Norman – Let’s play a game. It’s called “Guess the Sports”.
Tip 1: There is a surprising amount of player movement.
Hint 2: Adults operate under different rules than children.
Tip 3: Some teams prioritize long-term development. Others, those with huge budgets, can build super teams seemingly overnight.
Any guesses?
If you’re torn between the NBA and college football, don’t sweat it. Both are correct answers. Strange isn’t it? As college football leans toward a professional model, the two sports we love most here operate more similarly by the day.
Empowering players has been an exclusive buzzword in the NBA. Well, the era of empowering college football players through the transfer portal has begun. While it’s not perfect, it’s long overdue for players to be given the same freedom as coaches to have better opportunities.
“What I like about college football, and what the game gives you, is it teaches you to have a little bit of heart,” OU coach Brent Venables said after Friday’s football practice. “And in some ways it’s the opposite. If things don’t go your way, everyone’s free to pack up and go on the road, and that’s great, everyone has the opportunity to do that.”
more:OU football coach Brent Venables talks wife’s health, the Alamo Bowl and the transfer portal
Venables is old school. Heck, he rushed the media on Friday. But after two years of work, Venables has adapted to the new rules. I embraced them, even.
“We took advantage of the portal for the most part…,” Venables said. “I would be a hypocrite if I said it was bad.”
Dillon Gabriel, the star quarterback at OU the past two seasons who transferred from UCF, recently transferred to Oregon, where he will play his final college season.
The quarterback situation at OU made me think of another counterpart in the NBA.
Bear with me here: The Dillon Gabriel/Jackson Arnold succession is similar to the Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander succession with the Thunder.
Gabriel and Paul were reliable veterans for the most important position, and while it’s disrespectful to name either of them as running mate candidates, both OU and the Thunder had younger options, with the potential to take on the program/franchise, waiting to be made. the man.
The path was paved for Arnold in Norman just as it was for Gilgeous-Alexander in OKC. This is where Sooner fans hope the analogy continues. Arnold becoming an SGA-style star.
I don’t know if Gabriel, who might be a better win-now option than Arnold in 2024, is ready to move on from OU no matter what, or if he doesn’t want to step on Arnold’s toes by returning, but the weird thing is that OU and the Thunder are on opposite sides. From the large versus small market gap, however, OU’s decision to prioritize Arnold’s potential rather than going all-in on Gabriel is very Thundery. This is assuming that Gabriel could have been lured back at the right price and with the right promises.
OU can, and often has, played the Lakers or the Heat. In the world of college football, Norman is a big, attractive market. A prime free agent destination. In the world of the NBA, Oklahoma City is none of those things.
more:OU football recruiting news: Who are the players committed to the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 class?
There are three ways to acquire players in the NBA: via the draft, trade, or free agency. For Sam Presti, only one of these options, the draft, is viable. OKC will not attract a major free agent. No star would ask to be traded here. The Thunder landed Gilgeous-Alexander because a top star in Paul George requested he be moved to Los Angeles.
But Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Gedi, Kason Wallace, Ousmane Dieng, Jaylen Williams, and Aaron Wiggins? All Thunder draft picks, whether owned or traded by OKC.
OSU, more than OU, has to follow the Thunder’s model. Develop young players and convince them to stay for the long term.
Ideally, Venables would like to do the same.
“This is a developmental game,” Venables said. “The more you play, the more you get.”
As for convincing players to stay?
“I want to create a connected, healthy environment that goes far beyond Xs and Os and deals, catches and blocks,” Venables said. “That’s how I’ve been since the day I got here. I’ve lived my career that way, so I won’t change in that regard.
Replace tackling, catching and blocking with dribbling, passing and shooting and you have a Marc Daigneault quote.
more:OU football schedule set for 2024. How will the Oklahoma Sooners fare in their first season in the SEC?
But again, unlike the Thunder, OU can have it both ways. Recruit and develop quality agents, and if they skip town or don’t make it, replace them with players ready out of the gate.
Asked whether he would support the contracts, Venables said: “I don’t know.” “There are pros and cons to all of this. At some point, there will be something that is fair. The players will get everything they deserve, because they don’t get it now. That day will come and I know it..
“The toothpaste is out of the tube, and they will need to do something to provide better guardrails for everyone, players and coaches alike.”
It’s free agency every offseason for college football players. The gate was buzzing for two weeks exactly as bowl season began.
“The NFL, they don’t have free agency before the Super Bowl,” Venables said. “Can you imagine the playoffs and free agency going on? That’s what’s happening. We’ve got to clean that up. It’s not good for anyone. But they’re not asking me. And now we’re treating the last game of the season like it’s the first game. It’s kind of weird, but anyway.” “I don’t know what all the answers and solutions are. You’re just trying to adjust and adapt…”
In the NBA, the actual games sometimes take a back seat due to the curiosity of player movement. This has never happened in college football, and likely never will. The stars are unrecognizable. Their personalities are not universally known. There are a lot of teams and a lot of players.
Moreover, every second of the 12-game college football season matters. It’s a 100-meter sprint compared to an 82-game NBA marathon.
So, yeah, there are obvious differences, but college football and the NBA? You don’t have to squint to see the similarities.
Joe Mussato is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Do you have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and the work of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at submit.oklahoman.com.
College football has long been known for its passionate fan base, intense rivalries, and traditions that date back decades. However, with the introduction of the transfer portal, the landscape of college football has started to resemble that of the NBA. The transfer portal allows players to move from one program to another without sitting out a year, reminiscent of the free agency market in professional sports. This has led to a rise in player movement and created a new level of unpredictability in the college football world, making it more similar to the ever-changing nature of the NBA.