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Cincinnati Bearcats Poach General Manager from OKC Thunder Front Office

As college basketball embraces a professional model, Cincinnati taps into the NBA pipeline, hiring former Thunder scout Corey Evans as its first General Manager

Noah Henderson

Feb 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Mascot performs before the start of a game against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Feb 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder Mascot performs before the start of a game against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The University of Cincinnati has poached Oklahoma City Thunder front office staffer Corey Evans to become the Bearcats’ first general manager, according to a release from the university. Evans served the Thunder as an amateur evaluation scout for the last four years.

Much has been said about the excellence of the Sam Presti-led Oklahoma City Thunder front office. Regarding talent identification, draft asset management, and player development, the Thunder have been among the association's best –– the organization sits atop the 2024-25 NBA standings with a 63-12 record, poised to cement one of the greatest regular seasons in league history.

Unsurprisingly, those within the Thunder organization have been targeted for newly established college GM positions. Last week, North Carolina State hired Thunder scout Andrew Slater to captain their efforts in a new professionalized college basketball model.

Schools at every level of Division I basketball have been rushing to hire general managers to adapt to the more professional model of college sports that will be implemented next season. As outlined in the preliminarily approved House v. NCAA settlement, schools can directly compensate athletes with NIL revenue-sharing, moving payment out of NIL collectives’ hands and into the athletics department's purview. 

If the settlement receives final approval, a $20.5 million NIL revenue-sharing cap across all sports will be implemented for the 2025-26 season. For men’s basketball, top programs are anticipated to spend between $6-8 million dollars on their basketball payroll. Any team that looks to engage in revenue sharing will likely need to spend a minimum of one to three million dollars to remain competitive. 

With new NIL guardrails, the focus has quickly shifted from who can fundraise the most NIL to who can spend player compensation budgets most efficiently. This skill set was not necessary for college sports until very recently — before NIL, player compensation was binary: athletes were either worthy of a scholarship or weren’t.

Now, teams must assess players in dollars, not scholarships. Who is better to evaluate and price talent than NBA front-office members who have been crafting the science of athlete valuation since Cincinnati alumnus Oscar Robertson fought the reserve clause? Probably no one.

In a university press release regarding the hire, Coach Wes Miller made no bones about the new model and the talent needed to succeed in a new landscape.

“As our college game continues to transition to a true professional model, I think there is value in adding another staff member with NBA experience as well as a non-coaching background. He will be a vital asset to myself, our staff and our players," he said.

Miller’s relationship with Evans has stretched over a decade, long before Evans’s latest stint with the Thunder. Miller expressed his pleasure with the hire.

“He is a rising star with a relentless work ethic," he said. "He's unique in his base of knowledge as well as his diversity of relationships across all levels of basketball."

With the transfer portal in full swing, Evans has his work cut out for him. The college GM hiring frenzy is heating up. NBA front offices will likely need to start drafting some job postings for their front offices as a result. 

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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