In watching the NCAA Tournament this year it was interesting to see how many of the impact players came to their teams through the transfer portal.
More interesting still were how many had come from non Power 5 schools.
Let’s start with Tristen Newton of UConn who was undoubtedly their best player. He transferred from East Carolina.
Lance Jones of Purdue came from Southern Illinois.
Alabama’s best player was Mark Sears from Ohio U. Their best big man was Grant Nelson who played at North Dakota State.
You also had Dalton Knecht of Tennessee who played last year at Northern Colorado.
Knecht and Newton were both first team All Americans this year.
Sears was second team.
Is there any doubt that the transfer portal has fundamentally changed college basketball?