The UCONN Huskies are your 2022-23 National Champions, which means this college basketball season has officially come to an end. Of course for the 350 Division I men’s basketball programs that aren’t UCONN or San Diego St., this season has been over for a while now. But have no fear my friends, because in 2023 the end of one season only signals the beginning of the next.
It wasn’t long ago that DI rosters for the next season were mostly set by the time “One Shining Moment” finished. If you root for a top tier program or had a particularly high profile underclassman you would have to worry about the NBA Draft, but that group was fairly limited. Transfers would trickle in and out over the course of the summer, but typically only one or two players per team who wouldn’t become a story until the following season when they were eligible to play at their new school.
Today, the offseason is packed with transactions that began hitting the news cycle in early March while postseason play was just beginning and will likely continue into August. The professional route has changed greatly over the years, leading more players to leave school (or in recent years choose not to utilize extra eligibility from COVID exemptions) to play professionally. Some younger players are deciding college isn’t right for them after a season and heading to G League Ignite or to pursue leagues overseas. The NBA’s new CBA is allowing for an additional Two-Way contract for each team, potentially creating 30 more jobs in the League that could lure players out early. The timeline for this phase of roster turnover is at least concrete, with underclassmen having to declare by April 23 and withdraw by May 31 this year.
While players going pro impacts many programs, the transfer portal impacts nearly every roster in college basketball. According to On3 , there are already 1,100 players in the transfer portal - and more are likely headed there given each of the last two years that number has topped 1,600. Rosters in college basketball turn over like the NBA now with the portal acting as a pseudo free agency. The sheer volume of players moving around requires time to shake out, meaning many players won’t find new homes until after draft decisions are made. We’ve seen players in recent years go all the way up until August before committing to a new school.
What this means for college basketball fans like you and I is that there is no more clear stop and start between seasons. We’re not just waiting on a few guys to decide whether to go pro, we’re waiting on the majority of our favorite schools’ rosters to be filled out. It’s hard to argue over the starting point guard when you don’t even know who will be on the team at this point, which isn’t to say those debates won’t happen - they’ll just be moved from April to August.
As someone whose only hobby is basketball, I love being able to think and talk about it all year long. For those who don’t, I’m sure there is some longing for the old way - a season that ends in early Spring and a new one that begins in late Fall. But like it or not, college basketball is a 365 day per year sport now - so welcome to the 2023-24 season.