Rick Pitino predicts transfer portal chaos after Selection Sunday
Get ready for free agency the day after Selection Sunday, when the portal opens and players switch schools like everyone else changes clothes.
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Pitino Predicts Transfer Portal Chaos
- Thread starter UCONNJACK
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D
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He’s right and the transfer portal is ruining college sports. Not even NIL necessarily.
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Is it though?
D
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We like the portal as UConn fans but it is hurting the overall product of college sports.
Can’t even keep their best coaches because of it in both football and basketball.
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Things the transfer portal has caused:
College basketball nowadays is pretty much like watching Jalen Brunson being the best player in the NBA. I dont think we’ve seen a truly great team or player to watch since COVID.
College hoops is suppose to be a breeding ground of the stars of tomorrow, not guys moving up for their 15 seconds of fame at a high level.
Even in college football almost every top school is going to have a QB that is a transfer portal pickup next year and was not developed by that coach. It’s sickening and no coach worth his salt wants to deal with that when college is suppose to be about developing young men. Nowadays it’s more about GMing the best roster for the year.
- the weakening of top teams
- player development being less emphasized in todays game
- NIL markets to soar since players can renegotiate every year to the highest bidder
- No roster continuity meaning no truly great teams that grow together
College basketball nowadays is pretty much like watching Jalen Brunson being the best player in the NBA. I dont think we’ve seen a truly great team or player to watch since COVID.
College hoops is suppose to be a breeding ground of the stars of tomorrow, not guys moving up for their 15 seconds of fame at a high level.
Even in college football almost every top school is going to have a QB that is a transfer portal pickup next year and was not developed by that coach. It’s sickening and no coach worth his salt wants to deal with that when college is suppose to be about developing young men. Nowadays it’s more about GMing the best roster for the year.
Horatio
Recovering Madden addict 17 years
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I’m shocked at how much transfer activity takes place. It’s college free agency and I didn’t think it would be this active. As far as our portal activity is concerned, T. Newton earned, deserved and needed the bigger stage and we only have Cam this season. Would Pitino be running his mouth, so much, so loud, if his complete transfer portal, one season rebuild worked St. John’s into a top ten, 1-5 seed?!?!? No. Absolutely not. He’s gonna whine until he either wins or quits. Guaranteed.
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Ruining? UConn has benefitted greatly from the transfer portal the last two seasons. Players have always been able to transfer, the only change is not having to sit out a year. Play for pay is nothing new either.
Hoopcrazee
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Leopards, Cheetahs and Cheaters ( oops Pitino )..they never change their spots..or maybe with Slick Rick his Whines ( effective as they may be )
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I don't agree that it weakens the top teams, definitely hasn't made us weaker. It weakens the smaller and mid tier schools like the East Carolinas and Rutgers of the world. Perfect example of this is Steph Curry. He spent his entire career at Davidson and took them on a great run to the E8 while being the best scorer in college basketball. If he were around in college during today's transfer portal era then he would've ended up at Duke right after going off in his freshman year and Davidson would've been completely irrelevant as a result.
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Would’ve 100% preferred us to beat a Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, Duke in the Final Four/Championship then to have been in probably one of the most unmemorable Final Fours of Houston, FAU, and Miami (even though I was very thankful for those ticket prices and who are we to complain about how we win a championship, talk about arrogant and spoiled).
It’s what made 99’ and 04’ so special.
By what metric/eye test is college basketball better than ever?
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Houston? Do we have a problem?
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This is such nonsense, it's made the top teams better and you keep posting this nonsense in thread after thread.
The Jalen Brunson comment is just weird.
I don't like the bastardized NIL and there should be more limits to free agency but the point you keep harping on is just wrong and you ruin thread after thread with it.
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Good lord, now you're complaining about how UConn won the national championship last year. 20 ppg margin of victory and you still find a way to whine about it. You were probably one of the whiners when we locked down Butler and cut down the nets too. You don't even have the right teams in last year's final 4. I already corrected you on Houston before.
D
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San Diego State, even worse.
Please do not frame it as me complaining about our program winning a championship. That’s not what’s happening.
We are talking about how bad college hoops is right now.
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I agree with this sentiment. But I also believe there is no going back, so the idea is to move forward thoughtfully. The box is open, let’s not try to put pandora back in it, let’s find a reasonable way forward.
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It ended up being great for Steph and college basketball overall that he stayed there. Guys don’t need to move up for a spotlight. If you’re good, you’re good and people will find you.
Also, continuity and development matters.
There has to be a way to at least fix the transfer portal. That would go a very long way.
Huskyforlife
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Regardless of whether you’re right, it’s funny how because it’s worked for us and a few privileged programs, it must be good for the sport overall.
Different sport but the portal has greatly hurt my love of UConn football, I used to follow year round, but now I’ll only check in periodically until the season begins.
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UConn transforming their roster in one offseason to win a national title is ruining basketball. Even worse, they lost three players to the pros and here they are back again with lots of help from some kid that belongs at Loyola (how dare he not know his place?). Does Hurley have no shame?
Amazing after all those years of UConn being bad for basketball on the women's side and it turns out that it was actually the men's team that was going to ruin the sport.
Good thing the Power 4 are going to break away and have their own tournament. Getting UConn out of the mix might save the game. I just hope they don't wait too long.
Amazing after all those years of UConn being bad for basketball on the women's side and it turns out that it was actually the men's team that was going to ruin the sport.
Good thing the Power 4 are going to break away and have their own tournament. Getting UConn out of the mix might save the game. I just hope they don't wait too long.
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My casual rebuttal.
- I don't see the top teams being especially weakened. According to KenPom, Houston as the #1 team is right on par with the strength of usual #1 seeds at +32 adjEM. That's roughly the average over the last 10 years on this date. Only 2015 Kentucky, 2019 Virginia, and 2021 Gonzaga were on another tier above from the other #1s. This year's squad is significantly stronger than last year's Houston. Purdue is above average in strength for #2 in the rankings as well. We're on the stronger side for a #3.
- Player development is extremely emphasized. Because most players get better when they actually play in real minutes. Do you think Samson improved more not playing last year or having a role this year? This (along with COVID 5th years) is greatly increasing the parity in college basketball, which is good for the sport and good for March Madness.
- I don't see how soaring NIL markets is a problem. It'll rise to the level it can, just like it presumably did in backdeal recruiting. We've seen countless examples of the most expensive or transfer in/FA heavy teams being mediocre or crap in all sports (see Kansas this year).
- Roster continuity? Purdue literally brought almost everyone back. We at UConn had a core coming back from a title team. People aren't generally going to transfer out from strong teams.
- 2021 Baylor and Gonzaga were both extremely strong teams post-COVID. Baylor shot 41% from 3 as a team and had 4 guys make 1.5 3s per game (we had a good shooting team last year and had 2 guys at that threshold). And they had Davion Mitchell absolutely lockdown perimeter defender. Gonzaga was loaded with Timme, Suggs, Nembhard, and Kispert.
It's not all the portal. It's a confluence of things that are making top teams weaker especially now relatively speaking.
The fifth and sixth year COVID players (some are transfers, some are not) have taken minutes from talented but unreliable freshmen across the country. This actually raises the level of play around the country and where you see more parity in the game with older players being able to out muscle/out smart/etc. young talented players. NIL also plays a big role with more fourth, fifth and sixth year players staying with even low level NIL being more than they would likely make in the real world.
G-league Ignite and other pro-options for top 1 and done options has weakened the freshman talent pool where teams like Duke and UK are not getting all the top talent (last year alone that would have included Scoot, the Thompson twins, Miller, maybe Cissoko and this year would have included Buzelis, Holland and Smith). They are still getting the top talent coming into the NCAA's but it pushes talent down a notch coming in across the board.
Then you have the portal and players transferring all over the place.
McLovin
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FYI, you cited “roster continuity” as a victim of the transfer portal and last years final four was made of 2 mid majors with tons of roster continuity.
But I think most people on here would agree that something that makes college basketball special, especially the tournament, in Cinderella runs… and the last few years has delivered plenty of those.
I’d rather see FAU, Miami or SDSU make a Final Four than Kansas or Duke make it for the 50th time. But that’s just me…
Edward Sargent
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I don't think the portal has caused your four bullets but the one and done approach certainly has with Kentucky the prime example and Duke not far behind
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It creates an English Premier soccer league world. If you are a big team (status & nil $) you will be a magnet that yearly can draw the top talent from across the "lesser" teams/leagues every off-season. Great to be UConn caliber, & know you can just potentially replenish your roster yearly if recruiting doesnt come through in given year.
Pitino's point about leagues like the MAC is valid, as the rest of the countries teams will be turned into minor leagues, just developing players to be poached next year by the "Premier league" teams. I dont begrudge the great players in smaller programs getting their names out/NIL $ (Cam from Loyola U) but it would stink for a mid-major program and coach trying to develop a team IMHO.
Over time there won't be as many Florida Atlantics or Gonzaga breaking through unless they have NIL $. If I was a coach of a mid-level league (or a Depaul bottom dweller) I would be recruiting players from overseas as much as possible, as they rarely get NIL due to the rules
Pitino's point about leagues like the MAC is valid, as the rest of the countries teams will be turned into minor leagues, just developing players to be poached next year by the "Premier league" teams. I dont begrudge the great players in smaller programs getting their names out/NIL $ (Cam from Loyola U) but it would stink for a mid-major program and coach trying to develop a team IMHO.
Over time there won't be as many Florida Atlantics or Gonzaga breaking through unless they have NIL $. If I was a coach of a mid-level league (or a Depaul bottom dweller) I would be recruiting players from overseas as much as possible, as they rarely get NIL due to the rules
Great post
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