LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — I hate the transfer portal. I love the transfer portal. I hate the transfer portal. I love the transfer portal. I hate the transfer portal.
Let me explain.
Russ Smith scored 1,908 points for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville more than a decade ago. He played on a team that won the 2013 NCAA championship. His No. 2 is one of five the program has retired.
And if the current NCAA transfer rule were in effect in November 2010 when Smith started his remarkable Cardinal career, is there anybody who questions Smith would have been back in Brooklyn, New York, by May 2011 or sooner?
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Bozich & Crawford
Smith confessed long ago that his bags were packed and left outside his room. The thought of sitting out a full season had to be one thing that dissuaded him from making a formal exit.
That’s a fairly significant chunk of U of L’s remarkable basketball history we would have missed.
But, like I said, I love the transfer portal.
It keeps college basketball in the news feed — locally and nationally.
Locally, the biggest stories this week have not been about Kentucky Derby 151 or the NFL Draft. They are the decisions by James Scott (U of L) and Travis Perry (UK) to look for new places to play college basketball next season.
For whatever reasons, Scott and Perry decided that for competing for two of the greatest brand names in the country was no longer the best thing for them to do.
You, my friends, like to read about that. I checked the page view count for every story that I’ve written at WDRB.com this month. The leader is not a Derby story, a Final Four story, a spring football story or an NFL Draft story, even with U of L quarterback Tyler Shough a threat to sneak into the first round Thursday night.
It is a story about how a string of players from Kenny Payne’s final U of L 2024 squad went into the portal and found new homes again.
You might hate the transfer portal. But you track the transfer portal — even about guys who have not played at the KFC Yum! Center for more than a year.
Everybody does. Nationally, the transfer portal conversation percolates with energy, intrigue and sizzling headlines.
Can you believe that Chad Baker-Mazara is leaving Auburn? How much money does P.J. Haggerty want to depart Memphis?
What about Mark Pope snatching Denzel Aberdeen, who is leaving Florida for UK and walking away a starting spot on a team that just won the national title?
Which coach and program did the best work in portal? Which team took the biggest hit?
Are Louisville and Kentucky both positioned to be ranked in the top 5 when next season tips off?
This is college basketball’s equivalent of outfielder Juan Soto jumping from the Yankees to the Mets or quarterback Sam Darnold bolting the Vikings for the Seahawks. It’s a battle for eyeballs. And (at some level) college basketball is winning.
But have I told you that I hate the transfer portal? Because I do. Waiting your turn is no longer an option — and there is value in learning how to wait your turn. Walking away from adversity isn’t always the answer. There is joy in figuring things out.
Perry hungered to play for Kentucky. He was more than just another Kentucky high school basketball player with a dream. He was the state’s all-time leading scorer.
Perry had a string of opportunities to play at other power conference programs but committed to UK when he expected to be coached by John Calipari. He knew he would surrounded by top-tier, NBA-bound talent. That’s not the DNA of a guy who runs from competition.
The first thing I thought about Tuesday night when the news broke that Perry was leaving Kentucky after one season was this: How many of the Unforgettables would have stuck it out in Lexington if the transfer portal was hot and running when Pitino replaced Eddie Sutton at UK in the spring of 1989?
What are the odds that Sean Woods, John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus and Richie Farmer all would have ridden out two seasons of NCAA probation to persevere through the glory of the 1992 season and the historic Elite Eight game against Duke?
I’ll set the over/under at 0.000000001% and take the under.
One of the most glorious chapters in Kentucky basketball history, one that baked over three entertaining seasons would have never been celebrated. Those four guys are not revered for winning a title. They’re revered because they poured every ounce of their DNA into chasing a goal.
But, like I mentioned, I love the transfer portal. It brings the option for players to find the option that best fits them. It’s part of the new world order that allows players to be paid.
It allows basketball players to make the same moves that pre-med students and accounting majors can make — find the right school for them and their future.
But I hate the transfer portal — in every moment when I don’t like it.
College Basketball Coverage:
CRAWFORD | Louisville big man James Scott has entered the transfer portal
CRAWFORD | Kasean Pryor gives Louisville a major frontcourt lift with return
CRAWFORD | Mr. Basketball exits: Kentucky’s Travis Perry enters transfer portal
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