Stoudamire jumped in immediately when I got over to him on NIL. He said that with pro sports there is a responsibility to get paid. These are kids and you can't give them a pass because now they are getting paid too. Then the NCAA hasn't implemented any rules and he said he feels like they did that on purpose. You can't just implement NIL and not put in any rules. They put a bunch of money in the neighborhood and then told everyone to just go get it with no rules. I'll shoot you to get the money.
I asked about how the fundraising piece is going. He said that J Batt and his team do a great job of handling the heavy lifting part of getting alums engaged with the NIL people and he is mostly brought in to talk to them. He is all for getting kids paid and the model is bad and it is not sustainable and everyone is going to go out of business and go bankrupt. You can't ask people that help build the buildings and put holes in the ground and come around and ask for $100k. They didn't get rich by giving away money like that and then on top of that you tell them it is not tax deductible either.
Stoudamire said that whenever you ask for money from someone you are going to get a lecture, but if you come with a plan they are usually going to ask how much do you need but at the end of the day it is hard to raise money and you've got to go out and just do it and hope that people understand why and what NIL is about and what it looks like. We've been doing well and J and those guys have done a great job and will continue to do it, but they've got to make it easier on institutions and the people asked to fundraise to generate the interest to want to donate and give and that it is for a better cause but right now we are in a pay-for-play environment and then we are telling them they can't write it off. Also what no one is saying is the NCAA is still not giving any of their money up either. They are getting all that money. This isn't a sustainable model.
Stoudamire said there is nothing tying the kid either and they can go in the portal whenever, but also they can choose to not pay them if they are not good enough either. It is like a movie.
Stoudamire said there are no rules and they are just giving them money and they have people talk to them about money but there are no safeguards in place to protect the kids and he thinks they are setting him up for failure. He said if he had access to this type of money at their age he would've spent it all and the kids are doing that. He thinks they should be putting 70% of the NIL money away for the kids and letting them have 30% and it shouldn't be a choice so they have something left at the end of the day. They are getting hired like pros but not given the support even pro sports get from the NCAA.
Stoudamire said that him and Bonzi share horror stories of guys they know in the NBA who went broke but he said he still had a player walk in the other day with a Louis Vuitton pouch and the Maury sweats that cost $1500
Stoudamire said he would put rules that you can only get paid if you did something to earn it. Like if your initial ranking said this you are tiered money on the initial signing and then moving forward how you play dictates who much you get. This is pay-for-play if you out play your money then you get more and there is no limit on how much the school can give you after that but it is on the school, but for the initial signing. They don't know what that looks like nothing is a given with any signing. "For me, I can't lead with money. I need to know somebody wants to play for me. Because if we lead with money it becomes a transactional relationship and I don't want that because I can't coach you." He isn't against NIL and kids should get some money, but the implementation has been poorly done.
On why he came to GT, GT is an institution and in the ACC and he had a really good job and he tended to lean toward being a pro coach rather than a college coach. After his first year in the NBA as a coach he thought he would never come back to college unless it was the right job. GT checked a lot of boxes and made it easier for him.
On recruiting the ATL, he said it is not easy recruiting Atlanta and there are a lot of kids who just want to leave and see something else. He said he has done a pretty good job of recruiting in Atlanta and the first kid he ever signed at Memphis was from Atlanta and he maintained a lot of relationships and already knew a lot of people here so that helped him. He is a big relationship guy.
Stoudamire said his favorite part of practice is teaching. Breaking it down on offense or defense, he likes the teaching aspect because these guys don't know and that is the most important thing for him is the attention to detail.
Stoudamire said his least favorite part of coaching is yelling at someone or cussing someone out but he will do it if they are not doing the right thing over and over again (I've seen this myself and it is interesting because he is so laid back most of the time). He doesn't understand that part because when he grew up you just did what you were supposed to do and didn't get a pat on the back, you just became a creature of habit and did the right things instinctively.
I asked him what he learned in the secret scrimmage and he said that they can shoot with the lights on. Now he wants to see it with some fans in the stands. They also didn't turn the ball over, but he feels like they have a lot of work to do defensively.
On what he will have learned six months from now about this team, he is a process driven guy and he tells his kids they cannot skip the process it doesn't matter if they are 11-4 or 4-11 at that time, you have to honor the process. He is the CEO and he has to manage that. If they jump out and are 11-4 then he is managing success and if they are 4-11 he is managing expectations so you have to be ready for both, but the process never changes.
Damon said he does not eat the day of a game and fasts. He said he has always been like that and he will eat a little something after the game, but he doesn't like eating late so if it is a later game he will just have a little something. Even when he played he used to do that.
He was asked about the perception of the league post-Coach K and Coach Williams, he said that to the outside there is a lot of uncertainty about the ACC, but he would be lying if he didn't say the job is easier now than when Josh Pastner had it four years ago with so many new coaches now in the league compared to that time. He said Duke will be Duke and UNC will be UNC, he doesn't think that is changing but there has been change and seeing what Jim Larranaga is doing at Miami for example into a top program the last few years shows there is room for others teams to emerge now but you have to build it the right way. NIL has changed things a lot as well
I asked him his opinion on one and done, he said people think he is crazy but he loves one and done. He said he doesn't care about winning or losing, he isn't scared to be fired. He has had jobs and success so he isn't scared of that. One and dones are talented kids and if you bring them in you aren't going to be afraid of them because if they come you are going to win. At the end of the day he gets more excited about seeing kids succeed and he almost cares about that more than his own individual success as a coach. Coaches have good years and they get extensions but if you have a good team and none of those players turn into pros, who really won? At the end of the day he wants everyone rewarded in the same way. One and dones are a notch for the program and to him coaching is about everyone getting what they want out of it. He doesn't want raises or extensions and the kids not make it to the NBA.
On who is standing out to him right now on the team, Miles Kelly and Deebo Coleman are standing out. Deebo has probably been the MVP of the team so far because he is standing out and he is the guy they asked to change the most and do something different than what he was used to. He applauds him for what he has done and he is playing really well and he has done everything I've asked. He has said make it hard on me coach, don't make it easy on me. I think he has bought in. He is shooting the ball well. Also Kowacie Reeves has been the most consistent players every day, doesn't mean he is the best player, but he is doing his job and being in the right place at the right time. It isn't about him making or missing shots, he has been doing the right thing and so has Deebo.
Stoudamire said he used to look for clones of himself as a PG and he won't do that anymore because he doesn't see guys like that and he is looking for someone who wants to pass the ball and score.
He said the biggest difference between college and pros is the pros have a great feel for the game at that point and they know who they are as players and they are getting paid for that so they tend to better prepared for that. He said that college kids are all about the process and building them up to find that identity.
I asked about how the fundraising piece is going. He said that J Batt and his team do a great job of handling the heavy lifting part of getting alums engaged with the NIL people and he is mostly brought in to talk to them. He is all for getting kids paid and the model is bad and it is not sustainable and everyone is going to go out of business and go bankrupt. You can't ask people that help build the buildings and put holes in the ground and come around and ask for $100k. They didn't get rich by giving away money like that and then on top of that you tell them it is not tax deductible either.
Stoudamire said that whenever you ask for money from someone you are going to get a lecture, but if you come with a plan they are usually going to ask how much do you need but at the end of the day it is hard to raise money and you've got to go out and just do it and hope that people understand why and what NIL is about and what it looks like. We've been doing well and J and those guys have done a great job and will continue to do it, but they've got to make it easier on institutions and the people asked to fundraise to generate the interest to want to donate and give and that it is for a better cause but right now we are in a pay-for-play environment and then we are telling them they can't write it off. Also what no one is saying is the NCAA is still not giving any of their money up either. They are getting all that money. This isn't a sustainable model.
Stoudamire said there is nothing tying the kid either and they can go in the portal whenever, but also they can choose to not pay them if they are not good enough either. It is like a movie.
Stoudamire said there are no rules and they are just giving them money and they have people talk to them about money but there are no safeguards in place to protect the kids and he thinks they are setting him up for failure. He said if he had access to this type of money at their age he would've spent it all and the kids are doing that. He thinks they should be putting 70% of the NIL money away for the kids and letting them have 30% and it shouldn't be a choice so they have something left at the end of the day. They are getting hired like pros but not given the support even pro sports get from the NCAA.
Stoudamire said that him and Bonzi share horror stories of guys they know in the NBA who went broke but he said he still had a player walk in the other day with a Louis Vuitton pouch and the Maury sweats that cost $1500
Stoudamire said he would put rules that you can only get paid if you did something to earn it. Like if your initial ranking said this you are tiered money on the initial signing and then moving forward how you play dictates who much you get. This is pay-for-play if you out play your money then you get more and there is no limit on how much the school can give you after that but it is on the school, but for the initial signing. They don't know what that looks like nothing is a given with any signing. "For me, I can't lead with money. I need to know somebody wants to play for me. Because if we lead with money it becomes a transactional relationship and I don't want that because I can't coach you." He isn't against NIL and kids should get some money, but the implementation has been poorly done.
On why he came to GT, GT is an institution and in the ACC and he had a really good job and he tended to lean toward being a pro coach rather than a college coach. After his first year in the NBA as a coach he thought he would never come back to college unless it was the right job. GT checked a lot of boxes and made it easier for him.
On recruiting the ATL, he said it is not easy recruiting Atlanta and there are a lot of kids who just want to leave and see something else. He said he has done a pretty good job of recruiting in Atlanta and the first kid he ever signed at Memphis was from Atlanta and he maintained a lot of relationships and already knew a lot of people here so that helped him. He is a big relationship guy.
Stoudamire said his favorite part of practice is teaching. Breaking it down on offense or defense, he likes the teaching aspect because these guys don't know and that is the most important thing for him is the attention to detail.
Stoudamire said his least favorite part of coaching is yelling at someone or cussing someone out but he will do it if they are not doing the right thing over and over again (I've seen this myself and it is interesting because he is so laid back most of the time). He doesn't understand that part because when he grew up you just did what you were supposed to do and didn't get a pat on the back, you just became a creature of habit and did the right things instinctively.
I asked him what he learned in the secret scrimmage and he said that they can shoot with the lights on. Now he wants to see it with some fans in the stands. They also didn't turn the ball over, but he feels like they have a lot of work to do defensively.
On what he will have learned six months from now about this team, he is a process driven guy and he tells his kids they cannot skip the process it doesn't matter if they are 11-4 or 4-11 at that time, you have to honor the process. He is the CEO and he has to manage that. If they jump out and are 11-4 then he is managing success and if they are 4-11 he is managing expectations so you have to be ready for both, but the process never changes.
Damon said he does not eat the day of a game and fasts. He said he has always been like that and he will eat a little something after the game, but he doesn't like eating late so if it is a later game he will just have a little something. Even when he played he used to do that.
He was asked about the perception of the league post-Coach K and Coach Williams, he said that to the outside there is a lot of uncertainty about the ACC, but he would be lying if he didn't say the job is easier now than when Josh Pastner had it four years ago with so many new coaches now in the league compared to that time. He said Duke will be Duke and UNC will be UNC, he doesn't think that is changing but there has been change and seeing what Jim Larranaga is doing at Miami for example into a top program the last few years shows there is room for others teams to emerge now but you have to build it the right way. NIL has changed things a lot as well
I asked him his opinion on one and done, he said people think he is crazy but he loves one and done. He said he doesn't care about winning or losing, he isn't scared to be fired. He has had jobs and success so he isn't scared of that. One and dones are talented kids and if you bring them in you aren't going to be afraid of them because if they come you are going to win. At the end of the day he gets more excited about seeing kids succeed and he almost cares about that more than his own individual success as a coach. Coaches have good years and they get extensions but if you have a good team and none of those players turn into pros, who really won? At the end of the day he wants everyone rewarded in the same way. One and dones are a notch for the program and to him coaching is about everyone getting what they want out of it. He doesn't want raises or extensions and the kids not make it to the NBA.
On who is standing out to him right now on the team, Miles Kelly and Deebo Coleman are standing out. Deebo has probably been the MVP of the team so far because he is standing out and he is the guy they asked to change the most and do something different than what he was used to. He applauds him for what he has done and he is playing really well and he has done everything I've asked. He has said make it hard on me coach, don't make it easy on me. I think he has bought in. He is shooting the ball well. Also Kowacie Reeves has been the most consistent players every day, doesn't mean he is the best player, but he is doing his job and being in the right place at the right time. It isn't about him making or missing shots, he has been doing the right thing and so has Deebo.
Stoudamire said he used to look for clones of himself as a PG and he won't do that anymore because he doesn't see guys like that and he is looking for someone who wants to pass the ball and score.
He said the biggest difference between college and pros is the pros have a great feel for the game at that point and they know who they are as players and they are getting paid for that so they tend to better prepared for that. He said that college kids are all about the process and building them up to find that identity.
