Kentucky's John Calipari Critiques Transfer Portal, Says It's 'Same as One-and-Done'

Count Kentucky men's basketball head coach John Calipari among those unhappy with the transfer portal.

During a Tuesday appearance on SportsCenter, Calipari compared the transfer portal to players making the jump from college basketball to the NBA after just one season.

"It is one-and-done, too," Calipari said of the portal, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf. "Everybody was mad about a young player coming in and only staying one year. Well, now we're doing it with older players. It's the same as one-and-done."

Calipari added that numerous players who entered the transfer portal in 2023 have been left without scholarships and that head coaches are holding onto scholarships just in case a highly sought-after transfer becomes available, which also leaves players without scholarships.

Of the 1,385 Division I men's basketball players on a scholarship who entered the transfer portal last year, 262 were left scholarship-less at their new school, according to NCAA data obtained by ESPN.

Calipari's solution is to allow players to transfer once without penalty. He also believes players should be allowed to play four years in a five-year window as the transfer portal has created an age gap between programs.

"We've got 26- and 27-year-olds playing 18-year-olds," Calipari said.

The transfer portal has blossomed in recent years, which has led a number of teams to find success in the NCAA tournament. For example, Baylor won the national title in 2021 thanks to a group of transfers that included Davion Mitchell, who joined the Bears after one season at Auburn.

One of the best teams in 2023-24 is expected to be Kansas after adding former Michigan standout Hunter Dickinson via the transfer portal.