GREENVILLE, S.C. — To hear Utah coach Lynne Roberts tell it, basketball recruiting has always been an oven or a crock pot. Coaches have gone out to establish relationships with the top high school players’ coaches and AAU clubs. Players and coaches have years to form relationships, and by the time a commitment is on the horizon, players have ample time to take campus visits.
But as the NCAA has implemented drastic changes to athlete eligibility over the past two years, specifically getting rid of the requirement that first-time transfers must sit out a year, the idea of a slow cooker has often gone by the wayside in lieu of a quicker cooking option.
“It’s kind of like a microwave because it happens so fast,” Roberts said. “You used to recruit a high school kid, and you’d know them since they were in ninth grade. You know their mom and their dad and their uncle Jimmy and their trainer. In the transfer portal, it could be two weeks.”
And for Roberts, that leaves some risk. She’s “fiercely protective” of her Utah program’s culture, and finding the right fit for the Utes means taking her time, a luxury that the transfer portal doesn’t often allow coaches.
But occasionally, the right fit for Roberts is obvious — like last offseason when USC transfer Alissa…
