I've heard some try to argue that NIL and revenue-sharing have damaged college basketball, particularly at the mid-major level, where sustaining success has never been more difficult because, more often than not, you're now annually losing your best players to power-conference schools with multiple millions of dollars to toss around to great prospects, and hundreds of thousands to totally mediocre ones.

But I'll still always land on the opposite side of it -- mostly because, in the absence of collectively bargained and legally enforceable rules, it's just right for players to be able to get whatever somebody decides they're worth to play wherever it is they agree to play, but also because the money available is clearly keeping talented players in school longer than they would otherwise stay and thus making the tip-top of the sport as good as it's been in decades, if not ever.

Ten years ago, he's a one-and-done. Five years ago, he's a one-and-done. Four weeks ago, I bet, he genuinely believed he'd be a one-and-done. But then Mullins hit one of the biggest shots in NCAA Tournament history to advance UConn to the 2026 Final Four, instantly became super-famous from coast-to-coast, quickly realized he could probably make more money with the Huskies next season than he would in the NBA even if he were selected somewhere in the middle of the first round, and then apparently decided, all things considered, another year at UConn is his best play.

Matt Norlander and I actually discussed Mullins specifically in last Wednesday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, several days before Mullins announced his intention to return to UConn, and I laid out what I believed were the pros and cons of staying and going. Reasonable minds can disagree, of course. And I understand the desire for some to get to the NBA as soon as possible in the spirit of getting the clock ticking toward someday getting to that second contract. But if the money is all the same, and especially if it's greater, what's a more enjoyable way for Mullins' to spend the next year -- as one of the faces of college basketball, starring for one of the sport's best programs or mostly sitting on a bench as a rookie in the NBA who likely also spends time in the G League?

So I applaud Mullins and his family for thinking through the process from every angle and reaching what seems like a totally reasonable decision. It's great for UConn but also for college basketball. Because it wasn't too long ago when Mullins and any prospect like Mullins would be off to the NBA Draft ASAP, for better or worse. But now there are real reasons for Mullins and any prospect like Mullins to seriously consider returning to college even when a real NBA option exists, and I'll forever believe that's more good than bad.

The previously unexpected return of Mullins, combined with the addition of Duke transfer Nikolas Khamenia, has UConn up to No. 2 in Version 8 of the 2026-27 CBS Sports Preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings. Michigan remains No. 1. Which means, in this moment, the top two teams in the Top 25 And 1 are the same two that played in the national championship game two weeks ago.