UNC Basketball: Brady Manek discusses the transfer portal

UNC basketball standout Brady Manek went in-depth about his experience in the transfer portal and why he ultimately chose the Tar Heels.

Last offseason, the NCAA debuted its new “one-time transfer rule,” one which brought a ton of craziness to the world of college athletics.

No player benefitted from this newly-implemented rule more than UNC basketball standout Brady Manek. After playing the majority of his college career at Oklahoma, Manek decided to enter the transfer after coach Lon Kruger retired to keep his options open.

From there, Manek concluded that it was in his best interest to return to the college level for one more season, and tabbed Chapel Hill as his new home.

The decision paid off nicely for Manek, as he became a focal part of the Tar Heels team that made an outstanding run to the national championship game. He averaged a career-high 15.1 points per game while shooting an outstanding 40.3 percent from beyond the arc.

In a recent interview on The Tar Heel Show Podcast, Manek went in-depth about the transfer portal and gave some insight on why he chose the UNC basketball program.

The Harrah, Oklahoma native said that the Tar Heels were actually one of the last teams to contact him, as Hubert Davis took over the program just a week and a half after Kruger left the Sooners. Manek stated that Davis played a huge role in luring him to Chapel Hill:

"“I was led to Coach Davis in one of the last phone calls I got. It was just how genuine he was, the team we had here, the role I was going to be in, the opening at the four spot, the switch from two big men down low to a stretch-four position. The call came in on Tuesday, and I committed on Friday.”"

With regards to the transfer portal, Manek stated that it is very easy to enter, but is rather difficult to manage once you’re officially in.

"“You enter your name and go through the compliance office. They send your information in, and then you’re in the portal. It takes about 24 hours for your name to get in; they have to approve it all. I knew exactly when I was approved because I got phone call, phone call, phone call. I’m getting phone calls and answering phone calls, and people are still calling me.It was an exciting process. A lot of teams called, and a lot of teams wanted me to play for them.”"

In the past, players had a really tough choice to make as to whether they wanted to stay in college or pursue a professional career. For Manek, his decision was rather easy, given that the possibilities with the newly-implemented NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules were enticing enough for him to stay in college.

"“My biggest reason for (not going pro) was I didn’t want to grow up yet My thought process was I am definitely going to be an overseas player. [Because of COVID] there wasn’t really any rookie money out there, so it didn’t make sense for me to go just yet.”"

Not only did Manek have the opportunity to pursue a graduate degree from the Kenan-Flagler business school, but his play on the court opened up numerous endorsement opportunities for him and his teammates.

Although his time in Chapel Hill is over, his presence will certainly be felt for years to come.

"“Leaky Black is my roommate. He told me, ‘Thanks for coming to Carolina.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean.’ He said, ‘We got to the National Championship. NIL is going to be booming next year.’ It is true, we are going to have all these team and group licensed deals, and they’re going to get money and all these free things off different types of stuff — just for posting about it.”"

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