Comments on: Who Will Represent The 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions?

By: SportsAgentBlog.com - I Want to be a Sports Agent» Colleges NBA Players Sports Agents » Representing Champions

Fri, 30 May 2008 12:59:26 +0000

[...] 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions have selected their agents for the 2008 NBA Draft. On April 7th, I pondered whether any of the departing Kansas Jayhawks would be signing with either Jeff Austin or Mike [...]

By: SportsAgentBlog.com - I Want to be a Sports Agent » Blog Archive » Follow Up To Interview With David Falk

Fri, 09 May 2008 13:28:38 +0000

[...] he has a fascination with Crocodile Dundee. One thing we know is that the very powerful man is not William Wesley, although he is definitely a very powerful man in the world of basketball. But back to Crocodile [...]

By: Matthew Vuckovich

Matthew Vuckovich — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:37:55 +0000

He has also been influencing the basketball program at the University of Illinois

http://media.www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2008/04/03/Columns/Ethics.Of.Recruiting.How.Far.Is.Too.Far-3300140.shtml

By: JONESONTHENBA

JONESONTHENBA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:40:19 +0000

A article about how Wes has influenced the development of the Oregon and Memphis programs

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2811417&sportCat=ncb

By: Matthew Allinson

Matthew Allinson — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:11:54 +0000

Nice breakdown Nate! I can see that you have spent a lot time figuring out Worldwide. Shoot me an email at matt@accessathletes.com. I have a few things to ask you. Thanks!

By: JONESONTHENBA

JONESONTHENBA — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:28:36 +0000

IMO it’s a three pronged attack that Wes is running. He gets paid from shoe companies, colleges, and agents. Its starts with the AAU and his associations with players from the grass roots. Players and their families trust him because of his strong association with established basketball stars and with other entertainment stars such as Jay-Z. He pretty much knows everyone associated with the NBA, plus tons of important people outside of the league. Of course families are going to let a guy like that in. Once he’s in with the families, he attempts to funnel them to one of his colleges. His two prominent schools are Oregon and Memphis. That’s why you’ve seen players from Michigan bypass on Michigan State and Michigan in favor of Oregon and Memphis. Wes’s main AAU hub is the Richard Hamilton sponsored team “The Family.” Funny name considering that Wes calls himself “Uncle”, and his players his “nephews”. Kind of Godfatherish, huh? From there he gets paid from funneling players to particular shoe companies. Nike is the company he is aligned with now. He’s close with Phil Knight (thus his involvement in the build up of Phil’s favorite school the University of Oregon) and head of Nike Basketball Lynn Merrit. His Nike connection has allowed him access to the Colangelo guided Team USA, despite the fact that they have not allowed registered NBA agents to be around the team in the way Wes is allowed to be. Next, Wes tries to send all of his players to choose Leon Rose as an agent. From what I’ve heard, he gets paid the majority of commissions for all of the players he sends to Leon Rose. Leon Rose would not have a single big name NBA client if not for Wes. As David Falk was quoted in saying in the GQ profile on Wes, “Wes has all of the pull, Leon has none.” So he has a pretty good thing going that he certainly makes money from. But the difference between Wes and other runner types is that Wes is a smart guy. He’s likeable to many and knows how to navigate through all types of environments. He’s a guy that can relate to both the players from the innner city and CEOs of companies like Nike. He doesn’t ask the players directly for money, so to them he’s an asset, because he’s one of the few thats assisting them without sending them a bill or asking directly for money or trying to sell them something (hang out in an arena after a game and you’ll see how many people have their business predicated on selling NBA players stuff. Everyone is constantly trying to take from them). Wes gets paid, but not by hounding players for money, so his reputation stays solid. My only problem with Wes is that he is not transparent in what he does. But then again, that is a problem I have with almost everyone on the business side of the NBA. As well, I don’t think Wes can say that he is giving impartial advice that is geared only to help the players when he only funnels players to colleges, shoe companies, and agents that he has an association with. This is not neccesarily because its the best situation for the player, but because Wes has an association where he will get paid or get more clout from the player going to one of his associates. I feel its disingenous to paint yourself as purely looking out for a players best interest, when really there is financial motivation behind your advice to a player to go to a particular shoe, sign with a particular shoe company, or sign with a particular agent. But again, in a world where there are guys stealing money from players and constantly trying to milk these guys dry, I don’t think Wes is that bad. I mean, he gets paid, but doesn’t take directly from players like many of the snakes out there. I also have a problem with him aiding LeBron leave Aaron Goodwin. From all accounts, Goodwin Sports had managed LeBron flawlessly, but LeBron ending up leaving him after encouragement and pressure from Wes and Maverick Carter. This was totally a move by Wes and Carter to help them gain more power and not someting where they were looking out for LeBron’s best interest. But hey, Wes introduced LeBron to Jay-Z, so whatever Uncle Wes says goes, right? Anyhow, maybe I am just being naive about wanting him to be more transparent. I’m sure if he was to do this, he wouldn’t be able to do what he does. If anything, you have to admire the way he has been able to build a network of people. Tons of people from all sorts of backgrounds trust the guy. Many sports business people wish we could say the same thing about them. To get a good feel of how he operates you should check out this TrueHoop post:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-20-153/Gregory-Dole–My-Summer-with-William-Wesley.html

By: Duke

Duke — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:32:07 +0000

This guy Worldwide is insane. What a mystique. One primary question though….. Where is this guy getting all of his cash? He has all these connections, but if his M.O. is that nobody ever gives him anything, how is he posting up in an apartment across the street from the King, how does he pay for his Benz, etc.? There is no way he could afford all of that simply as a mortgage broker — especially given the state of the mortgage market now. There has to be some funding from Nike in there I would imagine.

I would be really interested to know how the guy distinguishes himself from the thousands of other wannabees who strive to be an “insider.” The people skills Wes has must be absolutely phenomenal. Great insight.

By: Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:27:01 +0000

Some of the best Journalists in the world have tried with absolutely no success. The NYT recently ran a piece on Worldwide and they were not even able to get his personal comments. Worldwide- if you are reading this blog, shoot me an email!

By: Zak

Zak — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:23:39 +0000

I agree. Wonderful article. I am also looking forward to the time coming up after tonights game.
Hey Darren, what are the chances on getting an interview with worldwide ? I would love to conduct it for the blog.

By: Kenji Summers

Kenji Summers — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:31:29 +0000

I like Kansas and their intense DEFENSE but Memphis will win this game.