Maryland basketball coach Kevin Willard slams the NCAA transfer portal
There are plenty of grips when it comes to the NCAA and watching your favorite team compete in your favorite sports. But one thing most coaches and fans can agree that isn't right is the transfer portal. In college basketball, before the Sweet 16, the transfer portal opened on Monday and teams now have to retain their own players, scout the Sweet 16 opponent they have on deck, and look to see who's entering the transfer portal and recruit those players -- exhausting.
On Tuesday, Maryland men's head coach Kevin Willard was asked about the transfer portal and he wasn't having any of it. Last season, Willard brought in three starters through the portal: Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, and Selton Miguel.
"The transfer portal is crazy. Kids are asking for $2–3 million right now," Willard said. "The money has exploded. We have no guardrails, no rules. It's been one of the worst-implemented rules in any sport. Agents are taking advantage of it. Every player has an agent. Every agent is calling schools saying, 'I've got $1.2 million here—give me $1.4 and we're gone.' If you don't have the revenue sharing, you can't compete.
"When the portal opens, we'll be in the same range, but we also want guys who want to be at Maryland, who fit what we're trying to do, who are great kids with great work ethics. I don't want to just say, 'Here's $2 million,' and bring in someone who doesn't fit our culture or what we're building. That's a big part of it. The guys who came last year wanted this experience."
The Terrapins' coach is working on a new contract to keep him at Maryland but he wants to see NIL and revenue sharing increased in order for him to build a solid foundation with the Terrapins. With the Big Ten and SEC doing more and more to get players, Willard wants Maryland on the same playing field as the rest.
"We're entering into a whole new era of profit sharing—literally schools paying players," said Willard. "The Big Ten and SEC are trying to move away from collectives and donors paying to schools paying ... I don't want someone telling me we're going to do it—I want it in my contract. I don't want people making decisions about my program who aren't involved in my program.
"Those are big ones for me. I live it, breathe it, every day. This fan base expects it, but this place hasn't been treated that way for a long time. My goal is to get it there."
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Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Senior Writer for Michigan Wolverines On SI for the 2024 football season. Trent is also the managing editor for Maryland On SI. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.