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Julius Halaifonua, 7-foot, 290-pound center from New Zealand - Possible 2024 Reclass

Well consensus is that it's down to UNC and Georgetown so that makes sense.

We will soon see if we are legitimately in on this kid.
 
His visit to GTown begins August 1.

Due the NCAA recruiting calendar, August 5th will be the last day UNC can host a recruit before fall semester starts on August 19th. The recruiting dead period resumes August 6th.
So basically the small window we have to get him on campus just got smaller.

Considering Jamie Shaw already predicted him to GTown last week, I'm betting they already bought him with NIL. Joe Tipton probably already has the commitment graphic made and tipped off Shaw.
 
Can SOMEONE please realize that him not coming DOES NOT equate to us "losing out", getting beaten by Georgetown or (for the love of God and everything holy) that our NIL isn't good enough.

We never offered so it's very possible coach didn't want him as bad as most of us (me included)!
 
Can SOMEONE please realize that him not coming DOES NOT equate to us "losing out", getting beaten by Georgetown or (for the love of God and everything holy) that our NIL isn't good enough.

We never offered so it's very possible coach didn't want him as bad as most of us (me included)!
Ha ha ha. That will not be well received by the Derrick Downer doom and gloom squad.
 
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Can SOMEONE please realize that him not coming DOES NOT equate to us "losing out", getting beaten by Georgetown or (for the love of God and everything holy) that our NIL isn't good enough.

We never offered so it's very possible coach didn't want him as bad as most of us (me included)!
While only the staff knows the real story the optics are not good. And unfortunately in today's world perception is reality.
 
Ha ha ha. That will not be well received by the Derrick Downer doom and gloom squad.
I tried the respectful, logical approach with his NIL bed shitting but he was not having any of it.

You did bring me great joy when his response was," show me where Georgetown has offered him" and you posted it right away. It shut him up for a couple of pages anyway!😂
 
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Can SOMEONE please realize that him not coming DOES NOT equate to us "losing out", getting beaten by Georgetown or (for the love of God and everything holy) that our NIL isn't good enough.

We never offered so it's very possible coach didn't want him as bad as most of us (me included

I would agree that they made it very clear they wanted him to visit.
That would be my concern anyway. If a kid won’t even visit and the nil is the most important thing , then bye.
 
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Cash versus character. Seems like there has to be a balance and each case (player) will differ based on skill set, need, etc.

The new landscape of college basketball is a cash grab. I get it. As painful as it is to see great players fly by and not even visit, I still want players with some understanding that the name on the front of the jersey has to be AT LEAST as important as the name on the back.

Hell, I don't know how good our NIL is or isn't (just like the panic crew doesn't either) but I know Bacot cleared over 2M and we have an AA player in the running as pre-season National POY leading some very high-profile players. Those boys don't play for free while every one around them cashes in.

All in know for sure is that it is ALWAYS a GDTBATH! Go Heels!
 
...

I am being told we are out...
Looks like we are out so I agree Gary. Best I can tell seems there are 2 problems, first the kid is visiting GTown tomorrow and yet nothing scheduled with us. There is a recruiting black out period that starts 8/5 (I think). So if his GTown visit lasted 2 days, means he would literally have to leave GTown and fly direct to UNC if he were to visit us. If that were the case at very least we would have an official announcement of the visit by now and we have nothing of the like.

The second issue, which may be even bigger is that with this tight a time line Hubert has limited ability to vet the kid, it would more have to be balls to the wall I want you, totally sold from Hubert with little if any vetting. I expect the kid to commit to GTown on that visit.

I will add a 3rd issue just for giggles, the kid elected to reclass really late in the process and that typically indicates a kid already has a school in mind. When you consider that tight time line with the fact he is visiting GTown starting tomorrow, seems to suggest GTown may have been the program he was serious about before reclassing.
 
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Cash versus character. Seems like there has to be a balance and each case (player) will differ based on skill set, need, etc.

The new landscape of college basketball is a cash grab. I get it. As painful as it is to see great players fly by and not even visit, I still want players with some understanding that the name on the front of the jersey has to be AT LEAST as important as the name on the back.

Hell, I don't know how good our NIL is or isn't (just like the panic crew doesn't either) but I know Bacot cleared over 2M and we have an AA player in the running as pre-season National POY leading some very high-profile players. Those boys don't play for free while every one around them cashes in.

All in know for sure is that it is ALWAYS a GDTBATH! Go Heels!
I have been waiting for months now for someone to share how it is that foreign players that are not American citizens can now all the sudden receive NIL like American born players do? Edney couldn't, Omouri couldn't last year, but now all the sudden it is common belief that NIL is why Omouri went to Bama as well as reason GTown gets this Kiwi kid?
 
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I have been waiting for months now for someone to share how it is that foreign players that are not American citizens can now all the sudden receive NIL like American born players do? Edney couldn't, Omouri couldn't last year, but now all the sudden it is common belief that NIL is why Omouri went to Bama as well as reason GTown gets this Kiwi kid?
I asked the same question on the premium board and the answer I got was, "it's a different time". ????
 
Cash versus character. Seems like there has to be a balance and each case (player) will differ based on skill set, need, etc.

The new landscape of college basketball is a cash grab. I get it. As painful as it is to see great players fly by and not even visit, I still want players with some understanding that the name on the front of the jersey has to be AT LEAST as important as the name on the back.

Hell, I don't know how good our NIL is or isn't (just like the panic crew doesn't either) but I know Bacot cleared over 2M and we have an AA player in the running as pre-season National POY leading some very high-profile players. Those boys don't play for free while every one around them cashes in.

All in know for sure is that it is ALWAYS a GDTBATH! Go Heels!
Everything you said = the best perspective to have if you are a Tar Heel.
Thanks for saying it.
 
Kentucky found the loophole to pay NIL to foreign born Oscar Tshiebwe more than 2 years ago. You schedule a trip outside the US, and you take care of the "business" there. That way you don't run afoul of the US Student Visa rules.
 
Guys, it's not simply a matter of being "beat out", and there was nothing make-or-break about this one.
I have sat back and thought about this thing…Was this kid coming in and taking minutes from any guys on the current roster…He was always a guy that would get more time next year…
 
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No offense to this kid, but whether he was playing for UNC or not it didn’t change the fact that Jalen Washington, Jaelyn Withers, and Ven-Allen Lubin all need to have solid and productive seasons.

Unless I’m mistaken, this kid is a developmental prospect. Although 7’0” 290 would’ve been a nice presence to have on the roster.

Doesn’t change a ton for next season. The same question marks remain.

We’re only a year removed from Elliot Cadeau being the next Jason Kidd and some people still are all aboard hype trains, lol.
 
I have sat back and thought about this thing…Was this kid coming in and taking minutes from any guys on the current roster…He was always a guy that would get more time next year…
This is true. The staff saw him as a guy they could rotate in this season to bang with a large-body Big for a few minutes as he developed. Chances are he will get more immediate PT at GTown.
 
I asked the same question on the premium board and the answer I got was, "it's a different time". ????
For the official record, I am STILL waiting for someone, ANYONE to answer the simple question I began asking way over a month ago? Isn't it strange NorCar, seems like EVERYONE else has the answer but No ONE is sharing it? LOL

Could it be that no one knows any more than we do and are patiently waiting for someone to answer our question so that can as well know? They are ASSUMING that the NIL for foreign players has been resolved, everyone seems to assume it has been but NO ONE, repat NO ONE seems to know why? LOL
 
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For the official record, I am STILL waiting for someone, ANYONE to answer the simple question I began asking way over a month ago? Isn't it strange NorCar, seems like EVERYONE else has the answer but No ONE is sharing it? LOL

Could it be that no one knows any more than we do and are patiently waiting for someone to answer our question so that can as well know? They are ASSUMING that the NIL for foreign players has been resolved, everyone seems to assume it has been but NO ONE, repat NO ONE seems to know why? LOL

I saw this...


As of April 2024, international college athletes on F-1 student visas are generally not able to participate in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals in the United States because of restrictions on work authorization. These restrictions are based on U.S. laws that govern international student visas, which typically limit international students to on-campus employment. Most state NIL laws also prohibit institutions from arranging or paying student-athletes for NIL deals.

But then saw that a bill was created to allow foreign born students to benefit as well. Not sure the status of that bill. Still researching.....
 
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I saw this...


As of April 2024, international college athletes on F-1 student visas are generally not able to participate in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals in the United States because of restrictions on work authorization. These restrictions are based on U.S. laws that govern international student visas, which typically limit international students to on-campus employment. Most state NIL laws also prohibit institutions from arranging or paying student-athletes for NIL deals.

But then saw that a bill was created to allow foreign born students to benefit as well. Not sure the status of that bill. Still researching.....
Yeah, I included a similar link in a thread during the Omouri recruitment but it would as well apply to this NZ kid. In BOTH, AFTER the fact I saw several posters both here and on 4Cs talking about NIL $$$ was the reason we missed on both. BUT, you just can't blame missing on either of these guys due to NIL if they can not receive NIL. I suspect, at least in the case of Omouri that $$$ was in fact the problem but I believe he was looking for NIL in the way duke and Ky used to pay it out, you know, before it became something the NCAA refuses to enforce, you know, like Zion. Hubert is not going to play that game nor should he. But, if someone can give me the how and when this NIL question was handled by congress, I will be more than glad to bow to that proof.
 
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Again, UK showed everyone the blueprint on how to pay foreign players NIL when Oscar Tshiebwe was still in college.

All you have to do is schedule a preseason or in-season trip out of the country.
 
Again, UK showed everyone the blueprint on how to pay foreign players NIL when Oscar Tshiebwe was still in college.

All you have to do is schedule a preseason or in-season trip out of the country.

Is that all? Just throw an international trip for 30 people together? At the drop of a hat? To drum up a couple million dollar payout for some unknown teenage basketball player that doesn’t move the needle? Is that all we had to do?!! Really?

We’re not serious about winning if we’re not capable of pulling off the easiest of tasks. I’m out.
 
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Team USA barely edged out Serbia, showing that the world is clearly catching up. I started this thread because I genuinely believed UNC had a shot, and I still think Julius could have made a real difference. It'll be interesting to see how he performs with Georgetown this season.
 
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