Top College Basketball Star Picks $4 Million Over 2025 NBA Draft

Should I continue to be in college or head to the pros? It is the ultimate dilemma for any and every college hoops star.. Some greats like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant ditched the dorms entirely, while others like Damian Lillard and JJ Redick milked all 4 years. Fast forward to today, and the game has changed- big time! Thanks to the NIL revolution of 2022, the financial factor that has everyone asking: Why bolt to the pros when college can pay like a pro gig? Today’s case in point is that of JT Toppin, who will be devoting at least one more season to Grant McCasland’s squad.

Reports dropped this week that JT Toppin, fresh off a stellar sophomore year, is expected to earn a whopping $4 million through NIL deals in the upcoming season with the Red Raiders. This update comes only a few days after the player took to Instagram to announce that he will return to the squad for the 2025-26 season. He announced with just two words: “I’m Back.” Thanks to Michael Jordan, we know that uttering those two words is simply enough.

After a freshman stint with the New Mexico Lobos, he hit the transfer portal in 2024, landed in Texas, and briefly flirted with the 2024 NBA Draft—combine invite and all. In the end, just like Thanos from ‘Squid Game’, he was all ‘One More Game’. Now, he will continue to carve his college career. After all, in just one year, the player will make more than the average annual salary of the 22nd pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, aka DaRon Holmes II.

Despite transferring to a different college and a different conference, Toppin did not just adjust. In fact, ‘adjusted’ seems like the definition of understatement here, as the player was named the Big 12 player of the year, All-Big 12, All-Region, and an All-American. And all this after snagging Mountain West honors the year prior. Well, his stat line reasons without leaving any room for counterpoints: an impressive 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists throughout 33 games. On the shooting front, Toppin averaged 7.5-13.5 (55.4%) field goals, 0.5-1.7 (32.7%) 3-pointers, and 2.8-4.1 (67.6%) free throws. Come March Madness, and he was, as they often say these days, ‘a walking highlight reel’. He improved his scoring to average 19.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.

Had he declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, experts pegged him anywhere from mid-first round to early second round – rising from No. 45 on ESPN’s board to No. 15 at CBS Sports. So, fair to say that being the brother of OB Toppin, aka the 8th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, JT certainly has to live up to the family name. Also, another year in college isn’t just a paycheck—it’s a chance to climb higher, maybe even lottery-bound.

Given all this, you would be thinking that the team’s head coach, Grant McCasland, would be glad to have his star player back, right? Well, not so much. Sort of.

Grant McCasland had hoped JT Toppin would not return to Texas Tech: “That means we won the whole thing”

JT Toppin isn’t just another college hooper—he’s a scoring machine tearing up the court in only his second year. Naturally, McCasland’s had his eyes locked on him, and so have Texas Tech’s hundreds of fans, dreaming of more seasons with their star. But the coach sees something bigger, and he’s chosen not to be selfish. He knows Toppin’s destined for NBA stardom. Back in March, McCasland laid it bare in a media scrum, admitting he’s got no crystal ball for Toppin’s future—but he’s got a vision.

“I don’t talk to [NBA] G.M.s specifically about next year because I don’t care about that right now,” said McCasland. “I mean, I care about making JT the best basketball player he can be for this team, and if he does those things, then he will be one of the best players, and he’ll get drafted”.

He later added, “So honestly, everybody’s asking me, like ‘Do you think JT will come back?’ and I’m like, ‘Honestly, I hope not because that means we won the whole thing, and he’s an obvious lottery pick’. You know what I mean? That’s my mentality with this deal. Let’s get everything we can to put him in the best position, our team in the best position for us to be good. And he had 30 and 14 tonight. And do I think he can be better than that? Yes, I actually do. So let’s push him to be the best he can be and that will put him in the best position, and we’ll let that stuff take care of itself after we win.”

JT Toppin’s ascent is truly something to praise. In a tougher conference, he shot his scoring from 12.4 points per game in 2023-24 with New Mexico to a pretty 17.8 by March with Texas Tech—on fewer minutes, no less. Winning the NCAA tournament would have certainly increased his projected standing on the 2025 NBA Draft. Didn’t happen this time, but next year’s wide open. So, there he is, on a mission to snag that elusive first championship.

His big brother, Obi Toppin, will have to wait for their NBA showdown, but he’s got to be grinning ear-to-ear watching JT stack cash and glory at the college level.