Sports Daily: High schoolers cash in

Happy hump day, y’all.

We’ve got a proverbial grab bag of news today, from high school hoops to Spencer Strider, Coco Gauff and a local venue with a brand new name.

Let’s jump right in.

Quick links: Strider struggles again | Gauff advances | Rest in peace, Jack Wilkinson

PREP PERKS

Credit: Courtesy of Adidas

Credit: Courtesy of Adidas

With the seas of college sports constantly churning with change, it’s easy to forget: the high school kids are riding the NIL wave, too.

A fortunate few, anyway.

And Kate Harpring is among them.

The rising Marist senior — daughter of former Georgia Tech star Matt Harpring — just joined Adidas’ roster of elite prep hoops stars from around the country.

Grayson High’s Caleb Holt, too.

“Adidas is a great brand, and it’s cool to be one of the spotlight players on the circuit and having people wanting to come watch me play,” Harpring told the AJC’s Todd Holcomb.

“It’s definitely something I never thought would happen two years ago. With the new NIL and opportunities, basketball is a cool sport to be in, just as a high school athlete.”

Indeed it is! But don’t get things twisted.

Under Georgia High School Association rules, athletes can sign and collect on NIL deals as long as the compensation is:

not contingent on specific athletic performance or achievement.
not provided as an incentive to enroll or remain enrolled at a specific school.
and not provided by the school or any person acting as an agent for the school.

No collectives allowed, either — and deals remain few and far between.

The GHSA says less than 100 athletes had NIL agreements in place this past academic year. Not many of them were lucrative.

Adidas didn’t announce the value of its arrangements with Harpring and Holt, so we don’t know exactly where things fall.

But if any Georgia high schoolers are poised to capitalize on compensation, it’s them: the No. 2 girls and No. 5 boys basketball prospects in the country, respectively.

More power to ‘em.

🏆 More high school news:

GOING THROUGH IT

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC

Braves starter Spencer Strider struggled again Tuesday night, giving up five runs over five innings during an 8-3 loss to the Diamondbacks.

“Command without stuff is batting practice,” he said. “So that’s about what I offered up today.”

Freshly minted National League Rookie of the Month Drake Baldwin hit a homer, and new third base coach Fredi Gonzalez helped produce a run by boldly sending Matt Olson home in the fourth.

Otherwise, the offense continued floundering … and Atlanta’s lost nine of its last 12 games.

⚾ On deck: Another matchup with the D-backs (7:15 p.m. on FanDuel Sports). Chris Sale gets the start.

STEALING THE MIC

The NBA Finals start Thursday night in Oklahoma City. As the series progresses, keep an eye out for a familiar face: budding Hawks star Dyson Daniels.

As part of something aptly dubbed the NBA Player Correspondent Program, the Great Barrier Thief will join on-the-ground coverage for the league’s social and digital platforms.

🧐 On the meatier side of things: Beat writer Lauren Williams offers a sneak peek at how the Hawks might approach free agency and the upcoming draft.

THANK YOU, JACK

Credit: Courtesy of Wilkinson Family

Jack Wilkinson, a celebrated and beloved storyteller for the AJC sports section and beyond, died Sunday after a protracted battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

He was 74.

Another Atlanta legend, Steve Hummer, paid tribute: “Understandably, given his eagerness to tell such self-effacing stories and the warmth he naturally gave off, Wilkinson emphasized the blitheness of sports in his work. And had little patience for those who took themselves or their games too seriously.”

Wilkinson left the AJC in 2007.

Read more about him here — and if you’re able, donate to the Alzheimer’s Association in his honor.

ALSO INTERESTING

🤔 The upcoming Georgia-Georgia Tech football clash at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be the first installment of a sponsored game called the Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic. Rolls right off the tongue!

🎵 The AJC Peachtree Road Race is right around the corner. And now you can vote on who will sing the national anthem. (My application video was rejected and burned.)

🏁 Atlanta Motor Speedway is now EchoPark Speedway. Remember that when the Quaker State 400 rolls around later this month.

⚽ Macon and Mercer University are getting into the World Cup action. Or trying to, at least, by hosting Club World Cup competitors later this month.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Credit: Christopher Ena/AP

Former Atlantan Coco Gauff bested fellow American Madison Keys 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1 at the French Open this morning, scrambling her way into a semifinal matchup for the third time in her career.