I'm just salty because my team is getting decimated by it lol
But in general, it feels like it's getting out of hand. About 30% of all players are currently in the portal.

On the one hand, they're not getting paid and the players are on year to year scholarships (I think that's how it works).
On the other hand, I think there should level of stability with the players.

What y'all think?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ncaa-college-basketball-transfer-portal-11618246228

This year, the portal is especially crazy because every player got an extra year of eligibility, so you're seeing a LOT of guys who'd have to leave school for good just hopping into the portal to get a free grad degree. Which makes total sense.

That said, the transfer portal was increasing annually. It's for the same reason that one-and-dones increase annually. Kids these days are increasingly aware that *they* provide value to the program-- that, sure, programs give them opportunities, connections, etc., but just like some kids leave early without draft guarantees because fuck it, they can get paid somewhere, these kids are transferring because fuck it, why spend another year stuck in a bad situation just because "this school offered you a scholarship, so you owe them"? The school can choose to cut you, bench you, take your scholarship whenever they want. Look out for yourself.

I think people are overly concerned about the transfer portal. The previous system involved making players sit a year if they wanted to get out of a bad situation, which never felt right. Additionally, the NCAA would choose seemingly at random certain students for instant eligibility. Others might not hear they're eligible until the middle of a season... or they'd never hear at all. So the current system is *infinitely* better than this pile of horseshit.

There are just so many reasons for a kid to need a fresh start. The old-school talking heads talk about the whole "adversity builds character" thing, blah blah blah... but sometimes it just doesn't, lol. Sometimes it just ruins a potential pro's development, sometimes it ruins an athlete's love of the game. Yeah, some kids transfer because their parents want them to get more minutes instantly, sure, and yeah, maybe those kids would benefit from the tough love that program stability brings... but they're not the majority.

All of this, imo, can be solved with the implementation of Name Image Likeness. If you stay at one school and ingratiate yourself to your community, that provides obvious financial opportunities for you. There's serious potential upside if you're The Guy at a mid-major vs. the 8th-9th man at a blue blood that loves you when you commit but then views you as a disappointment. That, too, would change the game for the better.

And that will go away.

It’s interesting to see the effect this is having on HS recruits though. Seems they are feeling the pressure to secure their spots and may commit earlier than they otherwise would have.

but i think it should get closer to normal after these free eligibility years pass. i also cant see them allowing that midseason transfer mess once were out of this.

3. Its REALLY hurt the smaller school(D1,D2, Naia) with that one standout player because he's BOUNCING.

Its the game now. Gotta play it. A LOT of the dudes in the portal dont need to be in the portal. I liken it to holla'n at chix in the club above your level.

but in the end water always finds it's level. Eventually.

Any level. It's crazy

>3. Its REALLY hurt the smaller school(D1,D2, Naia) with that
>one standout player because he's BOUNCING.
>
>Its the game now. Gotta play it. A LOT of the dudes in the
>portal dont need to be in the portal. I liken it to holla'n at
>chix in the club above your level.
>
>but in the end water always finds it's level. Eventually.

See so many kids in the portal that immediately had me asking myself, what the hell is he transferring for??.

ohio state just picked up two scrubs off the transfer portal bc our coach doesnt know how to recruit

>Any level. It's crazy
>
>>3. Its REALLY hurt the smaller school(D1,D2, Naia) with that
>>one standout player because he's BOUNCING.
>>
>>Its the game now. Gotta play it. A LOT of the dudes in the
>>portal dont need to be in the portal. I liken it to holla'n
>at
>>chix in the club above your level.
>>
>>but in the end water always finds it's level. Eventually.
>
>See so many kids in the portal that immediately had me asking
>myself, what the hell is he transferring for??.

A LOT of them are not getting proper advice and not willing to stick out a situation where they have to work for what they want.

Many are at a level higher than where they should be

Some of them are better than where they are. Whether its NAIA/D3/D2 to D1 in general, low to mid, mid to high....

>A LOT of them are not getting proper advice and not willing
>to stick out a situation where they have to work for what they
>want.

All of them want to shine and be the guy immediately. If it’s not coming quick enough, they’re out and this free COVID year made their decisions to transfer easier. Entitled generation of kids.

>Many are at a level higher than where they should be
>
>Some of them are better than where they are. Whether its
>NAIA/D3/D2 to D1 in general, low to mid, mid to high....

Can speak on this personally. A lot of overrated and under evaluated kids at the wrong levels.

>All of them want to shine and be the guy immediately.

I mean, this definitely isn't true. Your team is a great example of that. If Fatts Russell wanted to be The Guy, he'd have stayed in Rhode Island, and if Qudus Wahab wanted to be The Guy, he'd have stayed in Georgetown. Instead, they'd rather be part of a team that has a better shot to win more instead of getting higher individual stats. They're sacrificing being The Guy in hopes that they can prove they can be A Winner instead.

Nearly every mid-major who transfers to a high-major isn't going to be The Guy. Plenty of mid-majors who transfers to other mid-majors aren't going to be The Guy. There are certainly a good numbers of kids who want to be The Guy and transfer to a different situation... but think of the thousands of kids over the last few decades who came into school with big expectations, didn't transfer, and got buried on a bench. Everyone wants to say "tough it out! be a man about this!"... but for every kid we see tough it out through early struggles and become The Guy, we've seen a dozen others become Nobody. And since they aren't getting paid to be a Nobody, I don't blame a single one of them for pursuing a fresh start.

And yeah, some of them are just selfish asshole kids transferring out of entitlement. But I think it's incredibly unfair to characterize all of them that way. They're all just 19-21 year olds trying to figure out what's best for their future. If they convince themselves that there's a better opportunity elsewhere (or are lured away by a charismatic coach at a different university), I don't begrudge them that decision at all.

If
>it’s not coming quick enough, they’re out and this free
>COVID year made their decisions to transfer easier.

It's worth noting that this transfer market is affected not just by the free COVID year, but almost certainly by COVID itself and how it affected the season. It's a lot easier to want to stay at a university if you feel a sense of community there, build friendships, a relationship with the campus, etc... but an incredibly high number of underclassmen lost a whole year of that. That's got to make the decision to transfer way easier.

>Entitled
>generation of kids.

... this feels very Old Man Yells At Cloud, lol. Like, if you work at a job you hate, and someone else is offering you a more enticing job, and you change to the better job... does that make you entitled for trying to better your position? Should you have just stayed at your shitty job to try to make the best of it out of loyalty because they offered you a job in the first place? Of course not. *And these kids aren't even getting paid,* lol.

Again, I'm not saying there aren't entitled asshole kids with entitled asshole families. There are entitled assholes of all ages in this world. But we're painting the thousands of kids in the transfer portal all as entitled? Nah. I vehemently disagree with this.

and willingly came to take 15 fewer per game

Michigan's 6th man started like a hundred games for Wake Forest

lots of kids dont want to be the man *anymore*, and just want to be the best player they can be for a good team

instead of going out and RECRUITING.

im so dismayed.

>and willingly came to take 15 fewer per game
>
>Michigan's 6th man started like a hundred games for Wake
>Forest
>
>lots of kids dont want to be the man *anymore*, and just want
>to be the best player they can be for a good team

A lot do
A lot dont

each situation is different in that regard but people make wrong decisions all the time..

A lot of the bigger names are high-volume, low-efficiency guards and wings, looking for more minutes and/or a higher level of competition. I'm sure a few of them will crush it in a new home, as some of the better teams in the tourney this year took guys like this for a couple of years and turned them into big time players... but I doubt *most* of those type of guys lead to winning basketball.

I do think there have been some quality bigs out there, and there have definitely been a few guys who can contribute in roles, i.e. defensive specialists, 3-point specialists, etc. And I definitely think the handful of former top 50-70 recruits who disappointed in their original home are definitely guys worth taking fliers on in the portal. So there will be some system coaches and/or high level player development coaches who will find ways to turn the rush of players in the portal to their advantage. Just unclear exactly who those are yet.

https://www.si.com/college/2021/04/22/kamilla-cardoso-syracuse-women-basketball-transfer-portal

keeping 3 players, 12 transferring out. 4 already secured coming in.

If I’m in college there’s no way in hell I’d go to a New York school right now. Not until things get back close to normal. Some of those other states are acting like COVID is over - that’s where I’d be going if I was 19. Syracuse is a dreary and bleak place to be from November - March if the party and bar scene is nonexistent and all you’re allowed to do is stay in your room except for when they let you out to go hoop.

* I’m not 19 and think those open states are dumb.

Word was he wanted to go to Mizzou, but Mizzou got outbid. (My Mizzou fan friends are very happy about this, lol.)

Maybe Howard will be the coach that'll teach Love to exhibit a bit more discipline on both ends and tap into the consistency that's alluded him so far in his college career. (But given Michigan's offense last season, I kinda doubt it? We'll see.)

which is really just commentary on Mike Hopkins' coaching job, and the fact that the school won't fire him cuz they owe him too much.

can't wait to be bottom of the Pac-12 in 2023/24.

You got kids that started all year in major roles on major teams like naw I’m out.

these kids chasing the bag. can't blame em.

but yeah, at minimum, you shouldn't be able to change teams EVERY season, lol.

Keep the grad transfer rule and if your coach Leaves and some other clear exceptions.

I’m all for NIL, but reintroduce SOME friction

Don’t ask why though, cuz I can’t defend it other than I like cbb sans fuck the kids

You get one immediate transfer, but they’re gonna basically shoot down the second transfer that so many have been using. I think once this rule’s in place, combined with dudes losing the COVID year, I think that’ll be that.

M-I-Z...???

They had to turn away Terence Shannon too.

It'll work out fine for Caleb. He can go do ridiculous chucking at Indiana or Mizzou and still be the same dude. But Michigan... kinda needs guards badly.

his stock was super high after the UNC title game run.

and even though UNC's season went straight to hell, he was personally successful enough that i couldn't picture his stock falling much.

why is he still trying to find a college to attend (unless he really enjoys college)? i know these guys can get a bag in college, but not the same as an NBA bag.

Love shot 38% from the floor, 30% from 3, averaged under 3 assists a game despite playing nearly 36 minutes per game, played defense that could generously be described as "inconsistent," and made awful shot selection decisions that consistently cost UNC games last season. They went from preseason #1 to missing the tournament, a never-before-seen accomplishment, and Love was a huge part of that.

He went from being a UNC legend after sophomore year to a player that, following junior year, basically every sane UNC fan wanted off the team.

I think Love could've/should've gone pro after sophomore year, because he could've *maybe* gone somewhere like mid-second round if you thought he could eventually play some point. His problem is... what's his NBA role? Even in sophomore year, though he ended the season shooting 36% from 3 because he got hot, he was *very* inconsistent over the course of the full season, he shot under 40% from 2 (!!!), and he's only 6'4 and under 200 lbs, which isn't really ideal 2 guard size... but it's hard to imagine him as a point guard because he's such a chucker. He's decent at finding open guys, especially in transition, but he doesn't really create for others, and in half court settings, he often looks lost-- content to jack up a contested 28 footer instead of trying to run offense.

So he went back to school to improve his shooting consistency and show he's more than just a chucker. And then he proceeded to shoot worse, pass less, and tank his team.

So he has no choice. He has zero draft stock right now. If he can show next season that he can do, like, 5 APG? Or shoot closer to 38% from 3 somehow? And maybe show more consistent engagement defensively? Then he's got the length and athleticism to maybe get stock back and be a second round type player again. But considering how last season went, that's *quite* a lofty projection.

He'll always have the shot he made against Coach K. But one can't help but wonder if that was a monkey's paw moment for both him and Hubert Davis, as future prospects for both have gotten immediately far grimmer since that moment.