Big Ten Basketball: 6 behind the scene takeaways from 2021-22 Media Day

5. The transfer portal is a critical part of most Big Ten programs

This offseason has seen more attrition than any before, and many Big Ten teams are the recipients of some enormous incoming talent via transfers.  Players like Fatts Russell, Devante Jones, Jalen Pickett, Tyson Walker all received mention from their respective head coaches and teammates as critical additions.

Listening to all the coaches’ introductory press conferences, it was clear that almost every single coach values the transfer portal and wants to utilize the new instant eligibility rules to their advantage.  But there were a few interesting answers that stood out as unique from the consensus portal takes.

I asked Juwan Howard how has program seems to avoid losing players to the transfer portal, and he remarked about how special Michigan was.

Tom Izzo stood out as the most vocal stance against the portal, stating that the “jury’s still out” and there will be unintended consequences of allowing players to come and go as they please.

Speaking of Izzo…