Emmanuel Mudiay, one of the nations top prep recruits and the touted savior of SMU basketball, has turned down countless offers from top collegiate programs in search of greener pastures. This decision led Mudiay to sign a deal worth approximately $1.2 million with GuangDong a Chinese professional team.
Mudiay is a 6’5 190lb point guard born in the Republic of Congo, is widely thought to be the top point guard in his class, and a lottery pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Mudiay decided to forgo collegiate stardom (and NCAA likeness restrictions) in hopes of providing more immediate financial support for his family.
Questions surrounding Mudiay’s potential eligibility began to swirl in the midst of an investigation surrounding the legitimacy of his schooling at Prime Prep (located in Arlington, and founded partially by Deion Sanders). The move represents a possible shift in the landscape of collegiate basketball. As the ongoing O’bannon v NCAA likeness class action suit continues, top basketball prospects are becoming more incentivized to skip (in all likelihood) one year of college in hopes of cashing in on their elite talent much sooner.
While the benefits of a college education are substantial (possibly overstated in this day and age), for these elite level athletes, the value they receive is not currently on par with the value they provide high-level collegiate programs. It’s quite simple, the value of a four year SMU scholarship is approximately $240,00, almost a fourth of what Mudiay’s contract is worth. It is also well known that athletes of Mudiay’s caliber take out substantial insurance policies to protect them against injury or any “loss of value” (see Isaiah Austin), policies that are tax free in nature.
Someone believes Mudiay’s value is worth more than “the cost of attendance”, how long until the NCAA agrees?
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