AZTECS WAIT FOR TRANSFER CLARITY
NCAA could tighten rule on players who move more than once
If there was any question whether Cal basketball transfer Matt Bradley would be eligible immediately at San Diego State next season, that was erased two days after his commitment when the NCAA’s Division I Council approved new legislation allowing a free onetime transfer without first spending what it calls “an academic year of residence.”
The NCAA’s Div. I Board of Directors is expected to apply the rubber stamp at its April 28 meeting.
The new rule will be enacted for the 2021-22 season, so Bradley and hundreds of players in the transfer portal are good to go.
But hundreds of others might not be. The key word in all this is “one-time” and how strictly the NCAA defines that. The amended legislation gives a free pass to all athletes in all sports the first time they transfer. But any subsequent movement requires a waiver to avoid sitting out a year, and the NCAA hasn’t yet said whether it will tighten that process.
In recent years, waivers have become an increasingly automatic proposition. During the pandemic, the NCAA threw up its hands and granted a blanket waiver for immediate eligibility to everyone who applied.
But going forward? SDSU coach Brian Dutcher has been a vocal opponent of a transfer free-forall in college basketball, reasoning that “there’s something to be said about sticking out the hard times and
fighting your way through some adversity.” His preference: Allow free one-time transfers but make secondtimers sit.
“Then I think it’s manageable,” Dutcher said. “But if they say it’s a one-time transfer and then they grant every waiver, then it’s basically free agency every year. We’ll see how it plays out with the NCAA and what they’re willing to do as far as appeals and guys that are beyond one-year transfers.”
The answer likely will impact SDSU’s approach this spring to the transfer portal and its 1,400-odd members. Dutcher said some players the Aztecs are “actively” considering have already transferred once, meaning there is no guarantee they would be eligible next season.
“One of them in particular,” Dutcher said, “I’ve told: ‘We’d be willing to sit you a year and not worry about if you’re eligible instantly. We
think that your promise, whether you sit a year or not, is going to be there for us.’ We’re waiting to see.”
Clarity could come next week if the Div. I Board of Directors articulates the NCAA’s intentions. Or it may take longer, with outcomes of individual cases establishing a sort of legal precedent.
“It might be a while to see if the NCAA is going to stick to what they say they’re going to and make appeals harder,” Dutcher said. “The one-time transfer rule doesn’t matter if they’re granting everybody a waiver on a two-time transfer or a three-time transfer. Then it’s just, you can transfer as much as you want.”
Dutcher on Bradley
Bradley signed a scholarship agreement with SDSU this week, meaning Dutcher can now comment on the 6-foot-4 junior guard. Bradley averaged 18.0 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Bears last season and was a second team all-conference selection.
Dutcher: “He just is a warrior. I mean, he’s an elite defender, which you have to be to play at San Diego State, and then he’s immensely talented at the offensive end. He’s a 1,000point
scorer already. He scores at all three levels. He shoots the 3 at a 40 percent rate, his mid-range game is solid, he attacks the basket and finishes around the rim or else draws fouls. He’s going
to be a really, really good player for the Aztecs next season.”
Bradley grew up in San Bernardino and was recruited by SDSU in high school.
“He’s an Inland (Empire) kid,” Dutcher said. “Look at the success we’ve had with them, whether it’s Matt Mitchell, Kawhi Leonard, Jamaal Franklin, Jeremy Hemsley. All the kids we’ve had from the Inland Empire have had great careers here. Matt knows the success we had, he knows the players on our team, he’s followed us being a West Coast kid. … It’s a great fit for both of us. It doesn’t work if it’s only a fit for one of us. It has to fit us both.”
Aztecs in the pros
SDSU has gone from one alum starting in the NBA to three in recent weeks.
In his second season with the Charlotte Hornets, forward Jalen McDaniels has started the last eight games, averaging 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 32 minutes in the seven preceding Tuesday’s
contest. In back-toback wins at Oklahoma City and Milwaukee, he totaled 40 points while shooting 60 percent overall and 5 of 9 behind the arc.
Rookie guard Malachi Flynn has started six of the last seven games for the Toronto Raptors, averaging 14.7 points, 7.0 assists and 34 minutes while shooting 43.6 percent on 3s. He had a double-double (20 points, 11 assists) in a 20-point win at Cleveland.
“I think that, for a rookie, he’s showing some good early flashes,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I don’t worry about much with him. He’s a super hard worker, he’s tough, I think he’s a winner and I just think that he’ll only get better with more minutes on the court.”
The third starter, Leonard of the Clippers, returned Sunday after missing the previous four games with a sore right foot and will reportedly miss a handful of upcoming games because of his foot.