For the past four offseason cycles, the Marquette men's basketball program has seemed allergic to the transfer portal. With no Division I transfers during that span, head coach Shaka Smart and the program built a philosophy solely focused on developing and retaining the talent already on their roster.
But the game has changed, and it seemed like everyone else around them embraced the new era of college basketball while Marquette remained stuck in the old ways.
Faced with the reality of a 12-20 record for the 2025-26 season, including 7-13 in conference play, Smart finally conceded to the harsh reality of the modern NCAA and added two vital transfers to the lineup in former St. Thomas guard Nolan Minessale and former Louisville big man Sananda Fru.
What Smart seemed to learn from this process, as evidenced by a recent press conference moment captured by Pat Timlin, is that you can still focus on building your program around high-character players while using the transfer portal to do it. He sang the praises of both Minessale and Fru, saying that "both [Fru] and Nolan are that. They really care about their teammates."
Shaka Smart can still build the Marquette basketball culture by his design in the transfer portal era.
Change doesn't come easily, and certainly not in collegiate sports. There's a tradition to every program or university, and each coach carries some of that forward into how they run their program. For Shaka Smart, that's served him quite well in upholding a standard for the Marquette Golden Eagles off the basketball court. But on the court? It's been a bit of a mixed bag.
From a Sweet Sixteen run in 2023 to missing the Tournament altogether this year, Smart now fully understands the advantages of accepting the transfer portal. The same caliber of player and individual he seeks in the recruitment process can be found on the portal, looking for a new place to call home. If he's looking for players with talent and morals, he can find them as long as he's willing to shed his preconceived notions and do his research.
There are certainly pitfalls of the modern era. Now that the floodgates are open, some players are going to chase the money wherever they can. At the same time, for most college athletes, it's a far more nuanced conversation. Everyone wants money, but many of these players and their families are concerned with far more than that — they want to be part of a culture, gain a real education, and build community during formative years of their lives.
Regardless of the NIL money, Marquette can still be that place for the right players. Having said he can't imagine going back to the old way of neglecting the transfer portal, it seems Shaka Smart is finally ready to accept the Golden Eagles' place in the modern NCAA landscape.
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