How the Ohio State basketball program deals with paying players directly

The Ohio State basketball program is now going to have to pay players directly. This is due to the new NCAA settlement. Not only do former players get some money, but new players will be able to negotiate with universities directly for compensation moving forward.

We know how this new world will affect the football program. They are a blue blood and won't have any issue getting the best players in the country to come to Columbus. The basketball program is a different story. They don't share the same kind of tradition that the football program does.

Jake Diebler is already trying to figure out how his new roster is going to fit together this season. The Buckeyes had a lot of people leave in the transfer portal and have brought a lot of others in. The chemistry is something that is going to need to be worked on.

For future classes, Diebler is going to have to figure out how to negotiate with recruits directly. NIL collectives will have to help get additional funds for the basketball program to afford a roster of good players. We don't know what a good roster is going to cost.

What we do know is that this is a lot for a first-time coach to navigate. He hardly has experience coaching on the floor, let alone any aspect of team-building.It's not going to be easy for him to figure out what kind of funds he has to work with as the leader of the Ohio State basketball program.

On the bright side, this is new for everyone. We don't know how other programs are going to approach things. Ross Bjork has been very vocal about his support for NIL collectives and raising as much money as possible. That is going to be even more important now.