portal adds. Avdalas hasn't lived up to his preseason hype in Blacksburg, but is still a crucial piece to them.

Will be interesting to see if Pasha moves this portal season or bets on himself in year 2 at VT. Ben Hammond, who we were after when he was in HS at WCAC's Paul VI, really has taken a sophomore leap under Mike Young at VT.

[BlueHenBill]

BHB,

Are you saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters?

Look, if the difference in pay is only $10,000, then a student might decide that staying in place is a better alternative than going somewhere else...especially if the transfer would mess up the timing for graduation or if the present school is a better school for job prospects, family ties being nearby or some other intangibles. $10,000 can be made up by many. But, once that delta gets bigger, especially the P4 offers, the choice becomes obvious.

Glory Days is a sad song about athletes holding on to memories...much better to have a boat, home, vacations, etc. to take one's mind off of the old glory days.

Cluck U, No I am not "saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters". However, the joy, lasting teammate friendships, and memories that ensue are a heck of a lot less when your career is reduced to being a benchwarmer who rarely plays.

So Pasha is getting $1 M to barely play at VT in 2025-26. If Pasha's deal is year-to-year, Pasha has to be a disappointment to VT and he is likely to receive little or no NIL money from VT next year and maybe for the rest of his career at VT if he stays or even is allowed to stay at VT becaue Pasha's current remuneration is a bad deal for VT. Further, Pasha has not established a solid resume this season with the result that it is unlikely to land him major NIL deals anywhere else. Pashas' play at UD in 2024-25 earned him his deal at VT because of his play & the potential that VT saw in him. Pasha is now "damaged goods" in the college athlete flesh market.

[Caribbean Hen]

Let me tell you how it will be, there’s one for you 19 for me

I wonder how many players were surprised to learn just how much tax they’re gonna have to pay on a 1 million dollar NIL payment..,

Cluck touched on it earlier when he said 1 million can turn into 500,000 after taxes… these poor kids playing in NYC will get hit hard …

just be thankful Mandami don’t take it all
and only for dribbling a basketball …. Taxman

Estimated Tax on $1,000,000
Federal
~30–35%
$300,000–$350,000

NY State
~8–9%
$80,000–$90,000

NYC
~3.876%
$38,000–$39,000

Total
~41–47% overall
~$418,000–$479,000

Ouch!

[Cluck U]

BHB,

Are you saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters?

Look, if the difference in pay is only $10,000, then a student might decide that staying in place is a better alternative than going somewhere else...especially if the transfer would mess up the timing for graduation or if the present school is a better school for job prospects, family ties being nearby or some other intangibles. $10,000 can be made up by many. But, once that delta gets bigger, especially the P4 offers, the choice becomes obvious.

Glory Days is a sad song about athletes holding on to memories...much better to have a boat, home, vacations, etc. to take one's mind off of the old glory days.

Cluck U, No I am not "saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters". However, the joy, lasting teammate friendships, and memories that ensue are a heck of a lot less when your career is reduced to being a benchwarmer who rarely plays.

So Pasha is getting $1 M to barely play at VT in 2025-26. If Pasha's deal is year-to-year, Pasha has to be a disappointment to VT and he is likely to receive little or no NIL money from VT next year and maybe for the rest of his career at VT if he stays or even is allowed to stay at VT becaue Pasha's current remuneration is a bad deal for VT. Further, Pasha has not established a solid resume this season with the result that it is unlikely to land him major NIL deals anywhere else. Pashas' play at UD in 2024-25 earned him his deal at VT because of his play & the potential that VT saw in him. Pasha is now "damaged goods" in the college athlete flesh market.

C'mon, BHB, have you played sports?

Sure, starters get a lot more publicity, but there are plenty of people on a team that go on later to have lasting relationships and great memories from being a part of a team. There is usually only one starting QB, but I've know back ups for Maryland and other teams who cherish their time on a college team...bench or not. Heck, I have some great friendships and memories from some of my intramural teams. It isn't just about playing time...there is sooooooooooo much more time spent with a team than just a couple hours of game time. Bonding comes from practicing together, sweating, sharing experiences, supporting your friends/teammates, partying, etc.

Also, Pasha won't be damaged goods. And it is odd that you say that he could have displayed his talent at UD for another year...just to up his salary (again) to go somewhere else a year later.

[BlueHenBill]

BHB,

Are you saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters?

Look, if the difference in pay is only $10,000, then a student might decide that staying in place is a better alternative than going somewhere else...especially if the transfer would mess up the timing for graduation or if the present school is a better school for job prospects, family ties being nearby or some other intangibles. $10,000 can be made up by many. But, once that delta gets bigger, especially the P4 offers, the choice becomes obvious.

Glory Days is a sad song about athletes holding on to memories...much better to have a boat, home, vacations, etc. to take one's mind off of the old glory days.

Cluck U, No I am not "saying there is no joy, no lifetime friendships among teammates and no, "memories that ensue" for non-starters". However, the joy, lasting teammate friendships, and memories that ensue are a heck of a lot less when your career is reduced to being a benchwarmer who rarely plays.

So Pasha is getting $1 M to barely play at VT in 2025-26. If Pasha's deal is year-to-year, Pasha has to be a disappointment to VT and he is likely to receive little or no NIL money from VT next year and maybe for the rest of his career at VT if he stays or even is allowed to stay at VT becaue Pasha's current remuneration is a bad deal for VT. Further, Pasha has not established a solid resume this season with the result that it is unlikely to land him major NIL deals anywhere else. Pashas' play at UD in 2024-25 earned him his deal at VT because of his play & the potential that VT saw in him. Pasha is now "damaged goods" in the college athlete flesh market.

C'mon, BHB, have you played sports?

Sure, starters get a lot more publicity, but there are plenty of people on a team that go on later to have lasting relationships and great memories from being a part of a team. There is usually only one starting QB, but I've know back ups for Maryland and other teams who cherish their time on a college team...bench or not. Heck, I have some great friendships and memories from some of my intramural teams. It isn't just about playing time...there is sooooooooooo much more time spent with a team than just a couple hours of game time. Bonding comes from practicing together, sweating, sharing experiences, supporting your friends/teammates, partying, etc.
Also, Pasha won't be damaged goods. And it is odd that you say that he could have displayed his talent at UD for another year...just to up his salary (again) to go somewhere else a year later.

Cluck U, My post did not "say that he could have displayed his talent at UD for another year...just to up his salary (again) to go somewhere else a year later." For the money being offered, his move was well timed. However, his selection of VT (presumably based primarily if not exclusively on the highest NIL $ offered was from an athletic standpoint a bad decision. Pasha apparently did a poor job in evaluating where he could have the best combination of NIL $ and playing time. Unless it was exclusively a monetary decision he presumably could have selected another high level program where the money may have been somewhat less but the playing opportunities greater. So if VT isn't going to continue to pay Pasha anywhere near
$1 mil next year or even keep him on the roster, what resume does Pasha have from his season at VT to attract high level programs and substantial
NIL $ for next season? That is why I view Pasha as now "damaged goods" in the college athlete flesh market.

[DaveB]

https://x.com/theportalreport/status/20 ... 33223?s=46

Heading down a level but I guess still a tad higher than UD. As with many today, probably will move on to his 4th school the following year