High majors are partnering with mid majors to develop players for them (think JC) if they don’t have roster spots for them now. Some MM’s are happy to do it because they can’t compete recruiting otherwise. NIL has no rules, at least that are being followed, and last minute “deals” are happening all over the place where schools with money come in last minute with cash to grab players who already had lessor deals set up. It’s easier to be a great recruiter if you have the cash to offer.
'Elite' Majors will always be up there around the top, regardless of anything else going on. As it has always been, new rules or no-new-rules. The big name recognition programs just develop so much generational momentum that it’s very hard to fall off that high perch. And those names have so much street cred that everyone knows them and wants to play for them.
And lesser programs within those conferences will just benefit by default whether they have good ball programs or not just by being around.
Mid-majors will always be mid-majors with only the occasional mid-major having a charismatic coach or some other special draw for top players that lets it rise up to the upper reaches for some stretch of time.
So this idea of a mid-major becoming a ‘farm team’ for an Elite program is interesting. This kind of partnership could benefit both institutions and the players. This has been a beneficial setup in all the professional sports... and College ball has become a quasi-professional sport for some time now both in football and basketball. There’s no obvious reason why it wouldn’t work at the college level.
If a player doesn’t want to accept an ‘assignment’ to an Elite programs mid-major partner school, he will always have the right to make a better deal for himself either at a higher level or just somewhere else more to his liking. Nothing is infringing on his freedom in any way.
But this does establish something. This could also be a good development program for teaching a style of basketball and developing coaches. There could be a more seamless way of teaching skills and a style of play that is common to both programs (such as, ‘The Illini Way’ ala Brad-style, or the 'Wisky Way', etc.)
And the ‘Elite’ school could develop their next coach at the mid-major level rather than simply enter into insane high-dollar bidding to bring in an outside guy.
Again... since this has worked well at the professional level it should work at the college level since the game today is now quasi-pro anyway.
It will be very interesting to see where this goes. And it shouldn't hurt the player's interest in any way.