Matt Painter Says One Aspect of NCAA Transfer Portal 'Blows My Mind'

Purdue coach Matt Painter has adapted to the new rules of college basketball as well as anyone. There's still one part of the transfer portal he can't grasp.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter yells down court | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Not many college basketball coaches have adjusted to the changes as well as Matt Painter. No, he hasn't had as many encounters with the transfer portal as some of his colleagues, but he understands why players should have freedom of movement. There is one aspect to it he doesn't quite grasp, though.

The part Painter still doesn't understand actually has nothing to do with the portal itself or the NCAA rules behind it. Instead, his biggest questions stem from high-level players deciding to transfer after a successful season.

"That's what kind of blows my mind across the country, when I see somebody have success in a system, they play well, they're all-conference, and now they want to move," Painter told Jon Rothstein on the Inside College Basketball Now podcast. "I understand the financial piece of it, but also, if you're going to be a pro and you're going to grow, now it's trying to get to that second contract in the NBA.

"That kind of bewilders me, when you see people across the country have success with a particular coach and a particular system, and then they move again. They're making it hard on themselves."

Painter didn't point to any specific examples, but there are plenty to choose from.

Hunter Dickinson was an outstanding player for Michigan from 2020 to 2023 before transferring and spending his final two seasons at Kansas. Donovan Dent was the Mountain West Player of the Year in 2025 at New Mexico and hopped into the transfer portal and committed to UCLA.

Those are just two high-profile examples of Painter's ultimate point.

In this new world of college athletics, successful players will probably continue to hit the transfer portal in search of a new opportunity. And, in some of those cases, Painter will probably still be left scratching his head.

Purdue has avoided major transfer hits

Painter has built a strong culture in West Lafayette. The evidence exists in the lack of players who have entered the transfer portal over the years. After the 2023-24 season, Purdue didn't lose or gain anyone from the transfer portal.

During this past offseason, the Boilermakers lost four players to the portal — Will Berg, Brian Waddell, Camden Heide, and Myles Colvin. Heide and Colvin were role players, and Berg and Waddell played sparingly.

Over the past few years, none of Purdue's starters or major contributors have entered the portal, keeping a strong core together year after year.

"I think more than anything, we just haven't lost our starters," Painter said. "We have lost guys, but it's more off the bench or guys who don't play as much."

Purdue did utilize the transfer portal in the offseason, but only added two players: 6-foot-11 center Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State and 6-foot-7 wing Liam Murphy. That duo joins a group of eight returners from last year, highlighted by Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Fletcher Loyer.

Any of those players could have decided to enter the transfer portal and explore greener pastures. Instead, they opted to remain at Purdue and pursue a national championship.

Maybe that level of loyalty to a program has exited college basketball. It certainly hasn't left Purdue.

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