The UConn Fast Break - 6/22/2021

The dog days of summer are here.

June 22, 2021

Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, and thank you for being a subscriber. We love you more than Dan Hurley loves George Brett. (you’ll see)

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Weekly Rewind

Reggie Crawford playing in the Cape Cod League before joining the USA Collegiate National Team - A UConn player has been part of the USACNT for five of the last six years.

UConn baseball’s summer assignments - Crawford, Kyler Fedko, and Pat Winkel are among the UConn stars playing summer ball this year, while a number of other current and incoming Huskies will be in action as well.

Kyler Fedko named NCBWA First Team All-American - He was also a Baseball America 2nd team All-American and, along with a handful of teammates, also earned regional distinctions.

Boston Celtics trade Kemba Walker to OKC - Kemba comes out of this looking like a liability with a bad contract on the wrong side of 30, but he’s still a great player. Whether it’s in Oklahoma City or somewhere else (there are rumblings OKC may trade him) Walker still has plenty to offer an NBA team.

Annie Fiorvanti named UConn deputy athletic director - Firovanti has been at UConn since 2011, this is a promotion.

Five former UConn stars named to Team USA Olympic Team - Napheesa Collier makes her first Olympic team, and there may be more of Geno’s former players in Tokyo depending on the selections for the 3x3 team. Stef Dolson and Katie Lou Samuelson played for the qualifying teams in that competition.

Former UConn star Roisin Upton named to Ireland Olympic team - The two-time field hockey national champion will be taking her talents to Tokyo after playing a key role in Ireland’s qualification.

James Bouknight invited to NBA Combine - Many project Bouknight as a lottery pick. He’ll have a chance to keep boosting his stock at the combine.

UConn football adds seven recruits - On Saturday, Randy Edsall signaled that five players committed to the program. Since then another two have announced. You can get details on them from Storrs Central and this article on the first wave of commits.

Speaking of the football team, this year’s freshman class has moved in and has started getting to work!

Have you seen Homefield’s fresh lineup of retro Huskies swag?!

CLICK HERE for 20% OFF!!!

Watch This!

Reggie Crawford won Player of the Game Monday night, showcasing his hitting and pitching skills.

From the man, the myth, the legend, @tcf15: every UConn dunk from last season

UConn, Great Pic

Possible alternate men’s hoops uniform?

Memory Lane

A lovely shot of Jonathan XIV from our photographer Ian Bethune at the UConn vs. Boston College football game at Fenway Park in 2017.

Coach’s Corner

An enjoyable profile of Dan Hurley from the CT Post - highlights include this quote:

“I came here with very, very high expectations for what I want to accomplish over the next 12 years or so,” Hurley said. “I'm going to go all gas, no brakes, until I get there.”

… and Hurley’s impression of his hero George Brett’s batting stance:

Parting Thoughts

NIL rights and the recent antitrust decision from the Supreme Court against the NCAA suggest significant changes coming for college sports. Hopefully, these changes work together to make the system more equitable in the near future. If these next several years are managed poorly, college sports as we know it could cease to exist.

Connecticut is one of over a dozen states to pass name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation, which would allow college athletes to accept sponsorship deals and make money in other ways related to their sport. UConn plans to allow athletes to take advantage of this once the laws take effect, which could be as soon as next month.

It shouldn’t be hard to support the idea that these players deserve a piece of the very large money pie that is being made from this enterprise. As college sports has aggressively commercialized itself into a multibillion-dollar industry, the common-sense case for paying players gets stronger with each passing year.

We may soon see common sense turn into reality.

In a country that can’t seem to agree on anything, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the way the NCAA restricts player compensation violates antitrust law. Sportico’s Michael McCann noted that Justice Brett Kavanaugh “advocated for a broader rebuke of NCAA amateurism.”

While this decision alone does not crumble the NCAA’s model, McCann said it “repudiates a long-standing NCAA argument that it is owed favorable treatment under federal antitrust law” and sets a new precedent for future NCAA cases. This could help with cases pushing for stronger measures or for the NCAA to address the changing tides by making their own revisions to the amateurism model.

The players are the main attraction of this moneymaking spectacle. They deserve more than a scholarship they can barely take advantage of and a cost-of-living stipend. The fact that they’ve been restricted from making money in the free market for appearances or sponsorships is absurd.

That Jeremy Bloom had to choose between the Olympics and being a receiver at the University of Colorado doesn’t benefit anybody. That a Central Florida kicker was ruled ineligible for having a YouTube channel that generated revenue seems like the polar opposite of the NCAA’s supposed “core values” claiming to be “dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes.”

It may seem like their hand is being forced by the law, but the powers that be in college sports may benefit from improving their compensation and working conditions given the rise of new competitors for football and basketball talent. The NBA is paying kids out of high school to join its G League Ignite team. Former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie is part of this movement as well, as head coach of the Overtime Elite team. The XFL was bringing in former college players who had been ruled ineligible. These aren’t a full replacement for college sports, but they do represent competition.

The landscape is changing. Will it be for the better? Will the parts of college sports that we love survive or will it all become minor league baseball? That depends on who the NCAA finds to replace Emmert. Oh wait — they extended his contract through 2025.

Nevermind. This is gonna be a shitshow.

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