Is the NCAA transfer portal getting out of control?

According to the Transfer Portal For Playing Time, theNCAA men’s basketball transfer portal has set a new record for themost D-I and D-II entries in the first four days, with more than1,015 players putting their name in thus far. For comparison, ittook six days longer to surpass 1,000 entries in 2022.The transfer portal has created a period of unprecedented playermovement across the NCAA.On "The Collision: Where Sports And Politics Collide,” me and myco-host Dave Zirin did a deep dive into the transfer portal andwhat this means for college basketball going forward.

Dave Zirin: I heard your former coach, JimBoeheim, discuss some of the things that have changed the dynamicsof college basketball. He discussed NIL and the transfer portal.Has it surprised you how quickly the power dynamics have shifted incollege hoops?Etan Thomas: Interesting. I was actually justlistening to Coach Boeheim discuss this on the radio with JayWilliams and Keyshawn Johnson this morning after I dropped my kidsoff at school. For me, as far as the transfer portal (goes), I’mkind of torn on this topic, to be honest.

Dave: I am as well. I'm very torn, but pleasecontinue.Etan: So, on one hand, players now haveflexibility and I think it’s important for players to have thatflexibility to move to a different situation if the situation theyare currently in is not the best for them. So, I’m definitely allfor that. In addition, from a players perspective, you’re nolonger… how can I say this... held captive. I don’t want to usethat strong of a phrase and, of course, this is in a basketballsense — don’t take this literal, please.Dave: I understand what you’re saying.Etan: Yeah, so I just want to make that pointclear. But in the past, no matter how bad the situation was foryou, from a player’s perspective, you were almost forced to dealwith it because [the] repercussion or punishment for transferringwould be that you had to sit out an entire year and lose that yearof eligibility. And that is a lot; you had to really be unhappy inyour situation to give up an entire year. Now, it’s different.Players now have the flexibility to leave if the situation is notgood for them and I’m all for that, in theory.Now, from a coaching standpoint — and this was Coach Boeheim’spoint this morning — how do you build a team with that reality,[when] you have half of your team leaving every year? And Iunderstand that issue. But should players have the flexibility toleave? I think so. I mean, coaches have the flexibility to leaveanytime they get a better opportunity somewhere. I always thought —and this was way before the transfer portal was even a reality —but I thought that if your coach left, you should have the right toleave without having to sit out a year. I think that should’ve beena rule anyway.Dave: I definitely agree with that. I mean, thatdefinitely seems fair for so many reasons.Etan: Right. But at the same time, when you lookat the transfer portal now, it just opened up and in, what, 3 daysyou have over 1,000 players who want to transfer? That’s alot, so that’s why I’m torn on this topic.Dave: Whew. I too am very torn on this.So, on the one hand, the checkmate argument in favor of thetransfer portal is exactly what you just said: coaches can leave,so why can’t players? Coaches don’t have to sit out a year, so whyshould players? Coaches can pursue the best opportunities forthemselves and for their families, so why can’t the players makesimilar choices in that regard? That, to me, is the most checkmateof all checkmate arguments. But, there is another side to it, andyou can’t deny this other side. You know, you actually end upsometimes losing arguments when you don’t grant that the other sidehas a point.