Shane Beamer goes in depth on biggest differences between two transfer windows

The first iteration of the NCAA’s new transfer window rules has come and gone, and coaches have had a chance to get used to the two designated spots on the calendar when the portal lights up.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer was a big fan of how the spring window went.

“I don’t want to say this one was easier, but it’s two 15 days or whatever it was and there’s not as many things going on,” Beamer said. “I’m not on the road recruiting, whereas last year during that portal window I’m on the road recruiting the whole time and trying to get ready for a bowl game as well. This time I was in the office, I was able to be around the guys, our guys were taking exams, so it was a little calmer, if you will.”

The Gamecocks finished the cycle — winter and spring — with a total of 26 transfers in and out. They were active both during the winter and the spring transfer windows.

Beamer admitted the winter transfer window was a little rough on him and his staff.

“I get why the one in the winter is longer,” Beamer said. “You’ve got a lot going on, bowl games and signing classes in the high school ranks and guys aren’t going to bowl games and they want to be able to enter the portal. You’ve got some guys that are in bowl games, they want to finish the season. So I get why it’s long. But it’s really, really hard in December and January because that window is so long and there’s so many things going on.”

The NCAA could potentially tweak the rules to the transfer windows down the road, but with coaches like Beamer advocating for at least the spring transfer window, any major shifts may be unlikely.

There was already some tinkering done before the rules were implemented for the first time.

Beamer seemed to think the sport saved some real headaches with the way it went about things, particularly in the spring transfer window.

“There was talk, I guess last year at this time there was talk about that window going like all the way through May, which I’ll be honest would be awful,” Beamer said.

“If a guy’s going to transfer, he knows he’s transferring by the end of spring practice. He doesn’t need the whole month of May to figure it out. So I think from that standpoint, the fact that the window was shorter it gave players time to go through spring practice, kind of see where they are and if there’s better opportunities for them elsewhere they can explore it. But it’s not too long where it gets drug out too long.”

That’s not to say there couldn’t still be a few changes.

“As coaches and leaders in college athletics we’ll continue to look at ways to continue to make it better and all that as well, but I was pleased with how it went for us,” Beamer said. “Now there’s some guys that are still in the portal that are still making decisions that we’ll see how that goes too.”