College basketball and football are in a strange place right now with the massive changes being swept in by NIL, the transfer portal and now the House Settlement.
It’s going to take a while for things to settle down but Duke football coach Manny Diaz is optimistic that things will work out just fine for his program
On the Jim Rome show, Diaz said this:
“It benefits us. The new landscape, it helps Duke. Wherever the world was 20 years ago, it’s not the same now, everybody can agree on that. We know there’s
the portal, hopefully it goes to one portal, but the portal is here to stay. And this is a school that’s going to remain transformational. What this education can do... they still understand that.
“I think we were one of the fewest portal exits teams in the country in terms of guys outgoing. And that’s because our players are here for more than just football.”
He also believes that Duke’s academic culture tends to limit transfers:
“This school with our requirements, it does that by proxy. It just happens whether you like it or not. So you get a lot of people that were really raised the same way, guess what happens when you put them in a locker room? They really enjoy playing with and for one another. So when that portal opens, they don’t want to leave their best friends.
“I’d like to take credit for it, it ain’t me. They want to play for the guys down there, and that’s because they’re about the same stuff.”
There are a lot of theories and possibilities that we have considered when it comes to this Strange New World of college sports, but it never occurred to us that Duke could be at an advantage. That’s really kind of amazing.
More from dukebasketballreport.com:
- Recruiting: Javin DeLaurier Chooses Duke
- TJ Douglas Kicked Off Football Team
- ACC Football Roundup - Down To Four Undefeateds
- Homer Simpson: Duke/State Fan?
- DBR Podcast 30: Laura Keeley Returns
- ACC Preview #5 - The Florida State Seminoles
- Football Season Has Potential, But Turnovers Could Be A Fatal Flaw For Duke
