Sean Durugordon is looking forward to playing basketball closer to home.

“There’s nothing like being home,” Durugordon said.

The 6’ 5” guard spent his college career at Missouri and Austin Peay before transferring to earlier this year to Siena College in Colonie, located just a few hours from his home in Harlem.

“It’s been a great offseason so far, and I’m looking forward to the future,” he said.

He’s one of several new faces on the Saints men’s basketball team. Drawn to Loudonville not only due to the campus and the community, but also the name, image and likeness deal (NIL).

“Just being able to build my brand, really get to put my name out there to the community, Siena was the best school that offered the most unique opportunity for me,” Durugordon said.

He signed with Saints March On, the exclusive collective for Siena athletics, which aims to help student-athletes make name, image and likeness money.

“All of the things people have been talking about when it comes to NIL and the transfer portal, we’ve experienced all of those things,” said Frank Ambrose, a Siena alumni and one of the founders of Saints March On.

Since launching in January, it's been able to sign five men’s and four women’s basketball players to one-year deals. While some student-athletes have become a spokesperson for a local business, others have appeared in commercials.

“We’re sitting down with players. The players just aren’t going on to a platform doing things. I think that’s unique,” Ambrose said.

Durugordon is participating in a marketing campaign with Lia Dodge. In exchange, he’s receiving a custom-wrapped Dodge Challenge to use for the year.

Ambrose said the biggest challenges have been education and donor fatigue, just finding ways to continue getting alumni and other fans to open up their wallets to keep the Saints competitive.

“We look at ourselves as almost a marketing agency for our athletes,” Ambrose said. “So getting them out into the community and doing these kinds of deals, that’s going to sustain the collective over the long term.”

Besides the monetary benefit, Durugordon believes his NIL deal will be a great way to network and build relationships for later on in life.

“Just showing my face around because I’m going to be here for a while, so I want them to get used to me,” Durugordon said. “Get to know me and get to know what I’m about. So that’s really going to be my main focus.”