Deivon Smith enters the Portal

[MDUte]

This hurts…

NEWS: Utah guard Deivon Smith has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per @JamieShaw5

Smith averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season.https://t.co/qXEicR9nZx pic.twitter.com/a2tMKesJBS

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 19, 2024

[highlandute7]

Damn.

[MDUte]

Utah’s Deivon Smith is looking for between $600-750k in NIL. This is no surprise that he hit the transfer portal. #UteNation #GoUtes @RivalsPortal

— Alex Markham (@AMarkhamRivals) April 19, 2024

[Phatmanandy]

The moment I saw the rule for instant eligibility be made I had a strong feeling this was possible. Any sort of momentum we had going into next year is all but shot. I miss the good olde days of Runnin Utes basketball.

[highlandute7]

Also lost Coach Slocum to Washington.

[Phatmanandy]

What a s**tty day for Utah basketball

[MDUte]

Don’t be surprised to see Deivon follow Demarlo to Washington.

— Steve Bartle (@SBartle247) April 19, 2024

[RustyShackleford]

Good riddance!!! He sucked and I never liked him! Way better off with out him! *sobs*

[Tony (admin)]

We were screwed before but now we’re really screwed. Going to rough next season.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I’m going to wait and see who we pick up from the portal before I declare our cause lost.

Just like the football side of the portal, you always lose before you gain.

[Phatmanandy]

Yeah this is no bueno. Utah is going to be the laughing stock in the BIG12 in Basketball. Sucks to see how far it has fallen. I absolutely hate NIL and the lack of control there is. I’m all for players getting paid but there has to be a cap on either the player or the team “salary cap”

[Minnesota Ute]

I personally had a lot of heartburn for the money that college sports was generating on the backs of adults who couldn’t share in the profit. That said, professional sports realized long ago that contracts mattered for stability of the league and gradually along the way the players bargained for free agency to provide a balance.
The problem with NIL is it is like unlimited free agency all the time. There are no caps, no contracts, and not much for rules to speak of. I get, and agree, that the athletes deserved to get paid, but the NCAA has screwed this up royally and are going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. The NIL money will dry up when the eyeballs disappear, then what have you got?

[Kellso]

Good luck Deivon. I enjoy watching your talents. P**sed, but good luck.

[EagleMountainUte]

It is unreasonable to blame this entirely on NLI.

Utah basketball as a program has been mishandled for some time. It is the only thing that can be controlled and it is poorly managed.

[AZUTE]

Utah is taking a plastic butter knife to a gun fight when it comes to NIL

Until Utah’s crimson collective for bball can get to a minimum of 3 million just count on a .500 or worse basketball program. Especially going into the big12

[highlandute7]

FedEx just gave $25 million to Memphis for NIL.

[The Miami Ute]

College sports are turning into such a sick joke…this will be Smith’s fourth school in five years. I don’t have a problem with athletes transferring like any other student can, but what “student” trying to get any real degree goes to four name universities in five years? As in all things, when the guardrails are taken off, the extremes gain the ascendancy. Eventually the bubble is going to burst and all college sports are going to be rendered to the club level.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Good luck D Smith hope you get your bag$$. Can’t blame him blame the system. It would take me 10 years to earn that money working every day. The biggest wallet wins!! Sounds like real life and capitalism at its finest.

[UteBrook]

As crappy as this is, Duke went to the elite 8 and has lost 7 to the portal.

[The Miami Ute]

The difference is that Duke is a basketball blue blood and will easily replace those transfers with players as good or better. Utah doesn’t have that luxury and just lost its best player with any eligibility remaining. I don’t personally feel too bad about Smith’s departure since I never got attached to him but he will be missed.

[Anfernee]

Sucks but I’ll be honest. I haven’t felt really attached to Utah basketball probably since Bogut years. A few nice seasons here and there but we are a football school now and that’s been my focus of energy. It’s extremely difficult to be a school of both sports. And if you have to choose, as far as revenue, exposure and sustainability, football is most important. Put that NLI towards 🏈

[RustyShackleford]

Duke also has the best HS recruit coming in

[UtesRule]

Hate this!!! Hate hate hate this!!

Then again, so far Utah Football is in the advantage due to the portal.

But I still hate this!!

Big Rick would be so p**sed with the current state of college athletics. Free agency. So annoying.

[MDUte]

Although Utah MBB doesn’t have deep NIL pockets, I believe I’ve seen reported Utah MBB Collective has around $1.5M to spend. If Utah is unwilling to spend $600K or $650K to keep Deivon, that’s a big mistake IMO. PG is the most important position on the court. And Utah already has an outstanding one that you can build a team around. To let him walk out the door and replace him with an unknown to save $300K in NIL makes zero sense.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

I agree MD. We can’t replace him. He knows the system and can get the Madsens some good looks. I love his energy and he plays hard. Pick up a couple of athletes for defense and we could have a decent team. What a joke NIL has become. Coach Smith handed him the keys to the car to run the team and now he wants a nicer car. I don’t blame him for wanting bags$$.

[UTEopia]

I know longer go on twitter, but I assume Deivon has not posted his departure on twitter as I have not see it anywhere. Is he giving Utah a continued opportunity to come up with the money or has he decided he is leaving regardless?

[The Miami Ute]

Maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy enters the portal and comes back to the same team. It just happened in Logan with Ian Martinez. He entered the portal on 3 April but decided to finish out his college career with Utah State.

[MDUte]

Yes very common for players to test the waters of the portal and see what they can get either from a new suitor or give their existing program an opportunity to re-compete for their services.

[The Miami Ute]

It also happened last year with Micah Bernard.

[MDUte]

Deivon is going to St John’s. Pitino is getting a top PG.

Utah transfer Deivon Smith has committed to St. John's, per his IG page.

Averaged 18.8 PPG, 9.5 APG, and 8.5 RPG in the 2024 Postseason NIT.

Will be one of the top guards in the Big East in 2024-25.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 6, 2024

[Minnesota Ute]

Hard to second guess that decision… one of the most well known and accomplished coaches in basketball in one of the most consistently excellent basketball conferences with the some of the best east coast media exposure, or…

sigh. I hope it works out for him.

[The Miami Ute]

I guess they take their basketball seriously at St. John’s…I’d be interested to see what kind of NIL package he received because it’s not like the Johnnies are Notre Dame plus you have to negotiate NYC on a daily basis.

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