For D-II Programs, Even Elite Ones, The Portal Is A Major Threat

Duke fans, ACC fans and people who follow Division I basketball are all very familiar with the turmoil that we’re seeing with player movement this year and it’s certainly been dramatic.

However, the turmoil is much more severe at D-II schools and many coaches seem at a loss as to how to deal with it because, as one puts it in this article, it’s more or less turning D-II hoops into a JUCO feeder system.

We’ve gone on a lot about the extraordinary job that Ben McCollum has done with three national championships and exactly 300 career wins, all by the age of 40. He’s lost eight games in the last five seasons and is putting up Woodenesque numbers.

Yet he’s in the same situation with star guard Ryan Hawkins in the portal.

As we’ve said before, some guys, like Duke’s Henry Coleman, transfer down for minutes but a lot of guys prove themselves in D-II and move right on up.

As bad as it is in D-1, it’s far worse in D-II.