North Carolina never loses transfers, in an age when almost every team does

More than 700 college basketball players transferred last season, emblematic of the impermanence riddling the sport. The trend, powered by less restrictive rules for graduates and a generational shift in the desire for immediate playing time and scoring responsibility, has infiltrated most every major program in America during the last half-decade. It has been labeled, by many coaches, an epidemic.

North Carolina, then, arrived in Greater Phoenix lonely in two feats. The Tar Heels are the only team reappearing in the Final Four for a consecutive season, and that might not be their most impressive deed. In a climate of rampant player movement, they have not seen a player transfer out since Larry Drew II in February 2011, which might as well be a lifetime of seasons ago.

Only two other teams in this NCAA Tournament – Maryland and Princeton – had not experienced a player transferring in the past two offseasons, according to data USA Today’s Nicole Auerbach compiled. Just three other schools – Temple, Furman and William & Mary – belonged to that group in all of Division I.

North Carolina’s continuity starts with the approach of coach Roy Williams, an acolyte of Dean Smith and relentless proponent of prioritizing the needs of the program over the individual. The Tar Heels have kept their players even through the ongoing, looming potential of NCAA sanctions in the wake of allegations of widespread academic fraud throughout the athletic department.

“It’s just knowing that you’re part of something bigger, knowing how special this program is,” senior point guard Nate Britt said. “Guys aren’t overeager to come in and try to leave. … If you come in with that mindset, if things don’t go exactly the way you planned, you know you came to be a part of something bigger. That’s why people don’t transfer out. It’s about the family and the whole group of guys.”

The approach begins before players arrive on campus. Williams and his assistant coaches set realistic expectations, which leads to less frustration and likely weeds out players more bent on building an NBA resume than winning in college. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that outlook; it’s just unlikely to lead a high school player prone to transferring to come to Carolina in the first place.

“It has to do with how starts the recruiting process,” UNC assistant C.B. McGrath said. “He doesn’t guarantee them anything. We don’t go in and say, ‘You’re going to start. You’re going to be our leading scorer. We’re going to get you the ball.’ He doesn’t say any of that. ‘Do you want to be part of a program where you’re going to win a lot and have a chance to play?’ Those are the kids we usually get, that know what they’re getting into. We don’t sugarcoat and tell a kid maybe what he wants to hear or maybe what another school is telling them.”

The bluntness might be harming Carolina on one level of recruiting. The Tar Heels have not landed a one-and-done player – someone who leaves college for the NBA draft after one season – since 2007, despite wooing several candidates. But the lack of freshmen stars has not prevented them from remaining at the top of college basketball, with a raft of highly rated recruits who become upperclassmen at Carolina, not someplace else. Only juniors and seniors comprise this season’s starting lineup.

“Everybody falls in love with the campus,” junior Justin Jackson said. “Everybody falls in love with the program. It’s a family. Sometimes, it’s hard to leave a family, even when you know you could possibly go one-and-done.”

McGrath said players stay at Carolina despite adversity, mostly, for the simple reason that they are happy. Williams may be folksy and team-oriented, but he manages to relate to his players even as he nears the end of his 29th season as a head coach, at age 66.

“It’s so corny it’s ridiculous, but I tell them all the time that the teams that win, the players will get the awards and the rewards,” Williams said. “And I truly believe that. Today’s youngster is different than it was 10 years ago or 29 years ago, for sure. But you can get some kids to buy into that and believe in it, then I think they’re well rewarded for it.”

Williams doesn’t view the dearth of transfers lightly. “Coach takes a great deal of pride in it,” McGrath said. It indicates the Tar Heels’ fondness for one another, a collective bond. They will head back to the Final Four loaded with familiarity and having never seen a teammate leave for another school, two of the sport’s rarest experiences.