Hunter Dickinson sounds off on portal: 'It does feel like free agency'

Michigan basketball center Hunter Dickinson recently announced he would be back next season. In typical Dickinson fashion, he has remained outspoken about the state of college sports.

Dickinson was part of a roundtable discussion that included Purdue head coach Matt Painter, Missouri State head coach Dana Ford and agent Zack Charles on the Field of 68 network. Plenty of topics were covered revolving around the state of college basketball.

Chief among them were the transfer portal and how it crosses over with NIL. Dickinson agreed with the notion that it feels like free agency.

“It does feel like free agency out there,” Dickinson said. “I think that is one thing, team chemistry-wise, it’s hard to get that chemistry because you know at least five people on your team are going to be brand new. From recruiting high school kids or from the transfer portal. It’s so rare for a team to lose nobody in the portal nowadays. Kids want a bigger role.

“I guess kids are just having a tough time really buying into the role or the development. Nowadays, even with our team, some kids are struggling to stay with the process and develop under coaches. It’s like one year, ‘Alright, I’m out. I’m going to try and find someone who is going to give me that bigger role that I’m searching for.'”

Despite the madness, NIL has been a positive for the athletes. Dickinson’s return to Michigan was directly impacted by his earning potential as a college star.

“I think NIL was pretty big for college hoops,” Dickinson said. “A lot of people complain about how the stars aren’t staying enough in college basketball. Without NIL, you would’ve seen a lot of the top players who have already announced they’re coming back probably would’ve stayed in the draft or at least test it.

“You see guys like [North Carolina center Armando Bacot] and [Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe], even myself who didn’t even try to test because we feel like the situation we have coming back with NIL gives us another chance to be able to develop. We feel like it was the best decision for us. It’s been bigger than what people expected.”

Hunter Dickinson weighs in on recruiting

NIL is exploding across the college sports landscape and has trickled into the recruiting aspect of roster building. Players are being given assurances and big paydays before they even hit campus. This is another change that everyone is catching up with.

“That’s made it a bit harder for people to legitimize,” Dickinson said. “The NCAA didn’t really want it to be a recruiting pitch but I feel like, nowadays, that’s one of the first things that college coaches are saying. If I was a senior in high school, I want to see what I’m getting. You see it on Twitter, in Miami, before the guy even signed his paperwork they already had his NIL deal out there. Recruits see that. They even had a player on their own team try to hold them for ransom because he saw the idea and he was like, ‘Woah, I’m not getting that.’ I understand.

“I probably wouldn’t hold [head coach Juwan Howard] for ransom but I would feel some type of way about it. NIL has definitely helped college basketball but I also think it comes with some negatives that people will definitely try to exploit.”

Mid-major movement

With the changes to the landscape over the last year or so, concerns exist that the lower tier and mid-major programs serve as a minor leagues to the Power 5 and more earning potential. However, Dickinson sees it from both sides. Promises and commitments are not always kept by a player’s first program.

“I knew once I got to college, I was staying there,” Dickinson said. “My older brother played Division 1 college basketball and he went to four different schools in five years. For me, I knew wherever I was going, I was staying. I understand it from a player’s perspective. I’ve got friends who go to one school and the coaches gave them promises that they didn’t fulfill. Certain situations happened and they’re trying to move on and they’re going to try grass greener somewhere else.

“I can understand where Mid Major coaches are coming from. You want your players to succeed and be great, in a certain sense, you don’t want them to be too good. After one year, they’re like, ‘Well, I’m done with this. I wanna go play at a High Major so my numbers will actually—NBA scouts will pay attention to my numbers more.’ If you’re getting 20 at a Mid Major, it’s harder because the NBA scouts just don’t compare it as much.”

Dickinson was a force for Michigan in 2021-22, averaging 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Wolverines in 2021-22.