BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Funda Nakkasoglu doesn’t have an answer.
The 5-foot-8 guard on the Florida women’s basketball team also isn’t sure if there is a “right” response when it comes to addressing questions about the apparent rising number of transfers in her sport.
According to wbblog.com, which tracks the number of transfers at all levels in women’s college basketball, 426 players have changed programs and 224 schools have been affected through the
latest update Oct. 14. The list includes 61 graduate transfers and 91 players who have transferred from Power 5 schools and 51 more who have transferred to those schools, which are in the Southeastern, Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, and Pacific-12 conferences.
“It’s a very hard topic to cover because some people go for personal preference or they have a very bad experience, so I think at the moment the way the NCAA is handling it is probably, I am not going to say the right way, but the best way in order to keep things fair,” Nakkasoglu said.
As one of seven transfers at Florida, which is in the SEC, Nakkasoglu, who is from Hampton, Australia, knows there are plenty of reasons why players switch schools. She said she wanted a change of scenery and to test herself after she had two “great” years at Division I Utah State, where she averaged 19.1 points and scored 1,149 points in 60 games (58 starts).
Nakkasoglu had to sit out a year and had two years of eligibility at Florida remaining beginning in the 2017-18 season. Last season, Nakkasoglu led the Gators in scoring (14.9 points per game) and averaged 2.4 rebounds. She also paced the team in minutes per game (34.9) and 3-pointers (76). She shot 41.8 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from 3-point range.
Nakkasoglu isn’t alone in the SEC. Mississippi State has four transfers on its roster, while Texas A&M has eight, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas have five, and Kentucky has four. All 14 of the league’s schools have at least one transfer from some level in their programs. Coaching changes at some schools — most notably Arkansas (last season) and Ole Miss (prior to this season) account for some of the turnover — but there seems to be more turnover at the Division I level as players search for the best fit.
Florida coach Cameron Newbauer, who is entering his second season at the school after building Belmont into a perennial NCAA tournament program, said he tries to find the players who fit his culture and match his program’s values on and off the court.
“In our situation we had three players transfer from the program,” Newbauer said. “When you take over a job it is unique because they didn’t pick me. I didn’t recruit them. Our staff didn’t recruit them, vice versa, so that first year is always interesting situation with players that were brought in under a different staff. ”
“I think it is always OK if there is some sort of relief in those situations. Then you always have situations where players are just unhappy with playing time. I think they do a pretty good job with the waiver process. All are different because you’re never in the room and understand what it is they’re saying in the waiver and what they’ve went through, so I think every situation is unique. I do think you need to be cognizant of each situation being unique because with that being said some other sports are eligible immediately. I don’t think we should have that. If that starts happening in our game and in the men’s game, it could get pretty slimy if people know they could leave in December and play in January.”
But NCAA rules permit graduate transfers to be eligible immediately at another school if they complete their undergraduate work and enroll to pursue graduate studies. There currently is talk the NCAA could make all graduate transfers eligible immediately.
Newbauer said a player’s eligibility the following school year “depends on circumstances.” He said every situation is unique, but he said he would be for having players be immediately eligible if they go through a coaching change, have a family member who is sick and want to move closer to home, or are in a program that is hit with NCAA infractions.
Nakkasoglu said she wouldn’t want players to be eligible immediately after transferring because she feels it would create a free-for-all. But she also doesn’t know why student-athletes have to sit out a year if a coach who recruited them to a school leaves that institution for another school.
Regardless of how the rules will be set in the future, Nakkasoglu acknowledges there often is a negative connotation about players who transfer. Still, she said she would encourage players to trust their feelings, which is what she did, and do what they think is best for them because it can work out.
“People talk all of the time,” Nakkasoglu said. “There is always someone who is going to say something regardless of what move you make. Even if you stay at the school you initially signed to, there are probably going to be haters there, too, so 100 percent. I think people talk and say things, but if people want to get closer to family members, if there is something going on with family or close to them, there are legitimate excuses and people should be able to live their lives knowing that change is a possibility and change is going to happen in your life, and if it does happen whether people talk or not, they should take that challenge on, take that change on, and go with their gut.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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