Enlightening Article About Josh Christopher's Recruitment via Brandon Quinn

While I'm all for college athletes getting more compensation for what they do and figuring out a way to level the playing field when it comes to shady recruiting, this story summarizes one of the other challenges of chasing the 1-and-done player besides bag-men, AAU corruption, and shoe companies.  These kids only plan to be in "school" for a few months and it is a challenge to get them motivated, focused, and coached up to contribute in a meaningful way.  Coach Cal drives me nuts, but he's mostly figured out how to harness those types of stars and get them to contribute.  There are a lot of stories of kids like that who are worried more about their brand, their stats, their ability to be a star, the coach building the program around them, etc.  

They may be worth the risk at times, but they bring a new level of challenge to the program.  I think that's what Beilein got fed up with.  He knew that with another year of coaching and buying in that guys like Poole and Iggy would be even bigger stars and perhaps get drafted higher.  They were already "gone" and ready for the NBA - which worked out reasonably well for them even if their rookie years were mostly full of struggles.  

Sounds like a diva, and also seems miscalculated to me if he thinks he will grow his brand better in a garbage conference that is largely ignored when it comes to basketball. Not exactly upset they didn't get him with that all about me mindset he seems to have.

“Every decision that they made in the recruitment was calculated towards Josh's future pro prospects and earning endorsements.”

So what?

Truly  makes no sense.  This guy had a huge fanbase that would've followed his entire career if/when he goes to the NBA.  ASU has zero fanbase I'm pretty sure.  How did we even get that far in his recruitment?  That's a testament to how good Juwan must be.  Because we're not going to give his dad what he wants.  I'm ok with that.

Honestly ... sounds like a smart kid to me. Milk the system instead of letting the system milk you.

so a school with the largest alumni base, and a very wealthy one at that with connections at Nike/Jourdan Brand, etc. wouldn't satisfy and even help with enhancing his brand? 

Maybe I'm just looking for something that isn't there but, wouldn't losing a guy like Ty Rogers really hurt in this department? Michigan's AD should be investing heavily in this are imho. Ten years ago (or less) the attractive aspects for kids were all the new uniforms, now it's video/image promotional content. Need to recognize it and get back on top level.

A lot of retconning going on in this thread to make folks feel better about the situation.  If he had committed to Michigan this article would have been met with cheers of how smart he is to be planning his future so carefully, and thus he's a perfect fit for UofM.

The "brand" stuff is just cringeworthy. Focus on having great character while working hard at what you choose to do and the brand stuff (i.e. money) will follow. The fact that a parent encourages their teenage child to think like this is entirely unsurprising and sad. Just zero humility.

Sad if true.  If the team does well then individual accomplishments will find a way to shine. 

Didn't Michigan football have a player in similar circumstances? Rashan Gary is in the process of building a business empire using his football skills and earning power. Yet he was a person of character and integrity who understand how to play as a team player. I'm OK with kids wanting to maximize their earning potential. I'm not OK with them being selfish about it.

Good luck to him in the  NIT

Honestly, fuck him. 
 

I hope Coach Howard does a better job of separating out the talented shit heads.  

What ever happened to just playing basketball?  The greats create themselves on the court first.

Sure sounds like he just used Michigan as a big name to hype up his recruitment, don't think he ever had any intention of coming here.  If so, he just strung along one of the most well-liked and well-respected men in NBA circles, so he better hope his talent is can't-miss cuz that won't sit well with a lot of people.  Either way, hope he enjoys building up his brand playing on a mediocre team in a shitty conference that will have very few nationally televised games.

Skimmed this post, skipped all the comments, not reading The Athletic:

I get why, say, this would be a bad culture fit for Beilein. I don't know that it is a bad fit for Juwan necessarily. If Juwan was averse to this, then presumably our recruitment would not have been so competitive. Were we being used the whole time just for his game? I mean, if so, oh well. If Juwan doesn't want a diva, then don't recruit divas. If he is fine with divas, then I want the diva. The dude would have only been here one year anywayz.

Not sure Arizona State is the place where your brand will shine most brightly, but hey, free country and all that.

yeah, I would prefer we never recruit a top 10-15 kid. The risk/reward is upside at this point.

So glad that I was waiting (like some others) until he committed before I watched any of his videos.

I wish the young man all the best but sincerely hope that if there is a basketball season ASU goes 8-23 and finishes 11th in the PAC.  Preferably with Luther Muhammad getting a waiver and using a year of eligibility.

No problem with a young man wanting to build his brand.  If he thinks going to {/checks notes again to be absolutely sure} Arizona State and playing for {/checks notes, really want to be sure} Danny Hurley is going to get him where he wants to go, good luck.

No better way to expand your exposure than play for a pac 12 team with 0 final fours

This doesn't seem to be as big of a deal as many of you are making it out to be.  Remember Rashan Gary and his own management company, logos, etc?  We've had other football players with their own clothing/logos/brand.   It's part of the process now since the NCAA won't let kids receive payment for their own likeness.  Ironically, Juwan Howard is the one who got the short stick in this recruitment because the Fab Five was the crucible when it came to the NCAA exploiting players for their likeness.  If anyone understood JC's perspective, it would be Juwan.

Obviously a kid can do this and really help steer the direction of a program overall, but no player will ever be bigger than University of Michigan, and if that quote in the OP is correct that might have been a deal breaker.  UofM is fantastic and supporting athletes and helping them achieve whatever goes they have (even self branding), but UofM will always be first.

Yeah, why would we want a surefire NBA prospect on our roster? Michigan fans only complain about a kid being dramatic when they don't commit to Michigan.

In my opinion, this is the exact type of kid we don't want in the future.