Daily Bullets (Aug. 16): Big 12 in Dire Straits, and a Crack in the NIL System?

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Good morning and happy Monday to you. Steven is out for some much-deserved R&R time with family, so you’re stuck with the circus that is myself, Marshall Scott and Kyle Cox for the next week. Apologies in advance for the dad jokes you might experience during this time. You have been warned and thus we are not liable. Now let’s have ourselves a Monday!

Three thoughts

1. This story from The Oklahoman’s Jacob Unruh was terrific on OSU and OU international players being left in the dark about the NIL era. We talk so much about how NIL positively affects college athletes that, at least personally, I never even considered that international players — like OSU punter Tom Hutton, who is from Australia but has a family with him in Stillwater — is not eligible for NIL perks because student-athletes in America on student visas are not eligible because of federal law. Just a huge gap in the system that is a major oversight of NIL legislation.

2. Dominic Richardson hive gotta be hyped about this one from The Oklahoman’s Scott Wright. (It me, by the way. I’m hyped.) The second-year running back figures to be one of several ball-carriers in a committee this season but he seems very driven and determined to make the most of his opportunity. One of the most electric talents OSU has on its roster.

3. Yeah, Chuba looks healthy again. Man what a treat it is, seeing him cut loose in the open field, but seeing him get chased down by a defender is a pretty jarring sight. Are we sure Chuba is fast fast? (He remarked, as he tipped his fifth coffee of the morning past his protruding gut. . . )

Two quotes

• So the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 are actively discussing forming an alliance to combat the SEC’s power move this summer by adding OU and Texas from the Big 12. Meantime, the Big 12 is … not involved in those discussions. And more that comes out, the more it looks like the remaining eight in the league are in serious trouble. This from Dennis Dodd just made my palms sweat reading it:

“Of course, even the hint of an alliance is a bad sign for the Big 12. It signals that the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 do not believe the Big 12’s eight remaining programs — in any form — bring substantial value to their conferences. Taken a step further, it suggests a reality that could see the Big 12 or American fade away with one likely absorbing the other.”

• Cade Cunningham and his new Pistons teammate, Isaiah Stewart, weren’t exactly BFFs in high school. Thought this was an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the two. Both played for powerhouse programs in high school so makes sense they were competitive, but some serious beef I didn’t expect! Here’s Stewart via the Detroit Free Press:

“Back then, to be honest with you, before I did his visit at the University of Washington, and shoot, Cade could tell you this too, in high school I did not like Cade. I did not like Montverde. I was so competitive. I was playing at La Lumiere, and we played Montverde twice. Trust and believe, it was definitely beef between us two teams. I didn’t like Montverde and whenever we played Montverde, I was always trying to crush them. I definitely didn’t like Cade. That’s the only part of Cade I knew before I hosted his visit at Washington. From there, we stayed in contact and became closer. Now I can say yeah, that’s my boy. He’s a great dude off the court, aside from him being the good player on the court. He’s a great teammate. I can tell he’s going to be a great leader as well. Great guy in the locker room.”

One question

• Hit me with an “@” on Twitter with one person / brand / news source you follow that you absolutely could not do without. Trying to diversify my timeline. (For me it’s Josiah Johnson.)