Fran McCaffery shares how he has tried to avoid transfer problems at Iowa

The Transfer Portal is a primary roster-building tool in college basketball now and is something coaches across the country have to deal with on an annual basis — whether that’s guys transferring in from other schools or out from the one they were at. Except Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is trying to blaze a trail perpendicular to that trend. He wants to keep as many guys in Hawkeye uniforms as possible.

Sure, he knows the portal nowadays is going to be a factor, no matter how great your program is. But his goal is to limit the number of guys who leave and try to keep players for the entirety of their collegiate careers. And he’s done that. His current Iowa team has just one transfer; otherwise, every other player on the roster signed with Iowa out of high school. That’s some real and applaudable continuity for the program.

How does McCaffery do it? Well, let him explain. According to the Iowa head coach, the way to retain a high percentage of guys from entering the portal is to try and make their four years in the Black and Gold the best four years of their lives. Put the players first and they’ll end up putting the program first.

Here were those comments:

Fran McCaffery on keeping guys from entering the Transfer Portal

“To be honest with you, all I’ve done is try to take care of my guys and provide what they need academically, provide what they need medically, give them opportunities to play, coach them up, watch film with them, have discussions with them, build their confidence, make this the best experience of their lives.

“I want this to be the best four years of their lives, surround them with character teammates that will become friends for the rest of their life. My feeling is if you do that, kids will want to stay and compete, and because they love their teammates and they love the locker room, there’s a mutual respect between the players and coaches. We provide an unbelievable opportunity on a big stage to potentially take your game to the next level.

“So, that’s what I’m going to keep doing. If somebody wants to leave, we’re not going to bad-mouth them, we’re not going to get in their way. We may have to sign somebody else, and that’s how this thing is going to go. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing to try and minimize the amount of people that do eventually leave.”