Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 05/11/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for May 11.
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Zion sued
A former marketing representative for Zion Williamson is seeking $100 million in a lawsuit against the ex-Duke star, alleging that Nike, Adidas and Duke all broke the NCAA’s improper benefit rules and influenced him to sign with the Blue Devils.
Prime Sports Marketing previously represented Williamson before their agreement was severed by Williamson’s team. Court documents show that Prime Sports Marketing is asking Williamson to admit that his mother and stepfather “demanded and received gifts, money and/or other benefits from people acting on behalf of Duke University to influence (Zion) to attend Duke University to play basketball.”
Interest for Bo Hodges
After Steve Forbes left East Tennessee State for Wake Forest, ETSU’s top returning player, Bo Hodges, put his name in the transfer portal. Hodges averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season, starting in each of his 33 appearances.
Several power-conference teams have reached out to Hodges already. Hodges’ current list includes Arkansas, Butler, DePaul, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Southern Illinois, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Xavier. ETSU is also hoping that the 6-5 guard will return to the Buccaneers next season.
Makur Maker update
One of the biggest names of the 2020 class, Makur Maker, has been attached to playing at the college level in recent weeks after months of speculation that he would bypass it for the G League Select program or other professional opportunities.
Kentucky and UCLA are reportedly the favorites to land Maker, a 6-11 Australian product who is a consensus five-star recruit. Maker is also considering Memphis, Auburn and Oregon. Maker’s representation says that they are waiting to see if the pre-draft timeline changes before making a decision on his future.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.