Love it or hate it, the transfer portal has become a massive part of college athletics, and while it has some good qualities, it also has dark sides.
Right before the portal was about to close on college football, Duke quarterback Darian Mensah unexpectedly entered his name at the last second despite having a contract with the Blue Devils. Not long afterward, he was the new quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes, with a deal being worked out so quickly that things had to be happening behind the scenes for some time.
Now, we have coaches being spotted on the sidelines of conference tournaments, scouting players they might want to pick up in the portal after this season.
Queens (NC) head coach Grant Leonard recently called out an SEC assistant for sitting courtside during a Royals’ game in the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
“We had an SEC assistant buy a courtside seat for one of our conference tournament games to get ahead’ of recruiting on of my kids,” Leonard wrote on Twitter.
Auburn assistant coach Ian Borders spotted in a courtside seat at ASun Tournament
Some investigators went all in to identify that coach and spotted Auburn’s Ian Borders, one of the Tigers’ assistant coaches.
Interestingly, this wasn’t Borders' first chance to see Queens in action, as the Tigers hosted the Royals on Dec. 29 in Neville Arena, with Auburn winning 106-65.
The Royals pulled off an upset of No. 1-seed Central Arkansas in the ASun Tournament final, clinching a bid in the NCAA Tournament, while Auburn tries to keep its March Madness hopes alive with its first game in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT.
The Tigers have been disappointing in Steven Pearl’s first season after taking over for his father, Bruce, who suddenly resigned before the season after 11 years in charge. And, with many players expected to leave due to graduation or the portal following this season, it makes sense that Borders and the Auburn coaching staff would get a jumpstart on who they might want to bring to the roster for next season.
I would just recommend being more incognito next time.