The pre-portal era: Load up on freshmen who are going to stick around for as long as their college careers last. You look for guys who can be DEVELOPED. Sure, you look for guys you think will fit your system. And if you can get OADs or 2ADs you grab them - but you are happy to get guys who need a year or 3 before they become stars. Think Roy Williams as coach and Brice Johnson as player.
The portal era: Get what you can get out of HS, but don't count on them sticking around to be developed - especially if you can't give them good PT. So don't waste a lot of effort on lower-ranked players - or even top-ranked payers if they aren't ready to play right out of the gate. Instead, focus on portal players who have proved themselves, fit your system, and can deliver immediately. Other than working them into your system, minimal development required.
Is that a fair sketch? Will that continue, or will the portal settle down in time?
Does that shift apply to all schools, or just top tier schools? Does the portal effectively turn lesser schools into glorified junior colleges or prep schools, mere stepping stones to the portal?
If you are a Brice Johnson, looking at riding the bench for a while at UNC while Iron Men from the portal get nearly all the minutes, would you be better off at, say, Davidson, being developed by a solid coach and then transferring after a year or 2?
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