Transfer Period Moved/Shortened to Just After NC Game

[Dillon77]

According to the attached ESPN article:

"The transfer windows in men's and women's basketball will now open for a 15-day period the day after each sport's championship game.

The changes are effective immediately, meaning this spring's men's basketball window will go from April 7-21, while the women's window will be open April 6-20.

"Previously, the window was open for 30 days and began after the second round of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments. This is the fourth change to the window since they were introduced for the 2022-23 academic year, with the initial window lasting 60 days and opening the day after the NCAA tournament field was announced. That was cut to 45 days in 2023 and trimmed to the most recent 30-day window in October 2024."

Druthers:

• The timing move is the sane, right move for all concerned. For most players and teams (save for those in the Final Four), it will give a chance to breathe before making a major decision. For coaches and recruiting/retention support staff, it will allow ample opportunity to make projections, scout and then pounce early. Preparation will be key and not having most coaches do multiple things at once will help.
• The shortened transfer period favors colleges. The two-week lunacy happens, then preparations for summer school and a return to HS concerns can take place. Still, it's not a lot of time for students on the fence. Maybe three weeks would've been a good compromise between 30 and 15. In any case, here we go.

New transfer windows OK'd for hoops, other sports

Changes to the transfer windows in several sports were approved by the Division I cabinet on Wednesday, most notably shortening and moving back the windows in men's and women's basketball to the day after the national championship game.

www.espn.com

 

[Bone Dog]

I know it will sound whacky, but I wonder if moving the transfer window much earlier might be better for the game -- maybe have it start and end in February. Or maybe link it to the recruiting window. Currently, the high school kids often make their decisions without knowing the real character of the team they commit to. Either way, having the window end before the tournament would change the nature of the decision players face.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I know it will sound whacky, but I wonder if moving the transfer window much earlier might be better for the game -- maybe have it start and end in February. Or maybe link it to the recruiting window. Currently, the high school kids often make their decisions without knowing the real character of the team they commit to. Either way, having the window end before the tournament would change the nature of the decision players face.

February? So you want players entering the portal and leaving their current team right before the post season starts? Yeah...no way!

 

[JellyBean]

I like it. Step in the right direction.

 

[Bone Dog]

February? So you want players entering the portal and leaving their current team right before the post season starts? Yeah...no way!

They don't have to leave their teams or their schools. They'd just have to announce their intention to leave at the end of the season. And as now, if the coach agrees they could change their minds later.

 

[Bigboote]

I assume the transfer window for D1 football is something like sophomore year in high school till a month into bowl season?

 

[nwhoopfan]

They don't have to leave their teams or their schools. They'd just have to announce their intention to leave at the end of the season. And as now, if the coach agrees they could change their minds later.

That's what entering the portal means. Look at football. Players enter the portal and bail on their team right before a bowl game or even the playoffs.

 

[Bone Dog]

That's what entering the portal means. Look at football. Players enter the portal and bail on their team right before a bowl game or even the playoffs.

Yes, that's how it's currently done. In WCBB they can wait a few weeks after the season is over if they choose. It's like a frictionless surface for them. Few consequences. And the result is a slippery slope toward free-agency, and it can undermine the commitments of high school recruits.

Look at what happened to Lindsay Gottlieb's fantastic recruiting class from last year. She brought in Iriafen and Von Oelhofen after the recruits had already committed. By the end of the season, she'd lost most of that class. We all complain about how the game is being turned into a parody of pro-sports, and point to the portal as one of the causes, and the behind the scenes poaching of players from rival schools. Well, here's a way to slow down the slide -- make the portal less attractive as an option by moving the window to midseason, not end of season. If you think February is already too late, then try January.

I know, it's a goofy, idiotic idea. But if you want to preserve the game as we remember it, without trampling on NIL rights, we might need some goofy thinking.

 

[nwhoopfan]

But if you want to preserve the game as we remember it,

Too far gone already. Sorry. It's gone, not coming back.



Imagine if a player enters the portal while the season is still going, but remains on the team. How do you think her teammates are going to feel, knowing she (probably) plans on leaving them? Do you really think that's a good idea, especially if it occurs near the end of the season? For that matter, how will the coach feel about it? To say it doesn't matter and everything will continue as before I think ignores human nature.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Look at what happened to Lindsay Gottlieb's fantastic recruiting class from last year. She brought in Iriafen and Von Oelhofen after the recruits had already committed. By the end of the season, she'd lost most of that class.

Which makes no sense, because those transfers were both 1 year players and wouldn't have affected the playing time of those Fr. players this year and beyond. How is that working out for Heckel? Playing about the same minutes for UConn as she did last year for USC, she almost certainly would be playing significantly more if she had stayed in LA.

 

[Basingstoke]

I think Kayleigh would probably say that she thinks it's worked out just fine (IMO).

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think Kayleigh would probably say that she thinks it's worked out just fine (IMO).

She may be perfectly happy. Maybe I misinterpreted, but you seemed to suggest her leaving USC had to do with playing time.

 

[Bone Dog]

Which makes no sense, because those transfers were both 1 year players and wouldn't have affected the playing time of those Fr. players this year and beyond. How is that working out for Heckel? Playing about the same minutes for UConn as she did last year for USC, she almost certainly would be playing significantly more if she had stayed in LA.

This is a different line of thought, and we seem to be drifting, but okay. Let's go down this rabbit hole.

I don't know what their motivation was. There were rumors of a two-tier locker room in which Juju, Kiki and Talia had their own rules, and playing time couldn't really be earned in practice. But I suspect the freshmen mainly felt like they'd been recruited over and generally treated badly. One year transfers or not, the freshmen might still have felt ill-used and lost faith in the coach. As for Kayleigh, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she'd also realized she wanted to be closer to home. I'm also pretty sure she doesn't feel ill-used by Geno and the UConn locker room, even though her minutes are only slightly higher than last season at USC. But there are no privileged players in Storrs. She arrived with Serah Williams and gets the same minutes as the senior transfer. The only players getting more minutes than her are four returning players from the NC team, and it would be difficult to argue that Azzi Sarah KK and Ash hadn't earned their playing time.

And the path forward for her in Storrs is much clearer. Back at USC, it's easy to say she'd be getting a lot more minutes as a sophomore. This assumes she'd outcompete two more one-year transfers, Kara and Londynn, for the PG spot, as well as Malia. But would the game revolve around Jazzy as it did around Juju last season? With Juju returning next season and Saniyah arriving next fall, and who knows what other transfers Lindsay might bring in, could she really be confident about what her position would be? At Storrs, Kayleigh is not undermined by Kelis, who clearly has not out-competed her in practice. Nor is she likely to be outcompeted by Jovana next season. Though if she were, I have a feeling she'd recognize the fairness of it. Also, Geno is famous for seeking the approval of his players before bringing in any transfers. I don't know if he told Kelis he was likely to bring in a transfer guard before she committed, but I have a strong feeling he did, just as he did with KK and Kaitlyn.

So, The example of Kayleigh doesn't really speak to what you seemed to be saying. But, if your point is that accepting transfers over high school commits isn't bad for a program and the game, and isn't one of the evils of the portal, I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. On the other hand, if you mean to argue that it's an evil limited to the schools that build their rosters that way because they are unable to recruit otherwise, we probably agree -- more or less. Though I think this is probably a chicken-egg situation, and that it encourages a lot of mischief, like the surreptitious efforts to lure players away from rival schools. The easier the transfer portal is to rely on, the more coaches will try to protect their jobs by making use of it.

Imagine if a player enters the portal while the season is still going, but remains on the team. How do you think her teammates are going to feel, knowing she (probably) plans on leaving them? Do you really think that's a good idea, especially if it occurs near the end of the season? For that matter, how will the coach feel about it? To say it doesn't matter and everything will continue as before I think ignores human nature.

This is my entire point. There will be a natural disincentive to transferring. As it is, transferring has too little cost -- not none at all, but not enough to discourage poaching. I'm just trying to imagine ways of introducing a little friction into the process, and maybe encourage teenagers to think more carefully about the commitments they make. I don't think I said "it doesn't matter." The point is to make the decision to transfer matter more.

 

[nwhoopfan]

This is my entire point. There will be a natural disincentive to transferring. As it is, transferring has too little cost -- not none at all, but not enough to discourage poaching. I'm just trying to imagine ways of introducing a little friction into the process, and maybe encourage teenagers to think more carefully about the commitments they make. I don't think I said "it doesn't matter." The point is to make the decision to transfer matter more.

Go back to requiring players to sit out a year after transferring. Problem solved. Although I don't think that genie is going back in the bottle. It's a whole smattering of different things working in concert, but the unlimited number of transfers permitted along with immediate eligibility after each transfer has had a terrible effect on college athletics.