NCAA Basketball: Top 5 former players who would’ve benefitted from new NIL rules

5. Ja Morant: Murray State University

Current Instagram Follower Count: 4M

Current Twitter Follower Count: 1.1M

Ja Morant was wildly popular during his sophomore year at Murray State, from the insane dunks he seemed to throw down at least once a game, to the fact that he was putting a small school on the map, people loved to talk about Ja Morant.

In addition to the fact that he was a human highlight reel, people loved Morant’s story, and that just fueled the fire that was his popularity at Murray State. Morant was only offered by one Power Five school, and it was in his home state, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

That’s right, despite the fact that he nearly averaged a triple-double during his junior year of high school, and the incredible player he turned into while at Murray State, Morant’s only Power Five offer was South Carolina.

Well, obviously Morant didn’t end up going to South Carolina as he chose the Racers over the Gamecocks, and it turned out pretty well for him. In his freshman season, Morant hadn’t quite become Ja Morant yet, he averaged 12.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game. Certainly still very impressive stats, but compared to the 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, and 5.7 rebounds he averaged during his sophomore season, he hadn’t quite made a name for himself yet.

Morant EXPLODED onto the scene his sophomore year and became the only other player besides Zion Williamson, that anybody was talking about when it came to College Basketball.

Between his incredible story of having only one Power Five offer, his unmatched play, and his constant highlights, Morant was an exciting player to watch, and it was the reason he was as popular as he was while at some small school in Kentucky.

It is because of this popularity for the player who would go onto become the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, that Ja Morant would’ve made a ton of money on endorsements had the name, image, and likeness rules, that went into play on July 1st, 2021, been in play when Morant was at Murray State.