The NIL deals changed the outlook of college basketball for coaches and players, and while coaches are pretty mad about the change they made, the players love it, former and current.

DeMarcus Cousins explained how his college career would look like if the NIL deals had been implemented earlier, admitting he would've stayed in college for four years because of it.

Cousins' impact in one season
Cousins spent one year with Kentucky after he joined the Wildcats in the 2009-10 season alongside John Calipari, John Wall, and Eric Bledsoe. They joined the program when it didn't have much success, but they managed to lift it from the ashes back to where it belongs.

Before they all left for the NBA, they spent just one season there and had tremendous success for Kentucky at the time - they were 35-3 in that season and managed to reach the Elite Eight before being defeated by West Virginia.

Something that didn't sit well with Cousins, who really fell in love with the Wildcats and the fans and wanted to return the favor, and the NIL deals would change Cousins' decision of declaring for the draft. "You know, us kind of being that team to lift Kentucky back up out of the shadows. If you want to say," he said. "If I'm getting more than the rookie contract, why not?"

Why "Boogie" doubted he was ready
"Boogie" was also kind of scared that he wouldn't be ready to make the jump to the pros after just one season in college.

"After we lost, it's like, I'm comfortable here," he said. "Also, I want to win. And then for me, the NBA, it was just, I never really thought I was ready. I knew I was talented, but I'm looking at guys like Ben Wallace and shit. I'm like, man, they ain't got a chance in hell, bro. He's looking at Shaq and Tim Duncan. These dudes are huge, bro. So that was never really my reality," Cousins explained.

But, it was Calipari who convinced him to take the move, after explaining to him that he has to earn bread for his family, and how staying in college won't help him in doing that, as he wasn't paid at the time. In the end, he declared for the draft in 2010, and was drafted fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings, before going on to have a successful career.