Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.
As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.
Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.
Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.
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So much for holding onto your Letter of Intent as long as possible. A 6’4 8th grader will not have to tour various college campuses, because at the moment, he is committed to playing basketball at Kentucky when he graduates high school. Don’t get me wrong, I have defended the point that high school athletes should sign LOIs instead of potentially screwing up their careers by holding off; however, in this case we are talking about an 8th grader! If the kid can get a scholarship offer now, I would hope that the family is confident enough in his skills to believe that the same offer will be on the table four years from now.
14 replies on “8th Grader Signs With Billy Gillispie”
I actually see no reason not to do this. If I were the parents of Michael Avery and a high Division I school offers my son and scholarship before he reaches high school I would commit ASAP because in verbally committing you are not obligated to go anywhere. If for any reason another program that suites your needs comes along down the road, re-open your recruitment. That is how recruiting works today. Nothing is finite. Even when they sign an LOI, it is not set in stone. If the coach leaves, they try to leave too. Recruiting has changed vastly from 5 years ago. Nowadays, a kid should verbal to a program early to secure their spot in that class. Heck, his parents now have an offer from one of the most storied programs in the nation and he hasn’t even gotten to high school. Other kids could catch up to him physically, he could get hurt, his skills might not improve at the projected pace UK might have thought. But, it is rare that coaches take scholarships off the table (unless a new coach comes in) or off-court problem occur. So I say its a WIN-WIN for Avery and his family. Now he can relax.
Solid points. What about UK? What does it say about the program if it is going out recruiting 8th graders?
My only problem with this is that many of these players never pan out. If you get recruited at an early age and lock up your school of choice, I would think it would lower incentive for such a player to improve his game. I have heard about other players getting recruited early and when it comes time for them to actually enter the college ranks, their game is not up to par anymore. Good for Avery, but we’ll see where he is in 4 years. That will be the true test of whether or not it’s a good move for Kentucky and Gillispie to do this. In effect, players are recruiting these players at even younger ages than Avery on the AAU level, they just don’t formally announce it.
I actually goto the University of Kentucky, and have been following coach Gillispie’s recruiting quite closely since his arrival. He obviously saw something special when he saw this kid. This is the same Coach that refused to recruit Scotty Hopson because Scotty still hadn’t de-committed himself publicly from Mississippi St earlier this year. This is a MAJOR WIN for the university of Kentucky since coach has now locked up a Commit for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 classes. Signing these commits early gives the players an opportunity not to worry about exposure and focus on fine tuning their skills to be able to play and perform at the top of their level for an elite program like Kentucky.
As we all know Tubby Smith wasn’t able to succeed down here due to his inability to lock down big time recruits. Coach G has stepped in and recruiting hasn’t been this exciting for quite some time. (since Pitino). However my only concern is that there are too many recruits that accept scholarships early and end up de-commiting themselves, or their skills end up peaking prior to college. With that being said that Coach Gillispie has an unbelievable eye for talent, and if he sees something special in 14 year old then why not welcome him aboard. I mean the kid is already 6’4 and plays a combo guard position and was named TOP 3 at the 2008 USA Elite Camp this summer.
If any college basketball fans are out there… beware of Coach Gillispie and the Kentucky Wildcats, because sometime in the near future, Kentucky will be like the Kentucky of old.
His parents better hope that this kid will continue to develop. Actually, there is no relaxation. If he does not pan out, Kentucky will recind the offer. Coaches will recind scholarships if another ballplayer comes along. That is the nature of the beast.
And lets not forget that Coach G is known as a great recruiter (a portage of Bill Self), and has managed to bring in top 25 classes to Texas A&M, as well as UTEP…. He know what he is doing… and BIlly G is a man of his word, as long as Michael Avery stays a team first player, with a hard work ethic, the scholarship will continue to be there.
Since the Letter Of Intent is purely such a document and not a contract, and an offer for the scholarship cannot be accepted under any reasonable future timetable, why is all of this really necessary? Both sides can break this agreement by the time Avery actually commits to a college. Should this even be news in the first place?
If this wasn’t Kentucky this wouldn’t be news. To most fan bases this isn’t very important, to Kentucky though, basketball is everything, and a commit from a potential future 5-star is just as good as getting a nice christmas bonus.
Just wondering, how is it possible to recruit an 8th grader? Aren’t there rules about talking to players before a certain year of high school? Back when LeBron was in high school, competing at AAU events, the coaches had to sit back away from the players and not talk to them.
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