A few days after winning a second consecutive national championship, UConn coach Dan Hurley posted a photo of himself on social media, lying on the floor and covering his eyes.
The caption read “Day 1 in the portal …”
Several weeks later, Hurley has added several key pieces as the portal window closes Wednesday, with the Huskies trying to become the first team to win three straight NCAA titles since UCLA’s run of seven straight from 1967-73. And they’re among numerous major programs shuffling their decks through portal work.
UConn, which could lose all five starters from this year’s title winner, has added former Michigan center Tarris Reed and former Saint Mary’s star guard Aidan Mahaney from the portal. The Huskies also landed top recruit Liam McNeeley, who decommitted from Indiana while the Hoosiers revamp their roster with transfers.
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“Obviously, we’ve utilized the portal to great benefit and players that it hasn’t made great sense for them here, you know, have departed,” Hurley said. “But, obviously, there’s a lot more structure that we need in our game because there’s no other sports league that operates this way.”
Here’s how the portal has affected some other top programs this season.
Arkansas: Calipari’s portal additions are headlined by Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis, the leading scorer on the Owls’ Final Four team in 2023 and the No. 2-ranked transfer in 247Sports’ rankings. Arkansas also landed Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo and Kentucky big man Zvonimir Ivisic. A mass of departures included leading scorer Tramon Mark (to Texas), though Calipari has also added 247sports’ No. 6-ranked recruiting class with three four-star prospects who originally committed to him at UK.
Duke: Jon Scheyer’s third team will look nothing like his second. Seven players pursued transfers, headlined by veteran guard Jeremy Roach landing at Baylor and forward Mark Mitchell going to Missouri. But Duke added veteran pieces in Syracuse forward Maliq Brown and Purdue forward Mason Gillis, while the departures have largely cleared the way for the nation’s top recruiting class to come into starring roles: a six-player class that includes 247Sports No. 1 overall prospect Cooper Flagg, No. 3 prospect Khaman Maluach and three other top-20 recruits.
UCLA: A 16-17 stumble led coach Mick Cronin to add multiple transfers, including forward Kobe Johnson from cross-town USC, Louisville guard Skyy Clark, Oregon State forward Tyler Bilodeau and Oklahoma State forward Eric Dailey Jr.
West Virginia: The hiring of Darian DeVries as coach also led to the addition of his son, Tucker, as a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year who averaged 21.6 points last season.
STILL OUT THERE
As the window to enter the portal closes, several big names were still looking for new homes, including Bronny James. After one season at USC, LeBron James‘ son is still weighing whether to join another college program or his dad in the NBA.
Mat Ishbia knows the offseason chatter around the Phoenix Suns is it’s a team with a top-heavy roster, salary cap issues and precious little room to maneuver after a disappointing season.
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