Audio By Carbonatix
If you choose to play college basketball at Iona University, you are already ahead of the curve when it comes to a professional career. Two prominent alumni recently purchased a majority stake in Napoli Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A with hopes of boosting their alma mater’s ability to recruit top talent.
They are willing to bridge the gap between the Gaels and pro hoops in Italy as college players transition to the next level.
Iona will essentially serve as the minor league college basketball team for Napoli Basket. Good luck trying to explain that to somebody in, say, 2004. It has nothing to do with NIL but I think this latest development is just the tip of the iceberg. Don’t be surprised if this becomes a common trend among mid-majors and lower-tier high-major programs. I think it’s brilliant.
Matt Rizzetta is the is the founder and CEO of North 6th Agency, one of the 50 most powerful P.R. agencies in the Untied States. Dan Doyle is the former director of sales at American Express and the current founder and CEO of business consulting firm Gold SN. They both graduated from Iona. I would imagine their combined net worth hovers pretty close to (or exceeds) the nine-figure range.
They decided to purchase a European basketball team back in April. According to Front Office Sports, the sale’s total valuation was between $17 and $23 million. Not cheap!
Rizzetta and Doyle’s first move was a big splash hire. James McLaughlin is leaving his role as the Chief of Staff for the New Orleans Pelicans to take over as Napoli’s new General Manager.
The Italian club finished at 9-21 last season, which was just barely good enough to avoid relegation. Napoli will play next season in Serie A1 but its roster obviously needs help. That is where McLaughlin comes into the picture. His job will be to assemble a team of winners.
Some of those players will come directly from New Rochelle, New York. Rizzetta and Doyle want to build a pipeline between Iona and Napoli. If a recruit is good enough to play for the Gaels and chooses to do so, he will have a direct opportunity to play professional basketball in Italy upon graduation. That may not help Iona to land the kind of players who are destined for the NBA but it could be a huge leg-up in recruiting for guys who are good enough to keep playing after college.
Iona University is now, effectively, the minor league team for Napoli. Pretty wild!