I felt the urge to write this article because even I was a little confused about the whole "transfer portal window closing" situation. So if you, too, feel a bit uninformed on how the transfer portal works and where BYU basketball currently stands as far as rounding out their roster, you've come to the right place.
We'll laugh, we'll cry, and who knows? Maybe by the end of this article, you'll have learned something. It could happen!
The college basketball transfer portal has closed
So here's the deal: the college basketball transfer portal has officially closed as of Tuesday, April 21st. I, as a concerned follower of BYU hoops, was fully aware that Kevin Young still had four open spots on his roster to fill, including (and most critically) a vacancy at the starting center position.
Names like Eric Reibe, Luigi Suigo, Anton Bonke, and Julius Halaifonua have been thrown around as BYU makes countless contacts to the best remaining options available. When the tranfer window closed, I was afraid that BYU had missed their chance.
I was wrong.
The transfer portal is simply the opportunity to declare you will be transferring, not the window to declare and find your new home. Hundreds of athletes enter the portal, and hundreds remain after the submission window -- BYU won't approach next season without a big.
To make matters even more interesting, the NBA Draft aspect of the offseason provides another fascinating wrinkle.
NBA Draft withdrawal deadline
Just as not every player who enters the transfer portal must commit during the window, players who have entered the NBA Draft are not required to make a decision until much later this year.
In regards to 7'3" Italian big Luigi Suigo, BYU basketball might even have to wait until the summer to know if they have a chance at landing the current NBA Draft entrant. Currently projected as an early-to-mid second-round pick, Suigo is weighing his options between a direct leap to the NBA or a season of college basketball to first boost his draft stock. The latter option is why Kevin Young and his BYU program could be so attractive.
For international players, the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is June 13.
For NCAA players' eligibility, however (meaning athletes who left college basketball, but plan to return after exploring the draft process), the deadline is much earlier, on May 26.
It could take as long as a month for BYU basketball to receive news of a second wave of roster changes and new additions. In the meantime, we'll all be sitting on our hands, praying that this year's roster can be more well-rounded in comparison to last season's disappointment.
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