Last week, Rutgers basketball accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Crown. The announcement was met with mixed opinions from the fanbase; however, the decision does come with upside without having that much of a downside.
Minimal Downside
One of the most important things to note about the crown is that it costs nothing for Rutgers to participate. For example, bowl games in football require the university to pay the travel and hotel expenses, but the crown is an all-expenses-paid trip for the teams that opt
to participate, so the department is not losing much money to attend.
The other concerns stem from concerns over portal preparations. However, with the crown only taking up a few days, and the fact that the portal opens a few days after it ends, there is minimal risk to transfer portal preparations in terms of a time commitment.
The Positives
Rutgers accepting their invitation to the crown comes with several positives. First of all, it gives the players a chance to earn a bigger NIL paycheck just for simply competing because all of the NIL donations made by the tournament organizers go to the players. It also shows the desire of the players to play and play together, something that should not be overlooked, especially because Rutgers will be looking to retain some of its younger players who have shown the most upside this season.
If Rutgers can retain players like Mark, Powers, Tariq Francis, Darren Buchanan, and Harun Zrno this off-season, it will provide them with something that they can build around in the portal because even though their NIL situation might be improved, it won’t be enough to buy a full new team. That means they are going to have to keep some of the better players from this season’s team. With the players voting to accept the invitation to the crown, it shows that they at least have some desire to keep playing with the program and keep playing together.
On top of that, participating in the crown gives Rutgers younger players, who they will hopefully retain, more time to develop because it offers them more opportunities for practice and game experience.
Rutgers’ first matchup of the crown will take place on Thursday, April 2nd at 10:30 pm against Creighton. The game will be hosted at the BETMGM Grand Garden Arena, with live coverage available on FS1.
