The transfer portal gets most of the roster-building attention in modern college basketball, but experience and continuity are still as valuable as ever before.
Look no further than this year’s Final Four teams, whose starting lineups are populated with multi-year players. Houston has key players like J’Wan Roberts and Emmanuel Sharp, who are in their fifth and fourth years at the program, respectively. Auburn, as well, is loaded with experienced returners like Johni Broome and Chad Baker-Mazara. Florida’s loaded backcourt features a lot of transfers, but most of them have spent multiple years in Gainesville, such as Walter Clayton and Will Richard.