Michigan gets its moment, then the transfer portal opens and the scramble for 2027 begins

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The blue-and-maize confetti was still flying around the stadium when a new tradition in college basketball kicked off without much fanfare.

The transfer portal opened.

Every team out there with title hopes for 2027 — even the new champions at Michigan — knows the chances of cutting down the nets a year from now will hinge largely on how well they fare in that phase of the game.

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Between the time it opened at midnight through 11 a.m. Tuesday, more than 1,200 players had already entered the portal, according to an Associated Press review of the numbers. Hundreds more are expected to flood the market over the newly condensed two-week period before the portal closes on April 21.

It’s a free-for-all filled with cash offers to players in exchange for the use of their name, image and likeness — essentially to come and play.

Nobody navigated this new NIL era better in the season just completed than the Wolverines and coach Dusty May. Four of the five starters who led Michigan to its 69-63 win over UConn on Monday night played at other colleges last season. It figures at least three of them could be in the NBA next year.

“It’s important to get the right people on the bus,” Michigan assistant Justin Joyner said, referring to the team he helped build and the next one he must put together.

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It’s the same across college basketball — newly crowned NCAA champion coach Cori Close of UCLA said the “transfer portal just got easier” after her team’s win over South Carolina — and across college sports.

For the men, the biggest names in the portal so far include Flory Bidunga (leaving Kansas), John Blackwell (Wisconsin) and Juke Harris (Wake Forest).

Not every team will be looking for a total rebuild.

UConn made its third Final Four in four seasons based on a targeted use of transfers. Coach Dan Hurley likes to do the old-fashioned thing and find players who will stay for three or four years. But he’s realistic. One of his best players…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/michigan-gets-moment-then-transfer-160343813.html

Author : EDDIE PELLS

Publish date : 2026-04-07 16:03:00

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