The annual agenda of UCLA coach Mick Cronin has changed over the years. Once upon a time, the transfer portal did not exist, and for a basketball head coach, dedicating massive resources to player retention simply wasn’t a thing.
Out of harsher, more restrictive rules governing the game, grew legends of the hardwood who not only established themselves as program heroes, they bought into the traditions of the universities and as a result, rivalries and conference titles felt and were more important.
Imagine if John Wooden had to work to retain Bill Walton every year. Imagine if Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left Westwood to return to his New York roots. What would UCLA be?
So that begs the question. Has the transfer portal hurt/ ruined UCLA and/ or college basketball? The answer is no. That would be a cop-out and the current state of the game stems from rulings of long ago.
Are smaller, mid-major programs hurt by the portal? Yes, but they’re more hurt by the portal paired with NIL. It’s the money that drives players into the portal more than anything else.
However, the game of basketball at the collegiate level has been in decline for some time, and the reason is the one-and-done policy for players going to the NBA. Once upon a time, basketball star Michael Jordan won the 1982 NCAA Tournament as a freshman and then played two more years of collegiate basketball for North Carolina before leaving for the NBA.
Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner. They played for years at Duke, and thus, they are Blue Devils and college basketball legends. Could we say the same about Kyrie Irving? Jabari Parker? Zion Williamson? Cooper Flagg if declares?
While virtually impossible, if collegiate hoops wants to return to the glory days, players should be mandated to play three years of basketball before going to the NBA, the same as in football.
Players will get paid under the NIL system, they’re likely to stay at big-time programs, and the quality of basketball, especially in March will be at an All-Time level. Just look at the women’s game. The rise in popularity comes from a more established product, a product whose establishment came from top players playing each other after 3-4 years of training.
Players need time to develop, and more careers will have a better chance of being successful at the next level, receiving the results of a long-term development plan.
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