Why UConn MBB coach Dan Hurley handles NCAA transfer portal better than Big East foes

[BRS24]

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There's Marquette, which famously hasn't utilized the portal at all over the past few seasons. It's helped lead to an ugly 5-10 overall, 0-4 Big East record following Sunday's loss at Gampel Pavilion.​

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There's St. John's, which jettisoned much of its roster from last year's Big East title team, spent a whole lot of Mike Repole's money to bring in a collection of talented players, and is currently looking like a bloated mess, possibly on the NCAA Tournament bubble.​

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And somewhere in the middle is the UConn men's basketball team. Really, the Huskies are at the top, using the portal as well as any program in the country. Dan Hurley & Co. put a lot of effort (and money) into retaining their key players after each season, then bring in a couple of high-level freshmen along with a project or two, and supplement it all by filling needs through the portal.​

 

[HooperScooper]

Shaka coming around?

"I think the UConns, the Purdues, the Michigan States, in terms of sustaining success from year to year, that appears to be the way to go about it," Marquette coach Shaka Smart told CT Insider. "What those guys have done through the combination of their high school recruiting, retention and transfer recruiting is they've kept their talent and their culture at a very high level. And that gives you a chance to win."

For those who want the alternate access:

Why UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley handles NCAA transfer portal better than Big East foes​

 

[HuskyHawk]

Shaka coming around?

"I think the UConns, the Purdues, the Michigan States, in terms of sustaining success from year to year, that appears to be the way to go about it," Marquette coach Shaka Smart told CT Insider. "What those guys have done through the combination of their high school recruiting, retention and transfer recruiting is they've kept their talent and their culture at a very high level. And that gives you a chance to win."

For those who want the alternate access:

Why UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley handles NCAA transfer portal better than Big East foes​

I think he's using this to explain why he doesn't try the Pitino route, because continuity works well for UConn, Purdue, MSU. But maybe he's realizing he needs to try to fill some roster spots. It's been abundantly clear that the best college players are either (a) super talented young guys or (b) experienced and talented guys who fit your system. If you're bringing in a lot of project level 3 star freshmen you can't expect to win by playing them. You can win by grabbing somebody else's senior who was a project 3 star freshman at one point.

 

[NJHusky]

I think he's using this to explain why he doesn't try the Pitino route, because continuity works well for UConn, Purdue, MSU. But maybe he's realizing he needs to try to fill some roster spots. It's been abundantly clear that the best college players are either (a) super talented young guys or (b) experienced and talented guys who fit your system. If you're bringing in a lot of project level 3 star freshmen you can't expect to win by playing them. You can win by grabbing somebody else's senior who was a project 3 star freshman at one point.

And that is Dan Hurley's plan. Only 1-2 top tier HS kids that can contribute immediately..no need for 4-5 man classes of 4 stars just to have 3 of them leave for PT. The 2x NC's, NBA player dev/placement and NIL $$ have made it easier for Dan Hurley to recruit top tier HS and key portal guys. But, you still need to have guys that want to be coached hard and aren't coming just for the bag. It seems that's what Pitino got..a lot of bag men.

 

[superjohn]

I think he's using this to explain why he doesn't try the Pitino route, because continuity works well for UConn, Purdue, MSU. But maybe he's realizing he needs to try to fill some roster spots. It's been abundantly clear that the best college players are either (a) super talented young guys or (b) experienced and talented guys who fit your system. If you're bringing in a lot of project level 3 star freshmen you can't expect to win by playing them. You can win by grabbing somebody else's senior who was a project 3 star freshman at one point.

He's going to need to tell a bunch of his current players to leave at the end of the season.

 

[RuffRuff]

And that is Dan Hurley's plan. Only 1-2 top tier HS kids that can contribute immediately..no need for 4-5 man classes of 4 stars just to have 3 of them leave for PT. The 2x NC's, NBA player dev/placement and NIL $$ have made it easier for Dan Hurley to recruit top tier HS and key portal guys. But, you still need to have guys that want to be coached hard and aren't coming just for the bag. It seems that's what Pitino got..a lot of bag men.

That's the thing when you publicly flaunt the Vitamin Water guy and shun HS recruits. The portal sees it as their payday.

Hurley pulls a roster together as good as anyone through a balance of all options. May seems to be onto it now too. Lloyd as well.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He's going to need to tell a bunch of his current players to leave at the end of the season.

That's the hard part. You just have to recruit over kids now, to a greater degree than in the past. It's fantastic if someone like Ross wants to stick around and provide veteran depth, system knowledge and program continuity, but you can't pencil those guys into starting spots.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Teams like Marquette and a lot of the rest of the Big East are just in a tough spot. They can’t outspend others for really any top transfers, least of all a top transfer with multiple years of eligibility. And the rest of the transfers probably aren’t going to be much better than who’s currently on their team. I think Shaka knows his formula to winning is to recruit guys that want to play at Marquette and embrace the culture, will stay there to develop and take a small discount doing so, guys like Ben Gold (ok maybe he’s not the best example…)

 

[ctchamps]

I think he's using this to explain why he doesn't try the Pitino route, because continuity works well for UConn, Purdue, MSU. But maybe he's realizing he needs to try to fill some roster spots. It's been abundantly clear that the best college players are either (a) super talented young guys or (b) experienced and talented guys who fit your system. If you're bringing in a lot of project level 3 star freshmen you can't expect to win by playing them. You can win by grabbing somebody else's senior who was a project 3 star freshman at one point.

In this age absolutely. I can only imagine what JC could have accomplished if the current environment was available for him.

 

[pj]

Teams like Marquette and a lot of the rest of the Big East are just in a tough spot. They can’t outspend others for really any top transfers, least of all a top transfer with multiple years of eligibility. And the rest of the transfers probably aren’t going to be much better than who’s currently on their team. I think Shaka knows his formula to winning is to recruit guys that want to play at Marquette and embrace the culture, will stay there to develop and take a small discount doing so, guys like Ben Gold (ok maybe he’s not the best example…)

He may not have a path to winning in the paid-players era. The NIL numbers have gotten so high. A small budget team like Marquette isn't going to be top-tier.

 

[REB1094]

Hurley has the formula. It starts with him being the lovable psychopath that he is

He recruits good 4 star players who are absurdly loyal like him, and they bring continuity. See: Karaban, Samson, Solo, Stewart, Ross. Sometimes these guys are REALLY good and go pro early. Bouknight, Hawkins, AJax, Adama, Clingan

Then one 5* produces right away, keeps the recruiting pipeline hot, and they go pro. Castle, McNeeley. Maybe Braylon

Then he takes transfers to fill in whatever gaps the above players still have. Not just the biggest and brightest names, but guys that fill the role that is needed. The full 2023 class, Cam, Tarris, Mahaney, Silas, Malachi, Millender and Koroma. They’ve all hit minus Mahaney

Pitino smugly says he’s never recruiting HS kids, then slaps together whatever band of highly paid misfits he can find. Shaka refuses to go into the portal because he thinks his 3* talent is 5* talent. McDermott has a few transfer hits (Ashworth, Neal, Isaacs pre-injury) but too many misses (everyone this year). Seton Hall has the fiery coach that players can get behind, but no money to get them. I don’t see why Georgetown hasn’t been able to follow the formula under Cooley. I’d bet Nova gets there soon. X too. Feels like DePaul, Butler, PC are hopeless

But Hurley has it figured out

 

[HooperScooper]

He may not have a path to winning in the paid-players era. The NIL numbers have gotten so high. A small budget team like Marquette isn't going to be top-tier.

Do we know what teams are spending with the new NIL rules for the 2026-2027 roster? Are many teams cheating a lot and spending big NIL money next season like they are this season without reporting it? Because supposedly the Big East teams are spending as much or more than the big football schools with revenue sharing on their men's basketball team. So supposedly they have an advantage over the big schools. Would like to see how this plays out.

 

[superjohn]

Teams like Marquette and a lot of the rest of the Big East are just in a tough spot. They can’t outspend others for really any top transfers, least of all a top transfer with multiple years of eligibility. And the rest of the transfers probably aren’t going to be much better than who’s currently on their team. I think Shaka knows his formula to winning is to recruit guys that want to play at Marquette and embrace the culture, will stay there to develop and take a small discount doing so, guys like Ben Gold (ok maybe he’s not the best example…)

I don't believe the Big East has any advantage but this idea they are at some huge disadvantage just isn't true. Marquette has been a top 10 spender in men's college basketball, they aren't all of a sudden not going to be able to come up with money.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Do we know what teams are spending with the new NIL rules for the 2026-2027 roster? Are many teams cheating a lot and spending big NIL money next season like they are this season without reporting it? Because supposedly the Big East teams are spending as much or more than the big football schools with revenue sharing on their men's basketball team. So supposedly they have an advantage over the big schools. Would like to see how this plays out.

I wonder how much of this year’s revenue sharing cap, or lack thereof, were due to contracts signed before it was in effect. Also goes for upcoming years. I like to follow UK’s demise ever since their failed Hurley pursuit and funny coping ever since; their fans seem to think their $22M roster was due to multi-year agreements in place to skirt the NIL rules. They tend to spew garbage so you never know, but it does kind of make sense.

I still don’t believe Big East schools are going to outspend P4 schools in basketball despite them essentially having a higher cap to do so. I doubt many Big East schools will have the budget to come close to that $21M cap or whatever it is. But it definitely will benefit Big East schools that the prices of players will go down by quite a bit in general.

 

[uconngb]

That's the thing when you publicly flaunt the Vitamin Water guy and shun HS recruits. The portal sees it as their payday.

Hurley pulls a roster together as good as anyone through a balance of all options. May seems to be onto it now too. Lloyd as well.

No matter the topic, you get your Michigan fix in. So bizarre.

 

[HooperScooper]

I doubt many Big East schools will have the budget to come close to that $21M cap or whatever it is.

They won't because they don't have football. But they also don't need to spend that much because they don't have football. The prevailing wisdom is that big football schools will spend around $15-$16 million on football, around $4-$5 million on men's basketball and then about $1 million on everything else. Big East schools will spend around $5-$8 million on their men's basketball teams.

The wild card in all this is NIL. Will programs cheat? The coaches seem to think most programs will to skirt the rules. Just like programs always have.

Assuming there now is what amounts to a salary cap in college athletics, do you trust that your competitors will recruit within the rules?​

No: 89%​

Yes: 11%

"Absolutely not. I don't think there's one coach who's going to say we're going to follow the pillars of the NCAA constitution, get the duck out of here."

"We are in the SOUTH region of the United States. There are no rules, only getting wins. Let's be real."

Candid Coaches: Do you trust that your competitors will follow new recruiting rules?

Coaches told Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander that what amounts to a salary cap will lead to lots of cheating

www.cbssports.com

 

[Ctedgeman]

I think it was mentioned in the OP article or another I just read yesterday, but the issue with Marquette is not in really the overall NIL they have available to spend, but that Shaka specifically has a philosophy that it's not right to pay a portal transfer more money than a player whose been there for 3-4 years, which makes Marquette not particularly appealing to the better portal players looking for a big pay day.

 

[superjohn]

They won't because they don't have football. But they also don't need to spend that much because they don't have football. The prevailing wisdom is that big football schools will spend around $15-$16 million on football, around $4-$5 million on men's basketball and then about $1 million on everything else. Big East schools will spend around $5-$8 million on their men's basketball teams.

The wild card in all this is NIL. Will programs cheat? The coaches seem to think most programs will to skirt the rules. Just like programs always have.

Assuming there now is what amounts to a salary cap in college athletics, do you trust that your competitors will recruit within the rules?​

No: 89%​

Yes: 11%

"Absolutely not. I don't think there's one coach who's going to say we're going to follow the pillars of the NCAA constitution, get the duck out of here."

"We are in the SOUTH region of the United States. There are no rules, only getting wins. Let's be real."

Candid Coaches: Do you trust that your competitors will follow new recruiting rules?

Coaches told Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander that what amounts to a salary cap will lead to lots of cheating

www.cbssports.com

They won't be able to hide the money, the problem is the NCAA has no power to enforce anything.

 

[pj]

They won't because they don't have football. But they also don't need to spend that much because they don't have football. The prevailing wisdom is that big football schools will spend around $15-$16 million on football, around $4-$5 million on men's basketball and then about $1 million on everything else. Big East schools will spend around $5-$8 million on their men's basketball teams.

P4 schools are limited by the $21 million cap and the needs of their football programs; Big East schools are limited by their financial resources. It will be interesting to see if a Big East school with no football and a wealthy donor (St John's?) decides to spend $20 million on basketball one year, just to win a championship.

 

[HooperScooper]

P4 schools are limited by the $21 million cap and the needs of their football programs; Big East schools are limited by their financial resources. It will be interesting to see if a Big East school with no football and a wealthy donor (St John's?) decides to spend $20 million on basketball one year, just to win a championship.

Can schools do that? I don't think they can. I thought the revenue sharing had to come from athletic department generated revenues, like ticket sales, media contracts, sponsorships, etc. 22% of these revenues, capped at $20.5 million, and increasing 4% annually for the first 2 years and then it will be re-evaluated. Not sure how the NCAA will enforce most of this stuff but at least that's the theory behind revenue sharing.

 

[80shusky]

No matter the topic, you get your Michigan fix in. So bizarre.

I don't have a dog in this fight and don't care but you guys constantly bringing up that he brings up Michigan is more annoying than him constantly bringing up Michigan.

 

[auror]

Can schools do that? I don't think they can. I thought the revenue sharing had to come from athletic department generated revenues, like ticket sales, media contracts, sponsorships, etc. 22% of these revenues, capped at $20.5 million, and increasing 4% annually for the first 2 years and then it will be re-evaluated. Not sure how the NCAA will enforce most of this stuff but at least that's the theory behind revenue sharing.

I think that's where the cap figure is calculated from, but athletic department money is just in a pot. Doesn't matter where it comes from at that point.

 

[jleves]

Ummm - correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Revenue Sharing just allowing the schools to pay players directly up to $20.5M and NIL is not part of the cap (ie. Subway or Coke or Aetna can still pay players for NIL)?

If that's the case, then big schools with big donors will still spend upwards on NIL contracts outside of Revenue Sharing.

Revenue sharing helps smaller schools, but it doesn't balance the ledger vs some schools like BYU or Oregon.

 

[auror]

Hurley has the formula. It starts with him being the lovable psychopath that he is

He recruits good 4 star players who are absurdly loyal like him, and they bring continuity. See: Karaban, Samson, Solo, Stewart, Ross. Sometimes these guys are REALLY good and go pro early. Bouknight, Hawkins, AJax, Adama, Clingan

Then one 5* produces right away, keeps the recruiting pipeline hot, and they go pro. Castle, McNeeley. Maybe Braylon

Then he takes transfers to fill in whatever gaps the above players still have. Not just the biggest and brightest names, but guys that fill the role that is needed. The full 2023 class, Cam, Tarris, Mahaney, Silas, Malachi, Millender and Koroma. They’ve all hit minus Mahaney

Pitino smugly says he’s never recruiting HS kids, then slaps together whatever band of highly paid misfits he can find. Shaka refuses to go into the portal because he thinks his 3* talent is 5* talent. McDermott has a few transfer hits (Ashworth, Neal, Isaacs pre-injury) but too many misses (everyone this year). Seton Hall has the fiery coach that players can get behind, but no money to get them. I don’t see why Georgetown hasn’t been able to follow the formula under Cooley. I’d bet Nova gets there soon. X too. Feels like DePaul, Butler, PC are hopeless

But Hurley has it figured out

It's true, but I'm a little bit worried that they are pivoting and going away from the formula that worked and no longer signing those 4*s. We have this backbone with Alex/Solo/Jaylin/Jayden now, but we have no sophs left who were recruits, our only freshman this year is a 1-and-D potentially, and next year only County seems like that type of guy (Landrew more of the 1-and-D).

Abraham and Nowell seems to have spoiled the recipe, so they're pivoting to mostly multi-year transfers and a 1-and-D per class now.

 

[NJHusky]

It's true, but I'm a little bit worried that they are pivoting and going away from the formula that worked and no longer signing those 4*s. We have this backbone with Alex/Solo/Jaylin/Jayden now, but we have no sophs left who were recruits, our only freshman this year is a 1-and-D potentially, and next year only County seems like that type of guy (Landrew more of the 1-and-D).

Abraham and Nowell seems to have spoiled the recipe, so they're pivoting to mostly multi-year transfers and a 1-and-D per class now.

Reibe and Furphy say hello