During the new age of college basketball, we’re experiencing in-conference transfers very often. In the past, it has been coaches that will have to return to play their former schools, with the occasional player having to do the same. Now, multiple players per conference will have to return to their former campus to play old teammates and coaches.
It could get interesting as this can become the normal thing to happen as the transfer portal continues to become a regular thing. Will this be entertaining for college basketball or will it turn off some fans that are against the transfer portal?
“Nobody wants to have their future stars poached let alone by a team within their own conference and while fans should never get mad at players for their personal decisions as everybody has their own path, watching a former top-100 prospect move just a few states over to play for an in-conference school should sting and build on that natural dislike for the programs you’ll regularly face,” TPR’s Riley Frain said.
Let’s take the Big 12 as an example. Over the last two months, the Big 12 has experienced a wave of in-conference transfers.
BIG 12 IN-CONFERENCE TRANSFERS:
Tyrese Hunter / Iowa State ➡️ Texas
Kevin McCullar / Texas Tech ➡️ Kansas
Jalen Bridges / West Virginia ➡️ Baylor
Tre Mitchell / Texas ➡️ West Virginia
Jaylon Tyson / Texas ➡️ Texas Tech
Hunter, McCullar, Bridges, Mitchell and Tyson will all have to play against their former school twice a year as long as they maintain their college eligibility. Many fans have complained about the transfer portal ruining college basketball, but once one of their former players returns to campus, they’ll be at the game for the potentially hostile environment.
Possibly in the future, these homecoming games won’t be as unique as they will be next season. The hype could wear off eventually. Many fans from the Big 12 have shown their displeasure about their players going to conference foes. The majority of people may think this is good for college basketball but there will always be people against transferring.
“Overall I think in-conference transfers are good for college basketball as not only do they provide players with a chance to transfer locally,” Frain said. “We’re seeing with Texas native Jaylon Tyson moving from Texas to Texas Tech, but they can also promote a healthy sense of rivalry between programs.”
What are your thoughts?
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