In Reply to: Re: leaving posted by TheHappyBurgermeister on April 21, 2024 at 10:09:13
I think the transfer portal and NIL essentially creates a system where players will earn higher paying spots on good teams by playing well or starring in previous seasons on worse teams. How talented and experienced your team is will depend primarily on NIL and how much money and PT your school can therefore offer.
There will likely be much less continuity on a college team year-to-year, which is quite sad for those of us who enjoy watching player development. The Jaime Jaquez's will be few and far between I think. At least in the NBA, players sign for multi-year contracts (although they can still be traded).
If you're an unproven player, your best bet is to get a starting role at a smaller school where you can star, and play your way up to a UCLA or Duke to land the big contract. There is virtually no loyalty between students, coaches, and universities, it becomes purely contractual, like professional sports. As a coach, if I have the money, I can always find someone in the transfer portal who can take your minutes; as a player, I can move to a different team that provides more NIL/minutes to develop my career.
I'll be curious too if players may eventually return to UCLA; for example, if someone like Jan Vide plays well elsewhere, then that'll open up the door for him to return, i.e., how much are coaching and player ties broken when a transfer occurs in this new system. I can't imagine what it's like for recruiting as well; probably like the wild west - as a coach, you need to develop relationships with all potential and best players because they may eventually enter free agency and have the potential to fall in your lap.
Essentially all schools, except for maybe schools at the very bottom, will become like (dreaded) Kentucky. And I doubt that education will matter at all or make any difference in this system; as long as you're on probation and can transfer out that year, you don't really need to worry about being academically qualified.
Crazy.