University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach Lamont Paris has the same challenges this time of year as Kentucky’s John Calipari and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
Paris just doesn’t oversee a perennial pipeline to the professional ranks.
There are 353 Division I programs in men’s basketball, and all of them are having to rebuild like never before with the growing number of transferring players, both undergraduates and graduates, in addition to those leaving early for the possibility of playing in the NBA. Roughly 900 players in recent weeks have entered the NCAA transfer portal, which is nearly three per program, and the days of having four-year loyalists such as Auburn’s Bryce Brown, North Carolina’s Luke Maye and Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield are dwindling rapidly.
“I think this is very detrimental to something that has been built for so many years,” Paris said. “It tears at the fabric of what we’ve established. Hopefully we can make some changes, because we’re looking at there being no such things as four-year players.
“If kids aren’t playing enough, they’re leaving. If they play too well, they’re leaving. If they don’t like the temperature, they’re leaving.”