It can’t be easy for these Atlantic Coast Conference universities in the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic to observe what we’re witnessing – a supposed ‘football school’ rising to the top of the league and emerging from the first weekend of the tournament as the only ACC men’s team to qualify for the Sweet 16. It certainly can’t be easy for some coaches who seem resentful - perhaps a tad jealous - when they watch UM flourishing in this new era of college sports, when players can benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness.
Ohio coach Jeff Boals became the latest to take a shot at UM. After the Canes’ 63-56 win against Drake on Friday, Boals tweeted about Miami: “800,000 dollars will get you a second game and 8-25 FG’s.” The tweet - unbecoming and borderline unprofessional for a college head coach – wasn’t even accurate. Nijel Pack, who has a two-year, $800,000 deal to promote John Ruiz’s LifeWallet, played well, shooting 8 for 15. Isaiah Wong, who has an undisclosed deal with LifeWallet, shot 1 for 10 before rebounding with 27 points in Sunday’s win against Indiana. Boals’ swipe at the Canes, which he eventually deleted, came a month after now-retired Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that “Miami bought a team. … It’s like, ‘Really, this is where we are?’ That’s really where we are, and it’s only going to get worse.” Jim Larranaga has taken the high road on this; he has no interest in engaging in verbal volleys with other coaches. So have his players. “I’m not focused on that,” Norchad Omier said Wednesday when asked about shots from other coaches.
Regardless, it’s irrelevant because the Canes are merely using the new rules to their advantage. What does Ruiz think of these types of comments from Boeheim and Ohio’s Boals?
“I don’t think it’s their place to discuss NIL really,” he said in a text message. “I find NIL to be off the court while coaches should be focusing on the court. There is also a bigger picture here. Kids are learning, making money and helping themselves and their own family.” Ruiz said the
“big picture is LifeWallet is tied to the athletes it promotes, which provides branding to LifeWallet. NIL has nothing to do with performance. It has to do with marketing. However, UM did win both games and is now in the Sweet 16, which provides more interaction for LifeWallet athletes, as the athletes are talked about.”
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. My dad was a sju grad so went to a ton of games that year. Delonte was my favorite player on that team but it was such a deep squad. Does the name Don DeCarlo ring a bell? Big time booster of Nova ball at the time. I know the glory days of the big 5 was before my time but I wish it could get back to that level of competition. Was talking to a buddy about wanting either Dunn or Nelson Jr, would be really fun to watch them with Coach L.
