Sonny Vaccaro

Sonny Vaccaro
John Paul Vincent Vaccarois an American former sports marketing executive...
toys turned
I've got a lot of toys to play with. I just turned 64, and I'm reinventing myself again.
enthusiasm highest kids picked
Patrick's enthusiasm is contagious. He is what you want kids to feel like when they are picked for this kind of event. And the kid can play at the very highest level.
dominant easily man moses since
Greg is easily the most dominant big man since Shaquille O'Neal. And I go all the way back to Moses Malone.
last mean
Going into these last two years, it was Greg and Derrick. I mean he was right there.
cost effort great name wrapped
They want to own everything. They have successfully wrapped up every great name athlete. They have made a concentrated effort to do that, cost be damned.
last people team tournament worked
All O.J. did was play for another team last weekend. People are getting too worked up about it. It was just one tournament in April.
city found high looks permanent school talent
This city is one of the hotbeds for high school talent in the country. It looks like we've found a permanent home.
basketball college years
I was starting out in the business, there was only one path to playing professionally - graduate, or go four years. With the creation of the ABA [American Basketball Association] in the early 1970s, the sanctity of having to go to college was broken. The ABA took anyone, starting with Spencer Haywood.
kids college ncaa
What would be wrong with letting a kid go pro, and if it doesn't work out he can come back to college? What's the harm in that? The reason is the word "amateurism." The NCAA has to protect colleges' tax exemption.
selfish school player
It's not uncommon in the entertainment world for agents to sign young talent. It's sinful that these players can't be represented by lawyers and agents when they're in school. If a player wants to hire someone to seek his value - in any other walk of life, except where this farcical entity that is the NCAA is involved - having a lawyer or agent isn't illegal. It's just the NCAA imposing its own set of rules. It's selfish on their part.
athlete school years
LeBron james came, and he gets $10 million a year. There was no stigma or blemish, like you have with one-and-done. Now people say, "He's not a student, he's an athlete." Well, of course he's not a student! He's here for one year and he told you he's here for one year, and the school took him with open arms.
dirty kids shoes
Now the kids are portrayed as dirty when they talk to an agent, a shoe guy, some hanger-on. Well, it's only natural that people are circling them - there are millions of dollars involved.
basketball war school
One-and-done is the most damaging thing in college basketball. It brings money into the college game, because it kickstarts the bidding war. When you know a kid can't turn pro and is going to go to school for one year and then go pro, that's when you see everyone going to games and courting players.
nike team shoes
Beginning in 1978, Nike paid coaches to put their shoes on the team.