After months of listening to college football coaches whine about the transfer portal, it’s now the college basketball coaches' turn. And the latest powerful voice to express his discontent with student-athletes having a choice of where they go to school is none other than defending national champion, UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley.
“I don’t think it’s healthy for players to change schools like underwear,” Hurley told reporters at a press conference ahead of his Sweet 16 March Madness matchup against San Diego State, per college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman on X/Twitter.
Hurley had no problem jumping from Wagner to Rhode Island after just two seasons in Staten Island or climbing up from Rhode Island to the UConn basketball program after two straight March Madness appearances, but the transfer portal seemingly does upset him. This isn’t the first time this month he’s spoken out about player movement in his sport.
Dan Hurley doesn’t like the transfer portal in college basketball
Ahead of the 2024 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, Dan Hurley shared a wide range of thoughts about the transfer portal.
His biggest gripe is that it stays open during March Madness, taking attention away from the sport’s premier event.
“Yeah, it shouldn't be open right now,” Hurley told John Fanta of FOX. “The fact that on Monday of the best week in college basketball that it's open, it's bizarre and it's led to even more chaos.”
While that may be a legitimate gripe, Hurley went on to say, “I think it's bad for kids if you end up — your college that you go to, the staff that you play for, becomes your network for life. Like that's the group of people that are going to help create opportunities for you the entirety of your life, your support system. If you play in four or five schools in four or five years, like what type of support system [is that]? You're just kind of a mercenary at that point, and you have no base in life.”
So, while Hurley doesn’t have an issue with a coach coaching for three schools in seven years, players who play for four or five in four or five years are baseless mercenaries.
The UConn basketball program could win big in the 2024 transfer portal
While Dan Hurley may not like the transfer portal, it will be interesting to see how much he gains from it this offseason.
His UConn Huskies are already the college basketball defending champs, and they are also the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s March Madness tournament and have a decent shot at getting back to at least the Final Four with a rematch of last year’s final against San Diego State and then either Illinois or Iowa State would be on deck.
If UConn makes back-to-back Final Fours or even wins consecutive national championships, the best players in the transfer portal will be lining up to head to Storrs, Connecticut.
Oh, and this year, Hurley’s leading scorer is Tristen Newton who transferred from East Carolina ahead of last season, and his second-leading scorer is 2023 Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer.
There are some big names already in this year’s college basketball transfer portal, too. Dug McDaniel from Michigan, Javon Small from Oklahoma State, Koron Davis from Louisville, and Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers (a school Hurley has mined before) could all make a huge difference at their new program next season.
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