Transfer Portal Tops 1000 and Counting

[cancontent]

I don't like it. No, I can't do anything about it. Yes, transfer opportunity needed to be opened up. Yeah, it is what it is and I might as well get used to it.

I loved tracking prospects in high school and loved the excitement of seeing them committ then develop with my team through all four years of their collegiate career. Now? It's hard to invest too much emotion into recruiting when you don't know if a kid will be with your team very long. Heck, look at Janiah Barker never even playing for Georgia (and I'm all for tranfer due to coaching change.

Note to self: Get out of the way old man, Change is here whether you like it or not.

Can it be tweaked? can't think of any way.

Get off my lawn!

I think it will be easier to tell what the true impact is once the COVID year component has phased itself out. This is adding about 200 grad transfers to the total which inflates the numbers to an extent. Afterwards it may be able to tweak the process to make it more equitable.

I agree that this has been unfair to HS kids and fans looking forward to seeing new recruits join their program. I'm sure I'm going to sound repetitive to some on these boards, but some of the tweaking has to happen at a grassroots level too. The NCAA can only do so much. If the culture within AAU and travel ball season continues to give athletes unrealistic goals, the transfer portal will be operating like a turnstile.

If you look at Raoul's numbers on his website, you see quite a few players move from P5 to non-P5, DII, DIII or NAIA. That makes me think, what do these coaches tell their athletes during the process? Many of these programs are great at promoting where their players athletes get signed to. You rarely hear about what happens when their athletes transfer. If we're going to question NCAA coaches, I think same scrutiny should be applied to AAU and travel ball coaches.

From a Canadian perspective (yes, again), athletes are being told to look past USports (our NCAA) for D1 in the US. I've seen kids reclassify, not for educational reasons, only to go JUCO in the hopes of transferring to D1 and it doesn't happen. In other cases, they come back to Canada and finish school. For some they have to try, but for many it wasn't worth it in the long run.

 

[Boreifs]

The total is for D1 women only, so your estimate of about 3 transfers per D1 team is accurate.

That was Geno’s estimate as well.

 

[Boreifs]

Athletes have options to wait it out or to try to expand their school choices to mid-major programs.
They can join the military and delay going to school until afterward and still play sports.
Enlistment preserves their NCAA eligibility.
They'll be stronger, more mature and perhaps better able to compete.
They can also redshirt which allows them to develop their skills or academics.

When a lot of public schools were operating remotely, many kids fell behind in their studies and athletic development.
Many kids were also deciding against going to college which has now turned around to produce record enrollment at some schools.

Since 2000, the US population has increased by 47 million people.
Yet there hasn't been a corresponding increase in WBB scholarship opportunities.
There's bound to be a glut of athletes forever into the future simply due to population increases which means that college sports will become more competitive.
And this doesn't include the recruitment of international players from Europe and elsewhere where the population is also increasing.
There will always be more players than scholarships.
The portal glut probably only confirms that the problem exists, but not when it began.

In part, this why I complain about UConn not awarding the maximum number of scholarships that it's allowed.
Under Title lX, colleges are supposed to help women athletes obtain educational benefits equal to men.
UConn could do a better job by awarding more scholarships, perhaps even to a worthy CT high school player.

Actually, in half of the 46 European countries, the population is decreasing. Only a handful have significant population increases and those don’t habitually produce women’s basketball prodigies. Your point was well taken, but extending it to Europe was not a good idea.

 

[sun]

Actually, in half of the 46 European countries, the population is decreasing. Only a handful have significant population increases and those don’t habitually produce women’s basketball prodigies. Your point was well taken, but extending it to Europe was not a good idea.

Right now UConn has 3 international players including Edwards who is Canadian.
If Anna Makurat had stayed, UConn would have had 4 international players this past season.
We don't know how many international athletes are in the transfer portal, but some could be which contribute to the glut.
The population growth of Europe isn't expected to level off until 2025-2030. Whether that's accurate or due to immigration doesn't matter much because I believe the growth of basketball and the number of BB athletes over the years has outpaced the growth of available US scholarships.
US high school kids are competing for scholarships with players from all over the world.
For instance, Indiana has a player from Latvia.

Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100

EUROPE - 2000

www.populationpyramid.net

Population of Europe (2024) - Worldometer

Europe Population: current, historical, and projected population, growth rate, immigration, median age, total fertility rate (TFR), population density, urbanization, urban population, country's share of world population, and global rank. Data tables, maps, charts, and live population clock

www.worldometers.info

 

[huskyd]

At this time of year, Jews celebrate the Passover, the mass Exodus of the nation from Egypt. The traditional meal (seder) held every year retells the story of that trip from bondage to freedom in the Land of Israel. Some have complained that the story (megillah) is always the same and is therefore anticlimactic.
With the advent of the Portal in basketball, another mass exodus is taking place at just the season it should. Perhaps the Portal experience could be incorporated into the Hagadah (the order--seder--of the meal). It would freshen the story at a time where especially the young are growing restive of the old ways. Just saying.

 

[YoDore]

A lot of the players entering the portal have previously transferred from a four-year school, meaning by rule they will have to sit out a year when they transfer again. I can't help but wonder do they just want to move on so badly that they're willing to sit a year to do it, or are they being led to believe they can find a way to get a waiver from the NCAA. If the NCAA doesn't enforce the one-time exception rule that allows immediate eligibility at a new four-year school, that is when the true chaos could occur. It seems like it is already teetering on the edge.

 

[Boreifs]

A lot of the players entering the portal have previously transferred from a four-year school, meaning by rule they will have to sit out a year when they transfer again. I can't help but wonder do they just want to move on so badly that they're willing to sit a year to do it, or are they being led to believe they can find a way to get a waiver from the NCAA. If the NCAA doesn't enforce the one-time exception rule that allows immediate eligibility at a new four-year school, that is when the true chaos could occur. It seems like it is already teetering on the edge.

I don’t believe that graduate transfers have to sit out a year, even if they have already transferred.