How Do You Think the One-Time Transfer Rule Will Change College Basketball?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

And in particular, how might it change UNC basketball?

Obviously it's chaos this year. Fascinating to watch, but most of us don't want this experience to be repeated.

A little of that chaos might spill over a little into next year. But I don't expect it to be nearly as much of a Wild West experience. This year, all those kids who were glumly gutting it out on teams they'd rather leave, but who didn't want to sit out a year, are jumping at the chance. But next year there should be very little of that pent-up demand.

I'm assuming it settles down pretty fast. There will be higher numbers in the portal every year, but manageable numbers. Which gets back to the main question: Once it settles down, what does that do to recruiting and to teams?

 

[UNC-75]

Hurting the a sport IMO.

 

[tarheel0910]

I doubt it changes much. This isn't a new rule for college sports, just new for the bigger sports (basketball, football, baseball, hockey). All the other sports have had no issues with this rule. I also think the number of transfers goes down significantly for a couple of reasons. First, a lot of players aren't going to have a spot to transfer to this year. They will see that and realize that transferring isn't a guarantee. Second, players are going to have better experiences at school now that we are getting back to normal. I think missing that normal college experience made a lot of players unhappy this year.

 

[NCAAUCoach]

Another recruiting channel. There will be more roster turnover short term until we see the one and done go away. It puts more pressure on the coach to play kids more as well.

 

[kc2525]

It will completely change the game. It’s free agency. Between this and NIL, I’m sure Roy thinks he picked a great time to retire.

 

[ChiShankCity]

I think it’ll be really interesting. If it does create a free agency type market in the pros, it may get college basketball more attention in the offseason. I think the sport is in trouble because there are very few draws annually. Typically, whoever will be the #1 pick, Duke, Kentucky and the major rivalries are the only games that garner attention until the tournament. So maybe a free agency system creates more attention and more household names.

I’m debating whether it will continue at the current rate. On one hand, people are more mobile today and transient. On the other, moving sucks. My lean says it’ll slow down but still be a significant part of the offseason.

But college basketball needs something beyond rules to players to bring attention to its regular season. In fairness, minus the football, every sport is struggling to lure fans to its regular season product.

For those who follow European soccer, I think a promotion/relegation system would do wonders for college basketball (it would be AMAZING for college football).

 

[gobblercalls]

But college basketball needs something beyond rules to players to bring attention to its regular season. In fairness, minus the football, every sport is struggling to lure fans to its regular season product.

I think a more accurate statement would be that college basketball needs something to return positive attention to its regular season. An easier and more effective fix would be to keep politics out of athletics in general and college athletics in particular. The more "woke" the college game gets the more fans will quit tuning in. A free agency system will run even more fans off. Part of the draw of college basketball is the consistency of the team makeup from year to year. Just look at how many posts are made on this site about players and teams from the past. The reason we remember them is that they spent 3/4 years playing here, thus 3/4 years of us watching them grow, play, struggle, and succeed. Have you ever seen anybody name one of our OAD players as their favorite UNC player? Maybe not even a 2AD. CBB is on a downward trend and I don't see an end in sight.

 

[midline]

Agree with the above, one of the great things about college sports is the continuity with the teams. But on the other hand I am surprised the transfer system lasted as long as it did. You have coaches that can leave at a moments notice for a better deal. Nobody has ever cared if a kid on a music scholarship leaves because they think another school has a better band. I don't think it will be the wild west as it is right now, but every scholarship player at the D1 level has fostered, and been told, they were going to the NBA from their early teens. Most of those dreams are just that.....dreams. But if they aren't getting the playing time they feel they deserve to chase that dream, they are leaving. The days of a pretty good player accepting a lesser role for the good of the old school colors are over.

 

[JimmyinVA]

if a player transfers because he resents the coaches' allotment of playing time, it's better for the team if he leaves.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

For those who follow European soccer, I think a promotion/relegation system would do wonders for college basketball

Could you elaborate? How would that work?

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

if a player transfers because he resents the coaches' allotment of playing time, it's better for the team if he leaves.

This is what I'm thinking. If a guy is really unhappy - whatever the reason - it could be addition by subtraction for the team he leaves.

The other side of the equation is how do you tell if the guy in the portal is leaving for legit reasons vs someone who may be a chemistry problem wherever he goes?

I think most of the time it shouldn't be that hard to tell, but sometimes....

Maybe Hubert should hire a shrink as an assistant coach. Just kidding, but that skill set could be more useful going forward.

 

[trollbaby]

We’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg giving kids free agency. High schoolers are teaming up demanding coaches give scholarships to their best friends. Now, imagine every kid, 18-22 years olds being able to do this every single year. At least in the League, teams have salary caps which limit their ability to be manipulated by players. College has no caps as cheaters never get punished. How many coaches will be able to keep half of their scholarships open every year for disgruntled transfers?

 

[SuperFan61]

Yeah, maybe one of you 2 guys who follow European soccer could explain. LMAO

 

[ChiShankCity]

Could you elaborate? How would that work?

Let’s say CBB had a commissioner. I don’t know how many total conferences there are but let’s say it’s 24. The commissioner puts them in 3 tiers. The bottom two teams in each conference of the top tier gets relegated to the second tier. Then the top two teams in a regionally similar second tier conference gets promoted to the ACC. Then that goes for tiers 2 and 3 as well.

Promotions and relegations could have playoffs too. For example, the top seed automatically gets promoted. But teams 2,3,4,5 play in a playoff and the winner gets promoted. Subsequently the worst team gets auto relegated while the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th worst play in a playoff for conference survival.

This could also have longer lasting effects for NCAA violators. Along with a postseason ban, you get relegated.

Too many hurdles to jump over with TV contracts but there is a baseline in place to do something creative like this. There are likely too many D1-A schools for this to gain a ton of traction nationally. Would anyone care that a SWAC team can get promoted to the ASUN? But in soccer, a really tight relegation battle carries sometimes more excitement than the battle for the league title.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Let’s say CBB had a commissioner. I don’t know how many total conferences there are but let’s say it’s 24. The commissioner puts them in 3 tiers. The bottom two teams in each conference of the top tier gets relegated to the second tier. Then the top two teams in a regionally similar second tier conference gets promoted to the ACC. Then that goes for tiers 2 and 3 as well.

Promotions and relegations could have playoffs too. For example, the top seed automatically gets promoted. But teams 2,3,4,5 play in a playoff and the winner gets promoted. Subsequently the worst team gets auto relegated while the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th worst play in a playoff for conference survival.

This could also have longer lasting effects for NCAA violators. Along with a postseason ban, you get relegated.

Too many hurdles to jump over with TV contracts but there is a baseline in place to do something creative like this. There are likely too many D1-A schools for this to gain a ton of traction nationally. Would anyone care that a SWAC team can get promoted to the ASUN? But in soccer, a really tight relegation battle carries sometimes more excitement than the battle for the league title.

Clearly I need more coffee.

Here's a ranked list of conferences from Pomeroy. I hope it doesn't exceed fair use limits.

Perhaps you could give an example. It sounds like you're saying that bottom feeders in the top conferences would be booted out of their conference and sent to a lower conference, while top teams from those lower conferences would go to the better conferences. So . . . would Boston College (worst team in the 5th-best ACC) swap places with Liberty (best team in the 5th-worst ASUN)? Or would the tiers come into play to keep the changes from being that dramatic? Or do I have this totally wrong?

1	Big Ten Conference	+18.68	17	Ivy League	-4.66
2	Big 12 Conference	+16.55	18	Big Sky Conference	-4.89
3	Pac 12 Conference	+16.21	19	Colonial Athletic Association	-5.06
4	Southeastern Conference	+14.32	20	Horizon League	-5.79
5	Atlantic Coast Conference	+13.22	21	Sun Belt Conference	-6.02
6	Big East Conference	+13.20	22	Ohio Valley Conference	-6.98
7	American Athletic Conference	+8.02	23	Western Athletic Conference	-7.14
8	West Coast Conference	+7.78	24	Patriot League	-7.31
9	Atlantic 10 Conference	+6.01	25	America East Conference	-7.56
10	Missouri Valley Conference	+2.99	26	ASUN Conference	-8.26
11	Mountain West Conference	+2.72	27	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	-8.40
12	Mid American Conference	+1.22	28	Big South Conference	-9.14
13	Conference USA	+1.01	29	Northeast Conference	-10.92
14	Southern Conference	+0.99	30	Southland Conference	-12.16
15	Big West Conference	-2.36	31	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	-15.61
16	Summit League	-4.49	32	Southwestern Athletic Conference	-16.82

 

[TPFKAPFS]

If you tried to relegate a Blueblood it would cause havoc! Last year a case for relegation might have included: puke, Kentuck, and potentially Kansas. The year before UNC was on the list and some others barely squeaked by. College bball and March Madness couldn't survive a tourney without the Bluebloods!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

If you tried to relegate a Blueblood it would cause havoc! Last year a case for relegation might have included: puke, Kentuck, and potentially Kansas. The year before UNC was on the list and some others barely squeaked by. College bball and March Madness couldn't survive a tourney without the Bluebloods!

Good point (I think).

I have suggested (not entirely tongue-in-cheek) that teams who finish in the cellar on a regular basis should be booted out of the conference. A single bad year wouldn't trigger it, but 2 out of 3, or 3 out of 4, maybe. I'm looking at you BC, Wake and Pitt. Do better.

I've also suggested (entirely seriously) that the worst team in the ACC shouldn't get to play in the ACC tournament that year. Not only would that provide an incentive, but it would simplify the tournament brackets.

 

[tarheel0910]

Good point (I think).

I've also suggested (entirely seriously) that the worst team in the ACC shouldn't get to play in the ACC tournament that year. Not only would that provide an incentive, but it would simplify the tournament brackets.

I'd be ok with going even further than that. Just have the top 10 teams for the tournament.

 

[Bubspub88]

Good point (I think).

I have suggested (not entirely tongue-in-cheek) that teams who finish in the cellar on a regular basis should be booted out of the conference. A single bad year wouldn't trigger it, but 2 out of 3, or 3 out of 4, maybe. I'm looking at you BC, Wake and Pitt. Do better.

I've also suggested (entirely seriously) that the worst team in the ACC shouldn't get to play in the ACC tournament that year. Not only would that provide an incentive, but it would simplify the tournament brackets.

Couple of logistical issues I see. Do you boot out of conference just based on performance in one sport? If so that sport would probably be the cash cow that is football and before Brown came back UNC would have been in jeopardy.

Relegation works if you are discussing pro sports where the owner is then forced to spend more to compete. In college it is recipe for disaster. If BC (for example) gets relegated then it makes their recruiting almost impossible. Right now the lesser known P5 schools can somewhat compete in recruiting because they can say they are playing against the blue bloods and there is the chance for exposure due to a nice March run. Take that away and they are screwed.

I do agree about cleaning up ACC tourny format. I'd like to see top 12 teams play - that provides a bye as reward for top 4 teams.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Couple of logistical issues I see. Do you boot out of conference just based on performance in one sport? If so that sport would probably be the cash cow that is football and before Brown came back UNC would have been in jeopardy.

Relegation works if you are discussing pro sports where the owner is then forced to spend more to compete. In college it is recipe for disaster. If BC (for example) gets relegated then it makes their recruiting almost impossible. Right now the lesser known P5 schools can somewhat compete in recruiting because they can say they are playing against the blue bloods and there is the chance for exposure due to a nice March run. Take that away and they are screwed.

I do agree about cleaning up ACC tourny format. I'd like to see top 12 teams play - that provides a bye as reward for top 4 teams.

Good points.

 

[ChiShankCity]

College basketball would have to act independently as its own sports organization. I personally wouldn’t factor in history when relegating/promoting teams. It’s a year-to-year basis.

With 32 conferences, you can have 4 tiers of 8 conferences (a b c d). The teams that finish in the bottom 3 of tier A gets relegated to a tier B conference. The top 3 finishers of tier B gets promoted to tier A.

From there, you can add in additional things. Maybe top 2 get auto promotions. While there’s a playoff for the 3rd spot between the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place finisher.

I would say tough luck to Boston College if they were to get relegated. But congrats to let’s say Davidson if they were to get promoted.

Also, if we’re trying to fix the sport it needs a centralized scheduling system as opposed to schools controlling it. There’s so much potential with scheduling but parties involved have different agendas.

 

[Archer2]

College basketball would have to act independently as its own sports organization. I personally wouldn’t factor in history when relegating/promoting teams. It’s a year-to-year basis.

With 32 conferences, you can have 4 tiers of 8 conferences (a b c d). The teams that finish in the bottom 3 of tier A gets relegated to a tier B conference. The top 3 finishers of tier B gets promoted to tier A.

From there, you can add in additional things. Maybe top 2 get auto promotions. While there’s a playoff for the 3rd spot between the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place finisher.

I would say tough luck to Boston College if they were to get relegated. But congrats to let’s say Davidson if they were to get promoted.

Also, if we’re trying to fix the sport it needs a centralized scheduling system as opposed to schools controlling it. There’s so much potential with scheduling but parties involved have different agendas.

You have lost your mind.

 

[Mr-Robinson]

the idea is a shame bo. once you commit- stick with the team. people offended these days. young bucks

 

[Archer2]

Hurting the a sport IMO.

Big time.

 

[ChiShankCity]

You have lost your mind.

Maybe. But I think something dramatic will be required for a sport whose reg season is becoming more and more irrelevant. Hell, the NBA reg season is irrelevant and the NBA is trying a play in tournament.

I would also consider a midseason “tournament” where every D1 team is included. It’s single elimination and the home team is determined by coin flip. So you have a chance for blue bloods to play road games at really small schools. It would he a different feel and something completely unique to the sport. The matchups could be completely randomly drawn and each round there’s a new drawing. The major programs wouldn’t care but it would mean everything for the tiny teams. But another reason I would do this is more to protect the NCAA tournament and not expand it past 68. Be like “hey we already have the midseason tournament for everyone. No need to expand.” Pipe dream I know.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Want radical, OK.
1, Contract the ACC back to 10 teams and play every team twice, Home and Home. (maybe limit all conferences to 10 or less)
2. Develop permanent partners with other conferences and play them based on in-conference ranking.
3. Mandate that Power 5 teams MUST play in-state and/or regional smaller schools every year and do all of them within each 3 year cycle. (2 per year?)
4. Mandate a cycle with each conference playing 2 5 team in-conference tourneys (like the old Big 4 but single elimination) based on ranking alternating with overseas tourneys
5 Do all these and you have approximately 28-30 games in the reg season, is this too much?

 

[NCAAUCoach]

Things change and evolve. Society moves more and more to an instant gratification model. The NCAA tournament is the best sporting event out there (in my opinion). I don't want to see it expanded, but it's expanded multiple times before too and things ended up just fine. What is great about it is the one game and done model...."any give day" a Cinderella can win.

I would prefer some changes made to College basketball overall. Here are some of them...

1) Remove one & done requirement - Allow kids to go straight to the NBA, but have them do it with information. I would want the NBA to fund a Top 100 camp every year that would bring in the Top 100 kids regardless of age (high school or college) and allow them to go at it for a week against each other and with NBA GM's present. Each player would get feedback from all NBA teams and a ranking would be put together of the Top 100. From there the Draft eligible kids would see where they are ranked/rated, so they can have info to make an informed decision. Kids can leave college at any time as well. Move the draft back a month and have the Top 100 camp in Mid to Late April every year. Have May 15 as the deadline to declare or not.

2) Conferences - Limit the size of conferences to 12 teams. Divide each conferences into two divisions (football and basketball) and have the same model for each conference. Don't have partial schools, you are in or not.

3) In-game - Extend the three-point line and expand the lane. Move to 6 fouls for disqualification. If a player fouls out in regulation and the game goes to OT, they get one more foul and can return. Adjust the TV timeouts to not have back to back timeouts coming out of a called timeout one possession later. Reward defense with possession on a held ball vs. alternating possessions. All non-shooting fouls under 5 minutes are one & one vs two shots. Make the team earn the shots/points. Have the NBA and NCAA collaborate on officiating for consistency. They are both playing basketball, so the rules on traveling, etc. should be the same.

4) NCAA Tournament - Have automatic bids secured by Regular Season winners of conferences AND conference tournament. They have to find a way to reward success longer term and have interested in the regular season. Expand the tournament and provide byes and maybe double byes for top teams. Have regional play in tournaments/pods located on campus at a host school (like NIT). Have 4 team pods that would lead to the winner to qualifying for the actual 32 or 64 team field. This would allow more teams a chance, but also have the NCAA Tournament "start" with 32 teams or 64 teams. I would also like the Sweet 16 and Regional Finals to all be at one location....even the same place as the Final Four. Build a two weekend event that would allow for easier travel for teams and fans.

5) Amateurism - A lot of us wish college sports were like they were in the "Old ACC" and Raycom days, but that's not the case. The players in revenue producing sports aren't true student-athletes. They generate billions for the NCAA and schools....and many aren't interested in school. Have a "major" that is overseen by the NCAA that is geared toward life skills, financial management, etc. Those kids that go to high end academic schools aren't on the same level as "regular students' there a lot of times, so allow a tract that would help them down the path they are actually going. Make it a two year tract that can transfer over to a general studies, etc. degree program if they realize they aren't going to be a one or two year guy. Allow them to have agents and do commercials if they have a likeness people are willing to pay for. Schools funnel money now, so it won't make it more corrupt.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

If a player fouls out in regulation and the game goes to OT, they get one more foul and can return.

Great idea.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

expand the lane.

Every time I've seen that proposed, it's seemed like a no-brainer.

Any idea why we haven't already done this?

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Have automatic bids secured by Regular Season winners of conferences AND conference tournament. They have to find a way to reward success longer term and have interested in the regular season.

Another great idea.

That means that even the worst conferences are guaranteed 2 teams, though. I'm not opposed to that, but it either means the better conferences get less representation, or else you need to expand the field.

Personally, I'd rather expand the field. Just go to a 96-team NCAAT and get over it (although there are less dramatic expansions that will also work). The top 32 teams get a first round bye, and then it's just like the old 64-team format. No big deal for the blue-chippers, and a lot of bb fans get to see their school play another game. Seems like a win-win to me.

Let's face it, if you're the 33rd best team in the nation and you get knocked out by the #96 team, shame on you.

 

[Bubspub88]

Easy fix for college basketball - call the game according to the rulebook not the teams playing, where it's played or time left on clock. Flopping is unsportsmanlike T, coach steps on floor it's a T, allow 60 seconds for TV review maximum and don't let players go benches to give coaches an extra timeout.

 

[tarheel0910]

Another great idea.

That means that even the worst conferences are guaranteed 2 teams, though. I'm not opposed to that, but it either means the better conferences get less representation, or else you need to expand the field.

Personally, I'd rather expand the field. Just go to a 96-team NCAAT and get over it (although there are less dramatic expansions that will also work). The top 32 teams get a first round bye, and then it's just like the old 64-team format. No big deal for the blue-chippers, and a lot of bb fans get to see their school play another game. Seems like a win-win to me.

Let's face it, if you're the 33rd best team in the nation and you get knocked out by the #96 team, shame on you.

I would imagine that expanding the field that much is going to lead to sub .500 teams getting in for some years and/or a lot of teams in the conferences that are barely D1 quality. Neither of those would result in good basketball.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I would imagine that expanding the field that much is going to lead to sub .500 teams getting in for some years and/or a lot of teams in the conferences that are barely D1 quality. Neither of those would result in good basketball.

Yeah, you might have to make it a rule that you can't be in the NCAAT with a losing season (except, of course, if you win the conference tournament).

If you do end up expanding the field, I would like to see the reigning national champion get an automatic bid. I mean they will normally be there anyway, but I would give them the opportunity to try to defend their crown even if they suck. (And that could be the other exception to the "no losing seasons" rule.)

 

[NCAAUCoach]

Another great idea.

That means that even the worst conferences are guaranteed 2 teams, though. I'm not opposed to that, but it either means the better conferences get less representation, or else you need to expand the field.

Personally, I'd rather expand the field. Just go to a 96-team NCAAT and get over it (although there are less dramatic expansions that will also work). The top 32 teams get a first round bye, and then it's just like the old 64-team format. No big deal for the blue-chippers, and a lot of bb fans get to see their school play another game. Seems like a win-win to me.

Let's face it, if you're the 33rd best team in the nation and you get knocked out by the #96 team, shame on you.

This would be part of the expansion and pod system I described. The Power 5 and/or the top 48 teams (or top 48 ranked) would be waiting for 16 teams to join them. Those 16 would come from pods of 2-4 teams that play each other on campus of the highest ranked team int the pod. The pods would include the "lesser" conference teams and some power 5 that barely get in.

 

[gunslingerdick]

3) In-game - Extend the three-point line and expand the lane. Move to 6 fouls for disqualification. If a player fouls out in regulation and the game goes to OT, they get one more foul and can return. Adjust the TV timeouts to not have back to back timeouts coming out of a called timeout one possession later. Reward defense with possession on a held ball vs. alternating possessions. All non-shooting fouls under 5 minutes are one & one vs two shots. Make the team earn the shots/points. Have the NBA and NCAA collaborate on officiating for consistency. They are both playing basketball, so the rules on traveling, etc. should be the same.

Expansion of the 3 point line - I want this too. But the issue is that it can't be moved back in the corners without widening the entire court, which I know may sound radical, but I'm in favor of it. The 3 point line was first designed to reward a player for a "riskier" shot. When the shot becomes less risky, it no longer serves its original purpose. So yeah, back it up. And I don't mean 6-8 inches. I think it should go back as much as 2 feet. Let's get back to only good shooters shooting threes. But again, the widening of the court has to happen or the corner three would be taken advantage of.

Fouls - leave them alone. I might could be swayed on the OT rule.

TOs - completely agree.

Jump ball situations - I always hear "the possession arrow penalizes the defense." But I don't necessarily agree with that. It's called a jump ball. Here's a crazy idea...let's make it a jump ball. Whoa....

Foul shots - No. Leave it the way it is. I like the drama created by the one and one but teams that play like UVa and others that hack and grab would get off scott free at end of game situations. I don't like that. Teams need to be penalized for repeatedly fouling.

Rules - There really is no need to collaborate. The rules are there. Enforce them at both levels.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Jump ball situations - I always hear "the possession arrow penalizes the defense." But I don't necessarily agree with that. It's called a jump ball. Here's a crazy idea...let's make it a jump ball. Whoa....

I assume the arrow thing was partly intended to eliminate the inherent unfairness of the jump ball.

Little guy ties up a big guy, then gets no reward when the ball is jumped.

If you want to go back to the jump after a tie-up, let each coach pick who jumps from his players on the court at the time of the tie-up.

That should make the jumps competitive and interesting.

 

[Green C14]

The problem with actually jumping it up wasn't a disparity in the size of the players. The problem was the damn zebras couldn't throw it up where each player had a shot at it. They were more likely to hit one of the players under the chin with the ball than they were to actually get the ball high enough for a fair jump and tip.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I've been a ref before and it is very hard to get the toss up consistent! Think about how peeps shots change later in the game due to being tired or being affected by the moment! I think we ought to go back to actual jump balls, but with the understanding that it becomes one of those luck of the draw moments!

 

[bobcrane14]

I would like to make it illegal to dribble more than 5 consecutive times, and no dribble allowed in the lane