Leaving NBA roles to become GM in college basketball

The trend of individuals transitioning from NBA roles to college basketball general manager (GM) positions has grown in recent years, driven by the evolving landscape of college athletics. Managing the NIL money and quickly assembling your roster in the transfer portal is similar to the NBA model which is why many college programs are taking people from NBA roles to be a college GM.

Below is a list of some individuals that have left NBA jobs to become college basketball GMs:

• Wes Wilcox – Sacramento Kings (Assistant GM) to University of Utah (Men’s Basketball GM)

NBA Role: Assistant General Manager for the Sacramento Kings.

College Role: Hired as the men’s basketball GM at the University of Utah in March 2025.

Details: Wilcox’s move was noted as the highest-ranking sitting NBA front office member to take a college front office job at the time. His experience in NBA front offices, including roles with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, made him a significant hire for Utah as they aimed to bolster their program in the NIL era.

• Adrian Wojnarowski – ESPN (NBA Insider/Reporter) to St. Bonaventure (Men’s Basketball GM) 

NBA Role: Longtime ESPN NBA reporter and insider, widely regarded as the leading voice for breaking NBA news.

College Role: Became the men’s basketball GM at St. Bonaventure in September 2024.

Details: Wojnarowski retired from ESPN to join his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, in a newly created GM role. His responsibilities include managing NIL opportunities, transfer portal activities, recruiting, alumni relations, and fundraising. His high-profile status and extensive NBA network made this a landmark hire for college basketball.

• Corey Evans – Rivals (Basketball Recruiting Analyst, NBA Draft Coverage) to University of Cincinnati (Men’s Basketball GM)

NBA Role: Basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals, with a focus on high school prospects and NBA draft coverage, giving him close ties to the NBA scouting ecosystem. Worked with the Oklahoma City Thunder as an amateur evaluation scout since 2021.

College Role: Hired as the men’s basketball GM at the University of Cincinnati in 2025.

Details: Evans brings expertise in talent evaluation and recruiting to Cincinnati, where he helps manage roster construction, NIL deals, and transfer portal activities. His work at Rivals involved deep connections with NBA scouts and draft processes, making his transition to a college GM role a natural fit.

• Alex Kline – New York Knicks (Scout) to Syracuse University (Men’s Basketball GM)

NBA Role: Scout for the New York Knicks, working in player evaluation and talent identification.

College Role: Hired as the men’s basketball GM at Syracuse University in July 2024. Will help with NIL and roster construction.

Details: Kline, a former NBA scout, was brought on to oversee Syracuse’s roster management, NIL strategies, and recruiting efforts. His NBA scouting background provided valuable expertise in evaluating talent, which is critical in the modern college basketball landscape. Kline has a lot of experience in using analytics to find players that fit the style he wants to play.

• Tony Bollier – Milwaukee Bucks to Butler University (Men’s Basketball GM)

NBA Role: Bollier joined the Bucks organization in 2017 as the franchise’s director of basketball operations. In his seven seasons with the franchise, he helped the team to more than 350 wins, playoff appearances each year and the 2021 NBA Championship. During the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Bollier added the responsibilities as the General Manager for the Bucks’ G League team, the Wisconsin Herd. The Herd had a franchise-record nine NBA call-ups during the 2021-22 season. Bollier transitioned into an assistant coaching role with the Herd during the most recent 2023-24 season.

College Role: Hired as the men’s basketball GM at Butler University in 2023.

Details: Bollier’s NBA scouting experience was leveraged to enhance Butler’s roster management, NIL strategies, and recruiting efforts. His role focuses on aligning the program with the professionalized demands of modern college basketball.

• Ronald Dupree – Milwaukee Bucks to LSU (Men’s Basketball GM)

NBA Role: Front office executive and scout for the Milwaukee Bucks for eight years, also a former NBA player. Milwaukee Bucks global scouting director Ronald Dupree.

College Role: Hired as men’s basketball GM at LSU.

Details: Dupree, a former LSU standout, returned to his alma mater to manage roster construction, NIL, and recruiting. His Bucks tenure involved player evaluation and front office operations.

• Rachel Baker - Duke Basketball GM 

NBA Role: While not a traditional scouting or front office executive role, Rachel Baker held significant positions within the NBA league office. Her roles included Chief Operating Officer of NBA Africa and Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships. These positions involved strategic planning, business operations, and relationship management at the highest levels of professional basketball. She spent eight years at Nike and a year working in the NBA, Baker led initiatives for sports marketing with a focus on transforming the culture of basketball and the athlete development journey. While at the NBA league office, she served as the marketing and brand lead of a season-long task force in rebranding the WNBA and helped to introduce digital solutions to refresh the NBA All-Star Game and NBA Combine.

College Role: Hired as the General Manager for Duke University's men's basketball program in June 2022. Baker is helping players enhance their personal and professional skill sets, capitalize on strategic partnerships, including NIL opportunities, and work to support players in navigating the opportunities and challenges that come with being a student-athlete at the highest level.

Details: Baker's unique background in NBA business operations and global strategy brought a different perspective to college basketball administration. Her responsibilities at Duke encompass overseeing the program's business operations, including NIL strategy, branding, and external partnerships. While not directly from a scouting background, her deep understanding of the professional basketball ecosystem and strategic management makes her a relevant addition to this list.

• Kellen Buffington (Texas Tech GM) 

He worked as a Texas educator for 14 years within the Dallas Independent School District, Cedar Hill ISD, and Irving ISD. While operating The TB5Reports, Buffington helped identify and scout highly successful players like Mike Miles, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Black, Cason Wallace, Keyonte George and Jordan Walsh among others many others for NBA front offices and collegiate programs throughout the country. He also founded The Blueprint5 in 2013 which is a basketball program for young men in inner-city neighborhoods and was a juvenile detention officer for three years within the Dallas Juvenile Justice department.

• LaVall Jordan - Depaul GM

Prior to this role, Jordan was a scout for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023-2024. At Depaul he is an Assistant Coach and General Manager. Jordan was the head coach at Butler from 2017-22 where he led the team to the 2nd rd of the NCAA tournament in 2018. He notched a pair of 20-win seasons, two postseason appearances and was slated to add third to the resume, before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 season. In 2019-20, Jordan led the Bulldogs to a 22-9 record and top-25 ranking, reaching as high as No. 5 in the national polls for the highest ranking in program history. 

•  Jim Tanner – University of North Carolina

  

NBA Role: President and Founder, Tandem Sports & Entertainment (NBA Agent)
College Role: General Manager, UNC Men's Basketball (hired February 2025)
Details: Tanner, a UNC alumnus, brings decades of experience representing NBA players to his role, focusing on roster construction, contract negotiations, and expanding scouting and player development operations.​