College basketball fans are looking forward to the Men's Final Four this weekend. But while the top seeds in this year's tournament prepare for their semifinal games, most other programs are already thinking about next season.
For the Indiana Hoosiers, that means starting from scratch after their head coach resigned and all their players graduated or entered the transfer portal.
"Especially when it's coupled to the idea of athlete compensation through name, image and likeness rules, the portal has really come to be inextricably linked to the idea of athlete agency," said Zach Osterman, who covers Indiana University athletics for the Indianapolis Star.
Osterman joined Morning Edition to discuss how Indiana is rebuilding its team with a new coach and no returning players.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview transcript
A Martínez: This is the definition of a clean slate. How is new head coach Darian DeVries approaching this challenge?
Zach Osterman: I think this kind of roster turnover has become more manageable in recent years with the escalating phenomenon of player movement and the lessening of transfer rules. You were seeing more often, you know, rosters turning over insignificant numbers, sometimes even when there isn't a coaching change. I think DeVries, like any coach, certainly wants to get to a place where, annually, there is more balance, where you're not dependent upon transfers.
Martínez: So even though he's losing players, he can rebuild quickly through the portal. Can you explain what it is and why it makes it easier for players to move around?
Osterman: The transfer portal started a few years ago. It's a mechanism to be able to just track transfers a little bit more closely, streamline the process somewhat as the practice of transferring, you know, started to really sort of tick up across all sports. I think what's happened is, especially when it's been sort of coupled to the idea of athlete compensation through name image and likeness rules. The portal has really, I think, come to be sort of inextricably linked to the idea of athlete agency. It has also become, I think, shorthand, just for the era that college athletics is in right now of athletes in all sports being more comfortable transferring from one school to another and, in many cases, I think, looking or at least wanting to examine their market value to see if there's not more money for them to earn somewhere else.
Martínez: In the Indiana situation, the one thing Darian DeVries can offer that other coaches might not is playing time. He has no players, right? At least five people have to be on the court, and a few more need to come off the bench. What kind of players do you think he'll be looking for?
Osterman: Initially he's probably going to have to lean more heavily on transfers, especially as you talk about the positions that are going to command the greatest roles. DeVries has said that his long term preference is to get to a place where, you know, his roster is a healthier balance of players who have been recruited out of high school, developed for two or three years and then put into larger roles. But short term, I think you are probably, if you're Indiana, looking at a roster that's going to be mostly all new faces.
Martínez: It sounds like Indiana's situation, while unique, may not be that uncommon in the future.
Osterman: This has just become more commonplace, and fans see enough portal successes every year to believe that they shouldn't have that many down years anymore, especially at a place like Indiana that's going to have the name, image and likeness, resources and potentially the revenue sharing dollars to be very competitive in acquiring and keeping talent.
This interview was produced for the web by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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