DC_Rams wrote: ↑3 years ago
rjsuperfly66 wrote: ↑3 years ago
Rhody83 wrote: ↑3 years ago
You made some sense on what attracts a 20 year old but you lost it totally with Obi could’ve been telling Jacob “I could have gotten so much more of it (exposure) if I played for a big school”. Obi played 2 years at Dayton and was college Player of the Year and will be a lottery pick. Surprised by such a poor comment from someone who usually has a good perspective.
I think the difference is that if Obi played at Kentucky, he would have constantly been a headline on ESPN: "Obi versus ___ (team or player), 8 PM tonight." Think of the hype Zion Williamson got two years ago and compare that to Obi? Do you think it was even close? I don't.
He was a well-deserving player of the year but outside of the college basketball pundits or NBA draft geeks, how many people do you think were going out of their way to watch his games? They didn't care about watching Obi play LaSalle or George Washington.
They were the #2 team in the country. It was Obi versus every night. Did you watch TV?
I would like to think we would all agree that there is a major difference between having your games almost all on ESPN/ESPN2 (ESPN hyping up the game, casual eyes that watch, etc) versus playing most of your games on some combination of NBCSN, CBSSN, and regional affiliates.
Just compare Duke and Dayton this past year:
ESPN: Duke 16 games, Dayton 2
ESPN 2: Duke 5 games, Dayton 3
ESPN U: Duke 0 games, Dayton 1
ACC Network Games: Duke 9, Dayton 0
CBSSN: Duke 0, Dayton 9
NBCSN: Duke 0, Dayton 3
Regional Coverage: Duke 1, Dayton 12
ESPN+: Duke 0, Dayton 1
We can do the same exercise with Kentucky:
CBS: Kentucky 5 games, Dayton 0
ESPN: Kentucky 15 games, Dayton 2
ESPN 2: Kentucky 2 games, Dayton 3
ESPN U: Kentucky 0 games, Dayton 1
SEC Network Games: Kentucky 9, Dayton 0
CBSSN: Kentucky 0, Dayton 9
NBCSN: Kentucky 0, Dayton 3
Regional Coverage: Kentucky 0, Dayton 12
ESPN+: Kentucky 0, Dayton 1
Do you really think that doesn't make a difference in how networks cover top players/programs?