Steve, Ralph, and Jordan break down preseason hoops, college exhibition games, and the new high school leagues.

What's better: being the 8th man on a winning team or the star on a 15-15 team? Is NIL money making players less hungry? Why do basketball parents push so hard? We talk exhibitions, Penny Hardaway and Memphis, Pitino and St. John's, Kansas adding players right before the season, Duke and Florida, Coach Cal, the freshmen to watch, and what ATLAS and EYBL mean for high school hoops.

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Steve

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Jordan

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Former Rutgers captain Geo Baker joins The Basketballists to talk about his journey beyond the court. He helped end Rutgers' 30-year NCAA Tournament drought, co-led the #NotNCAAProperty movement for NIL rights, and now gives back through GB Go Beyond, his foundation for New Jersey youth, and the GB Blue Devils AAU program.

We cover AAU basketball, player development, NIL, sports media, and where the game is headed. It's an honest conversation about building opportunities, giving back, and navigating the business of basketball in a new era.

Follow @thebasketballists on Instagram, TikTok, and X. Hosts: Steven Johnston (@stevenjnodat), Jordan Pettway (@shakehoops) and Ralph Manigat (@tooreelralph).

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Ralph

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Jordan

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We're back after a short break, and this one gets real. Prep school, NIL money, and the transfer portal can reward smart planning, or punish families who trust blindly. We talk about how players get stuck in bad prep situations and when it's time to leave. We get into international kids being routed through agents into pop-up programs, the warning signs that a school isn't run like a real business, and what super academies and early paydays mean for teenagers.

Then we get into money and movement. Why adults need to set guardrails around teenage money, and the financial literacy basics every athlete needs before an NIL check hits. We look at why the men's portal feels more chaotic than the women's, weigh fit against a bigger offer in a portal hypothetical, and talk about how your reputation follows you from school to school. We close with what high school players should be locked in on this September.

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Steve

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Ralph

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Jordan

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