[Dear diary]
@Chase Parham kinda eluded to this on the pod today….
Watching teams like UConn, Houston, and Purdue in the NCAA Tournament made me think about “culture” in the transfer portal era. Every coach talks about how important culture is to winning, but can you really build a culture when you are replacing 80% of your roster year-over-year with guys who, let’s be honest, are usually looking out for their own best interest?
It would seem like the best way to build real culture would be through the HS ranks and fill in the gaps with a couple portal guys that fit the culture that those home grown guys created. That being said, when players are free to transfer multiple times without penalty, it’s difficult to keep someone in the program for 3-4 years…especially if they aren’t playing much. And if you do play them early in their careers, before they’re ready, you lose a bunch of games and the fans want you fired, NIL potentially dries up, etc.
The lack of patience, from fans and players, would seem to make the “slow build” a thing of the past now. But, that still seems to be the best way to build a winning culture that is sustainable (see the 3 schools mentioned above).
I think you can have short-term success with a portal heavy approach, but how sustainable is that? Arkansas basketball was the poster child for transfer portal. They had 2-3 really good years. No one would’ve thought they’d fall off like they have. But it happened. And once you fall off the cliff, you’re almost forced to re-up and do it all over again because so much of your roster will be gone. It becomes a never ending cycle…
I ponder this as Chris Beard, who has the word “culture” embroidered on his game day attire, gets set to add 7-9 transfer portal guys to his roster for next season. Obviously not all of them will be 1-&-done, but I do wonder how he establishes his “culture” with so many guys who are here for a short period of time. I’m not necessarily suggesting we should go the “old school” route (too late for that now anyways) but I’m more just curious about your thoughts on how to build a winning culture in this era.
@Chase Parham kinda eluded to this on the pod today….
Watching teams like UConn, Houston, and Purdue in the NCAA Tournament made me think about “culture” in the transfer portal era. Every coach talks about how important culture is to winning, but can you really build a culture when you are replacing 80% of your roster year-over-year with guys who, let’s be honest, are usually looking out for their own best interest?
It would seem like the best way to build real culture would be through the HS ranks and fill in the gaps with a couple portal guys that fit the culture that those home grown guys created. That being said, when players are free to transfer multiple times without penalty, it’s difficult to keep someone in the program for 3-4 years…especially if they aren’t playing much. And if you do play them early in their careers, before they’re ready, you lose a bunch of games and the fans want you fired, NIL potentially dries up, etc.
The lack of patience, from fans and players, would seem to make the “slow build” a thing of the past now. But, that still seems to be the best way to build a winning culture that is sustainable (see the 3 schools mentioned above).
I think you can have short-term success with a portal heavy approach, but how sustainable is that? Arkansas basketball was the poster child for transfer portal. They had 2-3 really good years. No one would’ve thought they’d fall off like they have. But it happened. And once you fall off the cliff, you’re almost forced to re-up and do it all over again because so much of your roster will be gone. It becomes a never ending cycle…
I ponder this as Chris Beard, who has the word “culture” embroidered on his game day attire, gets set to add 7-9 transfer portal guys to his roster for next season. Obviously not all of them will be 1-&-done, but I do wonder how he establishes his “culture” with so many guys who are here for a short period of time. I’m not necessarily suggesting we should go the “old school” route (too late for that now anyways) but I’m more just curious about your thoughts on how to build a winning culture in this era.
