Dan Hurley Scouring the Transfer Market

Can Hurley Nab Any Help?

The Story: Dan Hurley has three scholarship slots available for next season and the insane and crazy grad transfer market has a lot of options. Who can the Huskies get?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The transfer portal is insane. We have never seen anything like it. This is the closest thing to free agency we have seen in college athletics and with many players getting a free year of eligibility, and with impending one-time immediate transfer eligible, there is no reason to stick around. The transfer market has 100s of players in it from all levels of college basketball and there are stars that are in the portal, such as Qudus Wahab, who shockingly left Georgetown for Maryland, and UMass center Tre Mitchell, who is perhaps the most sought after talent.

WHO IS UCONN LOOKING AT? The short answer? Everyone. The long answer? Everybody it has had any kind of recruiting contact with in the past. Our friends at The UConn Blog have a nice tracker for possible transfers to the Huskies. The full portal is here. So what are the names? The Huskies are in the mix for anyone who can shoot, and if there is a high-level player on the market Hurley has given them a call. UConn has reached out to about nine players so far that we know off. The Huskies are in the mix, it seems, for UMass’ Mitchell, who went to Woodstock Academy. Also, USF rebounder Alexis Yetna, who played at Putnam Academy, is also someone whom the Huskies have contacted. On the guard front, UConn is mentioned as a destination for Florida guard Noah Locke, who shot 40 percent from 3-point range last year. Also, Syracuse freshman Kadary Richmond, whom the Huskies recruited out of high school, is leaving Syracuse after one disappointing year. UConn has three scholarships open and getting a top-100 player would be excellent. There are a host of others and it seems like Hurley can get get a second chance at a missed recruit out of high school and perhaps some shooting and rebounding for the short term.

CARLTON TO HOUSTON: Josh Carlton entered the portal and will take his extra year of eligibility as a grad transfer at Houston, which was in the Final Four on Saturday losing to Baylor. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson saw enough of Carlton the three previous years when the Huskies were in the AAC and certainly knows his game.

IS THE PORTAL A GOOD THING? Yes. We are for player movement. Players aren’t indentured servants and the facade of amateurism that the NCAA is trying to argue at the Supreme Court was ridiculed by almost every justice last week. The NCAA likes to control players to protect its members. This allows players to have the freedom to move. Now, with freedom comes consequences and there are going to be players who are worse off and lose an opportunity because of this. There’s a lot of criticism of the transfer process, and there are a bunch of long-time college basketball watchers who don’t like what is happening in the portal. We aren’t one of those people. The reason coaches hate the portal and what is essentially college basketball free agency is the coaches lose control. The dispersion of talent makes recruiting more competitive and ongoing. Yes, some players will get bad advice and it is hard to build an identity if players turn over. Also, mid-majors are scared to death that their rosters will get pillaged. We are sympathetic, but at the end of the day, a player is responsible for his or her own career. They should be allowed to do what they feel is best for themselves. Sometimes players make mistakes in choosing schools. There shouldn’t be a punishment for that.

Morning Reads

BUECKERS WINS WOODEN AWARD: Paige Bueckers won the John Wooden Award for women’s basketball, coming on the heels of almost every other award that is possible for a women’s basketball player. She’s been feted so much it isn’t even news. (ESPN)

FORMER FOOTBALL ASSISTANT TO FIU: Andrew Breiner, a former grad assistant at UConn, was named offensive coordinator at FIU. (Twitter)

BASEBALL TAKES ON BRYANT: Keep an eye on the streaking baseball team, which is 7-1 during its homestand and hosts Bryant on Tuesday. (UConnHuskies.com)

TED LASSO NAME DROPS UCONN WOMEN: Our favorite football coach (sorry Randy) drops a UConn women’s basketball sizing up the SAG Awards and an ensemble cast. (Twitter)

HUSKIES NO. 22 IN WAY TOO EARLY top: Stadium’s Jeff Goodman puts the Huskies are No. 22 in his Top 25 for next season. Too soon you say? Never too soon. (Stadium)