Will Marquette use the NCAA transfer portal now? Here's how Shaka Smart responded
CLEVELAND - With more non-local media at Marquette's press conference Thursday — before its NCAA men's basketball tournament first-round gameFriday night against New Mexico — there were a lot of questions for coach Shaka Smart about not using the transfer portal like most college coaches.
Some have pondered if Smart will use the portal this spring after losing key seniors Stevie Mitchell, David Joplin and All-American guard Kam Jones.
"I remember after our first year (at MU), Tyler (Kolek) actually said we've got to go get a big guy," Smart said. "We're losing Kur (Kuath). Kur was our starting big guy. I said, no, Oso (Ighodaro) is going to be just fine. And he was.
"But you bring up a great point. Every year is different, and we've lost — from that initial core group of young guys — three guys that are in the NBA and then, after this season, three guys that have been integral parts of what we've done the last four years.
"It's definitely going to stress-test our way of doing things. I tend to err on the side of really, really pouring into the guys we have and focusing on them. There's a lot of reasons behind that that, again, we don't necessarily have time to get into now. So, yes, we believe in our way of doing things."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Will Marquette use transfer portal now? Shaka Smart explains strategy
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