Portal, NIL challenge roster management
Even during the tournament, teams face trouble with transfers By Gary B. Graves The Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin wasn’t surprised when several players from his 2021 March Madness team eventually took their talents elsewhere, with a couple landing at Power Five programs. The Eagles’ return to this year’s NCAA […] The transfer portal, which opened March 18, has posed a challenge for basketball programs to fill roster vacancies and prevent players from leaving and deepening the talent. Despite the lack of prestige and resources larger programs can offer, coach Preston Spradlin successfully utilising the portal for his team's success. The portal remains a free-for-all with over 750 Division I men and nearly 600 D-I women. For smaller conferences, keeping players from seeking greener pastures at larger schools is even more challenging, as big teams offer lucrative NIL opportunities and more exposure on the bigger stage. South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley acknowledged the need for strong relationship building with her team.
Published : 4 weeks ago by in Sports
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin wasn’t surprised when several players from his 2021 March Madness team eventually took their talents elsewhere, with a couple landing at Power Five programs.
The Eagles’ return to this year’s NCAA Tournament shows he didn’t panic. Even though the Ohio Valley Conference school tucked in the eastern Kentucky mountains lacks the flashy profile and deep resources that larger programs can offer — especially when it comes to name, image and likeness (NIL) — Spradlin worked the transfer portal to his advantage by selling small-school virtues along with a successful resume.
“We’ve had some guys who played at the Power Five level that have come down because they wanted a bigger role and wanted to experience playing more and all those types of things,” the eighth-year coach said the day after Selection Sunday. “So yeah, there’s give and take both ways and it works in both directions.”
No matter the level, the transfer portal that opened March 18 presents basketball programs with the dual challenge to fill roster vacancies and prevent their own players from leaving and deepening the vast pool of talent. That’s been an ongoing obstacle for sure, perhaps more so in an era of expanded movement with the one-time transfer exception and the extra year of eligibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though the numbers taking advantage of the extra year is expected to drop in 2025 as players complete eligibility, the portal remains a free-for-all with the pool already at more than 750 Division I men and nearly 600 D-I women as NCAA Sweet 16 action resumed on Thursday.
Clemson guard Joseph Girard III, who transferred from Syracuse after Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim retired, said there are pros and cons and the portal is a good second chance for players whose decisions in high school didn’t pan out as expected. South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley has also turned over the top-ranked Gamecocks roster after departures of several veterans and acknowledged that the portal’s presence requires relationship building.
“If you don’t have a strong staff and a strong connection with your team, it gets hard because, you know, you’re thinking about who is going to jump in the portal, how you prep for the NCAA Tournament,” she said.
For schools from lower-profile conferences, the so-called mid-majors, keeping players from seeking greener pastures at bigger schools is even tougher. Especially when the big teams can sweeten the pot with lucrative NIL opportunities along with more exposure on the bigger stage.
“It’s a different game than what it’s been,” said Dayton men’s coach Anthony Grant, who wondered about NIL and the influence of agents and sponsors involved with players.
“I think the beauty of college athletics has always been the ability to bring a team together and grow a team together. … As a coach, you begin to question if that piece of it can remain a part of the game. Whether it’s basketball or football, or really any sport, I think that’s in the balance right now.”