Connecticut and Purdue needed the right fit. Alabama needed more bodies. North Carolina State had big holes to fill in the backcourt.
They all mined the transfer portal effectively enough that those pieces are key reasons that they’ve reached the Final Four, headed to the desert with a chance to hoist a trophy. It’s a reminder that finding experienced help has become a essential piece of building a top team in today’s game — each added at least one player in his fifth college season — and meshing new pieces into different personalities is a high-reward part of the equation.
“Getting players with a lot of life to them,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said before the reigning champs beat Illinois in the Elite Eight. “Avoiding zombies and dead-heads on your roster. Outgoing, different types of personality. It helps you in these bigger moments.
“I think that’s something that we spend a lot of time thinking about with a couple of the years where we didn’t play our best in March. Get guys that are alive, that aren’t going to shrink when the lights get bright in March.”
The Huskies have one in 6-foot-4 guard Cam Spencer.