There are currently more than 2,000 college basketball players in the transfer portal looking for their next destination. Whether we like it or not, this has become the new norm, and the portal has college coaches everywhere scrambling to fill their rosters. The portal, which closes on May 1 for undergraduate students, has made April and May the busiest two months for coaching staffs from coast to coast.
We hear of players moving from school to school on a daily — and sometimes hourly — basis, with rumors flying of where the top players in the portal will eventually land. The coaching carousel has long been a huge part of college sports, and now players have the same option without having to sit out a year to become eligible at their new school.
One argument made in favor of the portal is that it’s only fair that players should have the same opportunity as coaches, but that remains a subject of debate. After all, student-athletes receive a free education when they get a scholarship, but that isn’t enough for players these days. If a player sees
an opportunity to get more playing time at a new institution – and more importantly a way to increase their bank account – they don’t think twice about transferring.
Many of us of a certain age detest what is currently occurring in intercollegiate sports, and we can shake our fist at the clouds from here to doomsday, but it isn’t going to bring back the good ol’ days. Sadly perhaps, those days are gone forever.
The original purpose of the NIL was to provide college athletes with a way to earn extra money to go with their scholarships, but it has evolved – some would say devolved — to become a bidding war among colleges and universities to buy players. Just look at what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said recently about paying players. Jones, who should be more concerned with his underachieving football team, proclaimed that he will double whatever prospective Kentucky players are promised in NIL funds to play at his alma mater, Arkansas.
That’s just the latest example of what college sports, primarily basketball and football have become. It is merely another form of what free agency is in professional sports, and the NCAA is
powerless to do anything about it. As we have said before, the days are numbered for the NCAA anyway, and college sports will never be close to what it used to be.
Another monkey wrench thrown into all of this has been the “COVID year.” The rule gives any player on scholarship during the 2020-21 season an extra year of eligibility. Despite the best intentions of the rule when it was enacted, it has also helped lead to the current portal and NIL mess, especially in college football and basketball.
We can gripe and complain all we want about the new world of college sports, but it’s here to stay. Some folks say they’re not going to watch or follow college basketball and/or football because of the changes, but we know the real fans will still tune in.
One thing the portal is accomplishing is that fans are keeping a keen eye on who may be joining the team they follow.
Kentucky basketball fans are anxious to see how new head coach Mark Pope rebuilds the roster, and he appears to be off to a solid start. In recent days, a 6-foot-10 center from Drexel with a reputation for his defensive skills, Amari Williams, became the first
transfer to commit to the Cats. Williams joins 6-4 guard Collin Chandler, who comes to Lexington with four years of eligibility after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, 6-2 guard Travis Perry, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, also confirmed he is keeping his commitment to UK.
BYU guard Richie Saunders visited Lexington over the weekend, and there are numerous names in the portal who will reportedly be visiting in the coming days, including Utah State forward Great Asobor, Villanova guard TJ Bamba and Dayton guard Koby Brea.
Learning the names on a roster annually is nothing new to UK fans since numerous one-and-done players have come through the program over the past 15 years. The 2024-25 team will look quite different than many of the freshmen-dominated teams of the past with veteran players leading the way.
The transfer portal and the NIL rules (are there any rules?) have changed intercollegiate athletics forever, so we may as well embrace it, or at the very least, accept it.
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BENGALS PICK 18TH IN FIRST ROUND – The NFL Draft gets underway Thursday night and it remains one of the most over-hyped events of the year on ESPN. The opening round drags on for three-plus hours and if you’re planning on watching the remainder of the draft Friday and Saturday, you’re looking at least nine more hours of viewing excitement.
As you can probably guess by now, spending all that time watching players get picked is not exactly my idea of fun. But hey, if it appeals to you, more power to you.
It is always interesting to Cincinnati Bengals fans on who they will take, especially in the first round. Last year’s first round selection, Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy, didn’t wow anybody with his play in his rookie year, so here’s hoping the Men in Stripes pick a player with more immediate impact this coming season.
As is always the case, there are more mock drafts than you can shake a stick at, with some guesses on the first Cincinnati pick at No. 18 being an offensive tackle, possibly J.C. Latham of Alabama. Other names linked to the Bengals include Texas defensive
tackle Byron Murphy II, LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and two more offensive linemen, Washington’s Troy Fautanu and Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State.
One key to the draft is for teams to make wise selections in rounds 2-7, which has been a consistent strength of Cincinnati drafts in the past.
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FORMER FLEMING COACH RETIRES – Kristy Orem, who led the girls’ basketball program at Fleming County from the 2000-01 season through the 2015-16 campaign before moving to Pikeville High School, recently announced her retirement. She is also stepping down from her position as the school’s athletic director.
Orem had a remarkable career at Pikeville, leading the Lady Panthers to five 15th Region titles in the past six seasons. She also won more than 500 games during her coaching career, which began at Scott County in 1998.
Orem made the announcement via social media.
“Over the past 27 years, coaching young women has been a significant part of my life. Together, we have created unforgettable memories and built lifelong
relationships that I will always cherish,” she said in the statement.
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ON A PERSONAL NOTE (OR TWO) – If y’all will indulge me for a moment, I just wanted to convey my thanks to folks who appreciate these blurbs, with one of my most loyal readers being former Mason County football coach David Buchanan. “Coach B” is currently the head coach at Anderson County, and it’s always a pleasure to hear his thoughts on something I’ve written.
Something else I felt I should bring up is that it ain’t easy getting old, with my 70th birthday staring me in the face in a few months. My hearing is not good to say the least, and now it’s my eyesight that’s giving me fits. That’s my excuse anyway, so when you spot grammatical errors and/or typos in this space, I hope you can overlook some of them.
I was told several years ago that getting old ain’t for sissies, and I’ve been discovering that to be a fact in recent months. Hopefully, I’ll be able to write these things for a long time to come, simply because I enjoy doing it (sometimes), and it keeps the ol’ brain somewhat active.
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“I think some of the high school sports are getting diminished just because so many people are spending that time on the transfer portal. They are not going after those high school kids and they’re not getting those opportunities they are used to having.” – Notre Dame head basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry
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“Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, and over these ideals they dispute and cannot unite – but they all worship money.” — Mark Twain
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