If there was a runway that led toward American’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014, it would stretch across the Eagles’ 22-win season. Its start could be found well before their romp in the Patriot League championship game against Navy and the electric atmosphere that filled Bender Arena that night, and even before those summer workouts when everything felt possible but nothing was promised.
The first hint of a solid surface, an indication that this season might end with a takeoff, happened at a dinner in April. Eagles Coach Duane Simpkins invited graduate student Matt Rogers and his girlfriend out for Tex-Mex.
Rogers, who already had established himself as a Patriot League standout, was listening to offers from other schools. An ACC program with a recent history of making the Big Dance had pledged him “life-changing money,” according to his dad. American, a program that hadn’t even made its conference tournament championship game in a decade, could basically offer a promise that he wouldn’t get a parking ticket on campus, as well as an occasional free meal.
“We told him we would try to,” Simpkins said when asked how the Eagles countered other programs’ financial incentives. “We took care of their parking. The seniors, the guys who have cars on campus, we took care of their parking. The biggest thing we sold to him was relationships that you have here, the networking opportunities. I told him, ‘Hey, I’ll take you out to dinner every now and then.’ But other than that …”
Well, that’s not exactly true. After Rogers returned to AU for his fifth and final year of eligibility, he was rewarded with the freedom to dance goofily while surrounded by strangers — as well as a moment he’ll cherish for the rest of his life, when he put on a hat that read “CHAMPIONS” and cried freely with his father. More than a five-figure payday, Simpkins pitched the one thing money couldn’t buy Rogers: a lasting legacy.
“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was in second grade,” Rogers said. “I’ve been here for … five years now. All the time and effort we put into this, finally panning out.”
Last week, after American secured a 74-52 win over Navy and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament — the Eagles will face Mount St. Mary’s in a First Four game Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio — Rogers could reflect on the decision he made a year ago. At the time, he might not have foreseen this kind of payoff. And though Simpkins can be quite the visionary, not even he could have assured Rogers that American would finally get over the conference tournament hump.
So Simpkins didn’t sell a dream. Instead, over chips and red salsa, Simpkins spoke honestly about Rogers’s role at American, his future in basketball and the risks of joining another program.
“Matt’s going to play professional basketball,” Simpkins said. “One of the biggest selling points was I’ve been there before. They’re not going to look back at your junior year and say, ‘Oh, he was good at American.’ They’re going to look at what you did most recently.”
Who really knows what might have been? Maybe Rogers could’ve gone to that Power Five school, played as a starter, impressed pro scouts and made some quick cash while doing so. Or Rogers could’ve gone to a bigger program, spent his last year as a glue guy — glued to the sideline — and experienced the downside of becoming a semipro.
No agent popping up in a player’s DMs, no collective promising lucrative deals will warn a 20-something that, once people know how much you make, you could become a pariah to a fan base with bloated expectations — or just a living, breathing parlay to bettors.
Illinois star Coleman Hawkins transferred to Kansas State after receiving a name, image and likeness deal that was reportedly worth $2 million. After his team’s loss in the Big 12 tournament last week, Hawkins wept bitterly. The more he choked out words to reporters and spoke through tears, the clearer the source of his anguish. To some fans, Hawkins did not live up to the money, so they felt empowered to consistently inform him of their disappointment.
“I feel like I did a poor job of letting people talk about me,” Hawkins said. “It affected my play.”
When Oumar Ballo transferred from Arizona to Indiana, initial reports linked him to a deal of around $1.2 million. Ballo underwhelmed and, similar to K-State, his team failed to get to the NCAA tournament. During Indiana’s loss to Oregon in the Big Ten tournament, a downtown Indianapolis arena filled with Hoosiers turned against Ballo, raining down boos. Just like Hawkins, Ballo opened up after his team’s loss and railed against the enemies in crimson and cream who posed as fans.
“You lose one game or two games, next thing you know, your DMs are crazy — like, death wishes and death threats,” Ballo said. “At the end of the day, we are human beings. We have feelings, you know. Just like you. You wake up, go to work and someone is wishing nothing but the worst to you and your work. It is mentally draining.”
In contrast, there was Rogers: winning Patriot League tournament MVP honors, dancing in a mosh pit, hugging his father and telling him, “I love you.”
“Proud,” Dave Rogers said, tears still reddening his eyes. “He worked all [five years] and culminating in this,” he said, motioning to the net-cutting about to happen behind him, “I’m just overwhelmed.”
This is not to advocate for college kids to take the free parking and turn down the cash with the promise that, magically, everything will work out. Athletes such as Rogers should seek fair compensation for their work. Yet in many cases, a player’s fit in a program can weigh more in the long term than the possibility of getting highly paid to wear a target for five months.
“Only one I had to convince was this knucklehead right here,” Simpkins said, gesturing to Rogers, while responding to a question about how quickly he turned to re-recruiting his players last year. “There were some quote-unquote bigger leagues, bigger schools that were coming after him. It’s the way it is now; they go through back channels to try to gauge your interest and everything. Matt and I sat down and had dinner up the street, and I told him, ‘Look, don’t take the short-term, quote-unquote riches.’ This guy is going to play professionally for a number of years, and I told him: ‘You’ve earned the right to put yourself in position to play as long as you possibly can. Put yourself in position to where your first contract can be based off an illustrious fifth year, putting a banner up, getting to the NCAA tournament. Your value would be much, much higher than going to a Power Five school and playing 10 to 12 minutes.’ No knock on [Rogers], but he knew his role here. He was going to possibly an unknown somewhere else. I’m glad we held him.”
Rogers chose to stay. And not just for the free parking. He had a runway waiting for him at American.
“I know what we had here, know what we were building and then trusting the coaching staff,” Rogers said. “They trusted in me so much, they believed in my path, and we’re on top now. So I’m a winner — that’s all I can say.”
