Pitino’s billionaire b-ball booster buddy to fund millions in St. John’s NIL

[Fat Koko]

“I’m going to commit whatever it takes,” Vitamin Water founder and St. John’s alum Mike Repole said.

St. John’s receiving seven-figure NIL lifeline from billionaire alum Mike Repole: ‘Whatever it takes’

Mike Repole breaking his own news on X that he planned to donate seven figures for St. John’s Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals for next season.

nypost.com

 

[colbert17]

“I’m going to commit whatever it takes,” Vitamin Water founder and St. John’s alum Mike Repole said.

St. John’s receiving seven-figure NIL lifeline from billionaire alum Mike Repole: ‘Whatever it takes’

Mike Repole breaking his own news on X that he planned to donate seven figures for St. John’s Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals for next season.

nypost.com

You beat me to it.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

All of this sounds good and will attract all of the wrong types of players for St John's and is a short term fix. At the end of the day, Pitino isn't coaching for another 7 to 8 years. Is there a 1 year run possible with a NIL surplus?? Sure, but if you can't be consistent and build something long-term, it will be money wasted.

 

[newell138]

And they still have to live on that horrible campus

 

[NickRU714]

All of this sounds good and will attract all of the wrong types of players for St John's and is a short term fix. At the end of the day, Pitino isn't coaching for another 7 to 8 years. Is there a 1 year run possible with a NIL surplus?? Sure, but if you can't be consistent and build something long-term, it will be money wasted.

Wasn't that supposed to be this year?
Didn't they bring in that expensive Ivy transfer who was supposed to be a game changer this year?

Did they just splurge for him but didn't bring in anyone else?

 

[jaydogsmooth1]

All of this sounds good and will attract all of the wrong types of players for St John's and is a short term fix. At the end of the day, Pitino isn't coaching for another 7 to 8 years. Is there a 1 year run possible with a NIL surplus?? Sure, but if you can't be consistent and build something long-term, it will be money wasted.

We got Ace b/c of NIL, and Dylan signed w/fanatics due to our proximity to NYC

Flags fly forever - if Pitino gets them to the Final 4 or wins a natty, that will resonate for decades

I'd consider that money well spent, and would likely lead to increased donations from other sources, in addition to additional exposure, prestige and better recruiting

 

[newell138]

We got Ace b/c of NIL, and Dylan signed w/fanatics due to our proximity to NYC

Flags fly forever - if Pitino gets them to the Final 4 or wins a natty, that will resonate for decades

I'd consider that money well spent, and would likely lead to increased donations from other sources, in addition to additional exposure, prestige and better recruiting

Any blue blood school can say the same thing. Why would a top tier kid go to St Johns and live in Queens when they can go anywhere and still get paid?

 

[jaydogsmooth1]

Any blue blood school can say the same thing. Why would a top tier kid go to St Johns and live in Queens when they can go anywhere and still get paid?

Sure they can, but it's easier to consistently compete once you're building on past success
If I had a choice between Duke and the Johnnies and the money was the same, I'd go to Duke
I also grew up in suburbia and admire the hell out of Duke's program
A kid from the inner city may think differently and prefer Queens to Durham

 

[NY AGENTMAN]

Lacrosse players beware of Durham

 

[mikeyo]

And they still have to live on that horrible campus

Yep. It's a slum

 

[Doctor Worm]

Back in the day, SJU players were the first to get legally paid. NYC residents like Chris Mullins and Walter Berry attended SJU while still living at home. Under the rules at the time, they were paid the value of the room and board which they were not receiving. So they drove their fancy cars to campus.

 

[Eagleton96]

We got Ace b/c of NIL, and Dylan signed w/fanatics due to our proximity to NYC

Flags fly forever - if Pitino gets them to the Final 4 or wins a natty, that will resonate for decades

I'd consider that money well spent, and would likely lead to increased donations from other sources, in addition to additional exposure, prestige and better recruiting

Fanatics clearly stated that they would have signed with Dylan no matter where he went. It was Dylan, not anything about RU. That gave Dylan the freedom to go where he really wanted to go, and that benefitted us and made the RU commitment possible.

I think the Adidas money was a little more interesting in that it was more of a strategic investment in RU and a bet on our longer term success.

 

[RU82]

Any blue blood school can say the same thing. Why would a top tier kid go to St Johns and live in Queens when they can go anywhere and still get paid?

Because St.John’s has a billionaire donor willing to pay whatever it takes to get them to live in queens for a while. Everybody has a number.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Fanatics clearly stated that they would have signed with Dylan no matter where he went. It was Dylan, not anything about RU. That gave Dylan the freedom to go where he really wanted to go, and that benefitted us and made the RU commitment possible.

I think the Adidas money was a little more interesting in that it was more of a strategic investment in RU and a bet on our longer term success.

They’re not going to say otherwise, if he chose Dayton because Ron Sr went there, they likely wouldn’t have signed him

Personally, I don’t care who signs who, or what money they make, I’m all about winning

And as long as we’re not winning and doing Penn State or Baylor, or any of those other disgusting programs, then I’m fine with giving guys whatever the free market determines

 

[Zak57]

Repole wasn't willing to give money to St Johns before Pitino arrived?

 

[mikeyo]

Repole wasn't willing to give money to St Johns before Pitino arrived?

He ranted to Francesa (an SJU alum himself), that the school had no idea what it was doing and he wasn't going to contribute until they hired the right coach

 

[RUforJERSEY]

They’re not going to say otherwise, if he chose Dayton because Ron Sr went there, they likely wouldn’t have signed him

Personally, I don’t care who signs who, or what money they make, I’m all about winning

And as long as we’re not winning and doing Penn State or Baylor, or any of those other disgusting programs, then I’m fine with giving guys whatever the free market determines

Think it was Miami(Ohio) for RHS.

 

[aardvark34]

NIL's a huge part of what made this such a terrible year for Pitino to begin with. Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Posh Alexander (Butler), AJ Storr (Wisco), and David Jones (Memphis) are all guys that would have made this SJU team exponentially better. Instead, he tried buying an (almost) entirely new team, and we're seeing how that worked out.

 

[rufeelinit]

All of this sounds good and will attract all of the wrong types of players for St John's and is a short term fix. At the end of the day, Pitino isn't coaching for another 7 to 8 years. Is there a 1 year run possible with a NIL surplus?? Sure, but if you can't be consistent and build something long-term, it will be money wasted.

Not sure I understand the point here. To me as "college sponsored" basketball continues to trend in a professional direction, the roster building is more transactional in nature, and replenished annually, versus the older build a program for the long haul approach. If you have more funds then you will get better players than those who do not regardless of who the coach is. Whether the pieces fit is another story, and in this case, Pitino should be looking in the mirror rather than casting stones elsewhere since he built nearly this entire roster during the off season.

 

[RUJMM78]

And they still have to live on that horrible campus

St.Johns is a commuting school.

 

[Morrischiano]

“I’m going to commit whatever it takes,” Vitamin Water founder and St. John’s alum Mike Repole said.

St. John’s receiving seven-figure NIL lifeline from billionaire alum Mike Repole: ‘Whatever it takes’

Mike Repole breaking his own news on X that he planned to donate seven figures for St. John’s Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals for next season.

nypost.com

Sadly, Rutgers doesn’t have a Mike Repole walking through that door so we all have to chip in a few bucks a month to help sustain RU MBB.

 

[friar10]

Sadly, Rutgers doesn’t have a Mike Repole walking through that door so we all have to chip in a few bucks a month to help sustain RU MBB.

They must be doing something right don't they have two of the top recruits in the country coming in next year?

 

[Degaz-RU]

Didn't Repole fund THIS YEAR'S team for Ricky P.? And last week, we have Ricky lamenting how the entire team is soft. Maybe, just maybe, they're "soft" because they got paid and don't give a crap about playing hard or winning.

Buying "one year rental" "hired guns" sounds good in theory, but good luck developing any sort of culture or meshing those "me first" personalities in just a few months of practice time.

 

[LotusAggressor]

So Rick will get higher priced players who can't shoot, play defense, and aren't tough enough?

 

[BigRnj]

Recruiting posters already going up in brothels across the country!!!