John Calipari goes in-depth on NIL, transfer portal issues

In his 30-year college head coaching career, John Calipari has helped many players decide between the NBA and staying in school. Of course, Kentucky is known for its one-and-dones, but Calipari said conversations take place about the decision to head to the association.

Now, there’s another ripple: the transfer portal.

“Every player that comes here thinks he’s one and done,” Calipari said on The Dan Patrick Show. “They’re not all one and done. And I tell them, ‘Don’t come here thinking you’re staying for one year. Talk about two and three years, and after one, if you’re able to go, I’ll be the first one.’ Right now, when the season is in season, it’s all about team. I’m not worried about individuals at that point.

“But when the year ends, it’s always about the individual player and what’s best. That now, not only NBA, it’s thrown into the transfer portal.”

John Calipari: Conversations about players’ futures extend beyond the draft now

Kentucky has seen a few players opt to stay over the last couple years instead of head to the NBA, but none were bigger than Oscar Tshiebwe. The 2022 National Player of the Year tested the NBA Draft waters before returning to UK for the 2022-23 season, and is taking a similar path this year. Calipari has been open about his conversations with Tshiebwe about his looming decision.

But those conversations also happen with the portal. CJ Fredrick decided to transfer — eventually ending up at Cincinnati — and Calipari spoke about how difficult that conversation was to have in the current landscape.

“I’ve also had to have kids walk in and say, ‘Coach, I think it’s better that I leave,'” Calipari said. “I was with CJ Fredrick and walked him through that situation and tried to help them and told them, ‘I’m disappointed you’re leaving, but I understand and let me help you.’ And you walk through it that way. I’m not mad. … This thing right now, my opinion, transfer portal.

“In the past before they can live without penalty, I would help a kid try to play right away. I would. I didn’t care about a kid sitting out. But you should be able to transfer once without penalty because maybe the coach lied to you, maybe you picked the wrong place, maybe you overestimated who you were. So you can leave. If you graduate from the other school, you can leave again. That’s two. If for some reason the coach gets fired or leaves or whatever, you should have that option. Short of that, anything should be added. If you get a waiver for injury, it gives you another year. If you get a waiver for mental health, you need to step back. Step back, get yourself right, and then we’ll add a year at the end.”

The sit-out rule went away in 2021, meaning transfers can play immediately on their first transfer. Although the NCAA has cracked down on waivers for multiple-time transfers, Calipari pointed out the problems with transferring more than once.

It not only hurts the athlete, he said, but also the system.

“You’re having kids transfer three and four times. It’s not sustainable, and it’s not good for young people to just say, ‘Well, I’m doing this and I’m trying to get this and I’m gonna go,'” Calipari said. “I mean, what we’ve been able to do is work through stuff and that’s kind of being taken away. So when you add that all together, it’s a little bit of a cluster right now. And it all falls down and all falls on coaches. It’s not all on college presidents, it’s not falling on ADs. It’s falling on coaches.”

‘There’s got to be some guidance, the guardrails of what we do’

One other factor in the ever-changing portal landscape is NIL. Calipari detailed conversations with coaches outside of men’s basketball about that subject, and he expressed concern about what role NIL plays in keeping rosters together, especially at the mid-major level.

He said that’s not only a problem for coaches, but also for the athletes who might not perform as well after a move.

“I just talked to a women’s coach and he said one of his girls left and got money to go to the other to the other program. So it’s happening in women’s basketball,” Calipari said. “And then, I was talking to Jimbo Fisher. I said, ‘What’s happening in football?’ He says, ‘Oh my gosh.’ So there’s got to be some guidance, the guardrails of what we do.

“But I said this from the beginning: All of this is going to help Kentucky. Kids are going to want to transfer to Kentucky. We’re going to be able to put the best stuff together. I’m not sure if it’s the best thing for college sports or college basketball and coaches. Many mid-level coaches are gonna get fired because their best players are leaving. And then, they have a struggle year and another struggle and they’re gone. I mean, it’s not great for the profession. I don’t think it’s great for the kids.”