Much of the college basketball coaching world spent the weekend in Las Vegas, there primarily to watch high school talent during the penultimate live period of the recruiting cycle. But while there, their attention often wavered from the 17-year-olds on the courts in front of them to a different type of court.
A preliminary injunction granted by an Ohio judge Thursday afternoon to a number of graduating college basketball players sent the sport into a frenzy, with coaches scrambling for more information on the implications. Those players, headlined by Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin and Utah State wing MJ Collins Jr. (who was attempting to transfer to follow coach Jerrod Calhoun to Cincinnati), had challenged the NCAA not grandfathering in graduating seniors to the sport’s new age-based eligibility standards. That lawsuit doesn’t automatically mean all recent graduates will have an extra year, but more lawsuits are in motion in response to the legal win by the players. Attorneys Darren Heitner and Ryan Downton announced on X Monday morning that they are “gearing up” to file challenges in other states, and in Colorado several players filed a federal class action suit against the NCAA through a different law firm.
The NCAA seems intent on fighting back. It said in a statement Thursday that it would “immediately seek all avenues for reversal” of the Ohio ruling. This isn’t like when Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a preliminary injunction to play in 2025 and the NCAA granted a waiver for all similarly situated players. As things currently stand now, every player whose eligibility expired this past year would need a lawsuit to be able to play.
In case this wasn’t enough of a mess, the Ohio decision came down the same day the NBA Summer League got underway, also in Las Vegas. Dozens of players prepping to start their pro careers saw the door crack open for a college return. Many of their agents spent the weekend racing around the Las Vegas Strip to meet with college coaches, gauging what market existed for their players should they sue successfully. Some hemmed and hawed about whether to advise their clients to sign Exhibit 10 contract offers from NBA teams, deals that give likely G Leaguers a better salary but still relative pennies to what they might be worth in college next season.
Here’s a look inside the conversations being had by schools and agents as they react to last week’s ruling, informed by intel gathered throughout the weekend in Las Vegas.
“Who has money left?”
That question was asked by just about every agent Sports Illustrated caught up with throughout the weekend. While there have been a handful of power conference teams still pursuing reinforcements (mostly via the international market) in recent weeks, the vast majority of roster building across the sport had already been completed. In many cases, every dollar allocated for the roster has already been spent. In almost all cases, schools have spent their entire revenue-sharing pool up to the House settlement cap, so deals to bring back fifth-year players would have to be 100% NIL-based.
“I have no idea whether my AD would sign off on spending another dime,” one power conference head coach says.
The handful of teams that were already on the hunt for a player (and had money left over to pull that off) may have a first-mover advantage here. Gonzaga lost projected starting point guard Mario Saint-Supery on Saturday in a shocking move, as he signed with Valencia back home in Spain. If there was ever a good time to lose a starter in July, it was now. In an environment where there are very few schools with giant openings like that, that Gonzaga point guard spot is a potential gold mine.
But will teams that thought their rosters were set and had already spent all their money try to go back to the well for more talent? That’s the question that could shape the coming weeks, should more of these lawsuits be successful. Is there an appetite among donors for another big spending spree? Even if there is, multiple coaches noted concerns about chemistry getting messed up by disrupting their roster midway through the summer.
That said, it’s the rare moment where schools may be the ones with the leverage in recruiting. There are almost surely going to be lots more proven high-major starters available than projected starting spots. And if players are confronted with a choice between, say, the $130,000 players make in the G League on Exhibit 10 contracts and $750,000 in college, it’s going to be hard to turn down a college return even if that same player might have made $2 million to $3 million on the open portal market in April or May.
Some agents pushed back against that notion, though, particularly for players who’ve already received major college paydays. As one representative for a high-major rotation player who earned $1 million a season ago explained it, his player has an entire career to think about. He already has money in the bank and now needs to position himself well as a pro in Europe. A bit of extra cash now that puts him in a worse place to have a 10-year career in good leagues overseas wouldn’t be worthwhile. The breaking point for what makes coming back to school worthwhile will be different for every player, not to mention the psychological pivot of having one foot into professional life and having to go back to college.
Looming over all of this, and maybe what will most dictate this emerging market, is time. There’s just so much uncertainty schools are presently weighing: Will these players actually be eligible, how long will it take for them to get that clarity, etc. Schools have begun doing a lot more due diligence on these players in the wake of the Ohio ruling and are getting plenty of inbound calls from agents pitching them on their clients, but the longer it takes for further clarity the worse off both schools and players will be. Players in particular need to know whether they’ll be able to play in college again ASAP, especially if they’re turning down strong pro offers domestically or abroad to hold out for another shot at college hoops.
For now though, the sport exists in a state of limbo, one supercharged by the initial ruling in Ohio. And if more of these pending lawsuits go the players’ way, rosters across college basketball could look drastically different by the time classes start this fall.
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