UConn head coach Dan Hurley says late additions to college basketball rosters thanks to recent court rulings are harming the sport.
"You can't act like it's not a victimless situation," Hurley said Friday, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf. "I mean, there are kids that are 17, 18 years old that potentially may lose out on opportunities. So it's not victimless.
"At some point, you've got to care about the sport, especially if the sport has given you a lot. If you're a coach and the sport has given you a lot, it's like doing things to hurt the sport so that you can win a little bit more. I think you've got to be able to look in the mirror on that, especially if the sport has given you a lot already."
A federal judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction earlier this month to allow athletes in the 2022 high school class to play a fifth year in the NCAA. The NCAA is actively fighting the injunction, which comes with the stipulation that players had to have their names in the portal when it originally opened in April.
Since then, a number of athletes have rejoined college programs.
Darrion Williams, who entered the 2026 NBA Draft but was unselected, is returning to Texas Tech. Williams, 23, played the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns with Texas Tech before spending last season with NC State.
Denzel Aberdeen is expected to return to Florida, where he played his first three college campaigns before transferring to Kentucky for his fourth.
Mountain West Player of the Year for 2024-25 Donovan Dent is also expected to rejoin a program.
Hurley, who led UConn to back-to-back Division I men's basketball championships in 2023 and 2024, plus to the Final Four last year, has pledged not to add any new players this close to the start of the season.
"You put together the best team you can (through high school recruiting). You start practicing for the summer, and now let's unleash 80 players into the sport in the first week of August," Hurley added. "I mean, we can't go on like this."
The 2026-27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season is set to tip off Nov. 1.
