World Wide Wes changing roles, influence on college recruiting could diminsh

William Wesley—better known to those around him as World Wide Wes—has become synonymous with college basketball recruiting these days, that idea is gaining even more momentum as WWW takes on a new role with one of the most recognized talent agencies in the world: Creative Artists Agency.

Wesley has long been known as a sports ‘power broker,’ possessing the ability to sway the major decisions surrounding some of the nation’s elite prospects. Without being tied to any one agency, Wesley was dubbed as the ‘most influential man in all of sports.’

In a sense, Wesley’s meteoric rise up the chain of command was startling. Despite only playing high-school basketball and becoming a ‘high-end basketball shoe’ salesman, Wesley’s reputation grew with the help of close friend and confidant Milt Wagner, father of former Memphis point guard DeJuan Wagner.

As time went on, Wesley’s ability to shoulder up next to some of the sporting industries best saw many raised eyebrows. Who is William Wesley? Who does he work for? What does he do?

The idea of being connected to some of the biggest names in the NBA—Michael Jordan, LeBron James to name a few—as well as many of the nation’s elite basketball recruits in high-school brought more suspicion than praise. Wesley is even said to have his hands in on the University of Kentucky and its prestigious basketball program.

The arrival of John Calipari now has many in the media believing that Wesley is in large responsible for Calipari’s success on the recruiting trail. How exactly does Calipari get John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins to sign with the ‘Cats just days after he takes the job at Kentucky? Those pundits in the media have an easy answer to that question.

World Wide Wes.

All of that ‘power broker’ business may come to a screeching halt however, as Wesley now takes on a new role with Creative Artists Agency, one of the most notable sports and entertainment agencies with the most notable names in those respective industries. David Beckham, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Derek Jeter and many more are associated with CAA.

Not because his influence has changed, but because Creative Artists Agency restricts agent’s ability to affect college athlete’s decisions, thus squashing the so called ‘power broker’ influence. When Wesley’s role around the sporting industry was undefined, his ability to reach athletes on various levels was more prosperous. Now that he’s with CAA, he may only be able to operate on one of those levels.

It doesn’t matter how you look at it because Wesley’s influence in the sporting world will continue to flourish. Undoubtedly, his relationships with such an agency and its most notable athletes will hit some kind of nerve for many of the nation’s best high-school athletes. Will that always be the deciding factor? Highly unlikely, thus leaving many to wonder just how important is this World Wide Wes guy anyways?

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