BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Coaches whose teams made it to the second week of the NCAA Division I tournament are having to split their time between preparing their players for the Sweet 16 and talking to potential transfers who have entered the portal.
Such is life in college basketball.
South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is one of those coaches, and she said it’s a huge challenge.
“I think the timing is all screwed up. It really plays on your ability to compartmentalize,” Staley, whose Gamecocks are seeking their second straight national championship and third in four seasons, said Thursday. “If you aren’t — I mean, most coaches are, but if you are not really good at it, it can sidetrack you.
“But for us, the main thing, the main thing at this point is trying to win another national championship.”
The portal’s current window opened Tuesday, and 595 women’s basketball players entered in the first 24 hours, according to the NCAA. That’s 2 1/2 times more than the 233 players who entered in the same time frame last year. There were 757 men’s basketball players in the portal in the opening 24 hours this year, which also was more than double last season.
This is the first year the portal opened up this week. Last year, it opened a day after the NCAA tournament selection show.
As of Friday morning, there were more than 1,000 women’s basketball players in the portal. One name not in the portal yet but entering soon is Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, who led Division I in scoring this season. Her representatives at Klutch Sports Group confirmed to The Associated Press that she was exploring her options to transfer. Latson’s decision was first reported by ESPN.
The portal has exploded over the past few years, with NIL money becoming a major reason for players to transfer.
“A lot of kids are leaving because of it, but at the same time, I feel like you have to follow your heart instead of the money,” said guard Te-Hina Paopao, who landed at South Carolina as a transfer last year from Oregon. “Just be able to have fun with the game and create those relationships that I’ve created, and just be able to fall in love with the game again, and continue to play the game that you love.”
Paopao isn’t alone in her sentiments.
Sedona Prince, who transferred twice in her career, starting at Texas before going to Oregon and now TCU, feels that players shouldn’t just be after getting the most NIL money.
“I would say in this new era, I mean, right before (revenue) share and stuff, don’t go for the money,” Prince said. “It’s just going to fail. I know a lot of kids are trying to get paid, as they should. That’s how it should be. That’s how it always should have been. But be very smart.”
Maryland forward Saylor Poffenbarger started her college basketball career at Connecticut before transferring to Arkansas and then joining the Terrapins. She knows all too well about how the transfer portal works.
“When I went into the portal the second time, I had to pick the things that were important to me,” she said. “It’s kind of it’s crazy. It’s hectic. Everyone throwing numbers, everyone’s throwing this, everyone’s throwing that. You kind of just have to stay true to you and … pick a school that aligns with your morals, because at the end of the day, you’re you, and the school’s not changing for you when you enter them.”
While students enter the portal when their season is over, the current timing makes it difficult for the roughly 10% of programs still playing.
One problem is currently there’s no better time for the portal to open.
The Student Athletic Advisory Committee agreed to lessen the length that the portal was open from 45 days to 30, which allowed the change in timing to this year’s date. Some coaches wanted a closing date no later than May 1 because of final exams and summer school enrollment so that players could be eligible at their new schools.
With the 30-day window and May 1 deadline, the portal had to open before the Final Four ended. That means Staley and other coaches in the Sweet 16 are having to multitask even more than usual.
If players don’t understand that Staley may not have all the time to recruit them right now because the Gamecocks are trying to win a championship, then they might not be the right fit for the program. Staley said she was going to call a few players after finishing with her media obligations Thursday.
“You still have to do it,” she said. “Yes, I’m going to call somebody when I leave here. A few people. Just because you’ve got to let them know, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about you. We’ve got this run we’re trying to (finish), but you are a priority for us.'”
UCLA coach Cori Close has noticed another problem with the timing of the portal opening: Schools now are quicker to fire and hire coaches before the portal opens so they don’t get behind.
“I think we have been rushing hires so that we could get people in place before the portal, which has distractions from their current teams,” said Close, whose Bruins were the No. 1 overall seed for this year’s 68-team bracket. “I am going to be advocating in the offseason that we make another shift.
“I don’t think it’s in the best interests of our game and the best interests of our kids and the best interests of our coaches to have that being a distraction in the most magnified time.”