Kansas basketball: One quick thing about the transfer portal
Some Kansas basketball fans are concerned about the prominence of the transfer portal in college hoops, but there is no reason to fret over it.
Many consider the new-age transfer portal in the NCAA equivalent to free agency in professional sports. The Kansas Jayhawks have undergone a complete roster revamp in the offseason, losing eight players to the portal and bringing four in from it.
You don’t have to like the transfer portal and how it has changed the landscape of college basketball, but I’ve seen plenty of overreactions from people online after a player transfers from KU.
While having eight guys leave your program for another school in a span of two months doesn’t sound great, we need to realize most of them were never going to have a consistent role at KU. Ernest Udeh Jr. was probably the biggest transfer loss suffered in the offseason, yet he played 8.3 minutes per game last season.
Sure, he could have become a much better player, but adding the highest-rated transfer in the country and having him spend one or two years here will have far more of an impact on Kansas than Udeh or Zuby Ejiofor would have.
Another thing to note is that you should not bash teenagers for wanting a clean slate. It seems Udeh might be heading to Duke, a program where he might struggle to see the floor again. But there is no reason to head to social media to denounce kids for transferring from a program just because you are a fan (I’ve seen a lot of that done on Twitter).
The transfer portal being as popular as it is is still new. Although you might think we will never see another four-year player at Kansas, time will tell how student athletes handle the portal in the future. Considering you cannot transfer more than once and be granted immediate eligibility without a waiver, we might see less guys leaving their programs after one or two seasons in the next few years.
Bottom line: Do not worry about the transfer portal ruining KU basketball. It might have a lasting effect on less powerful mid-major schools, but it will not affect the success of the Jayhawks too much.
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