…think it through for every season Pope has been at BYU and how the team would’ve looked that season without having hit the transfer portal to shore up the roster.

2019-20 - we go 24-8 (13-3 2nd in WCC, #18 in final poll) and was on track for potentially a #6 seed in the NCAA tourney. We added Jake Toolson and Alex Barcello in the transfer portal. Toolson finishes the year #1 overall in 3pt FG% and Alex would’ve been #1 in 3pt FG% ahead of Toolson if he had more attempts. Together they lead BYU to #1 in the nation as a team in 3pt FG% and to #5 in the nation in Off Eff.

We don’t even win 20 games without those 2, let alone get an NCAA tourney invite. The portal fundamentally improved the outcome of that season. It was BYU’s best team since Jimmer’s senior year.

2020-21 - we go 20-7 (13-3, 2nd in WCC, #23 in final poll, # 6 seed in NCAA tourney). Pope gets WCC DPOY Matt Haarms (2nd Team All-WCC) and Brandon Averette (2nd Team All-WCC) in the portal to add to portal player Alex Barcello (1st Team All-WCC). We also get Richard Harward who was a valuable rotation piece for BYU. Without those portal additions we don’t even finish with a winning record that season.

2021-22 - We go 24-11 (9-6 and 5th in WCC, NIT quarterfinals). Pope gets Te’jon Lucas and Seneca Knight from the portal. Neither are the impact type players we had gotten the previous 2 yrs but both were rotational players. Te’jon was the starter at PG alongside Alex Barcello. Without the portal we don’t have the services of Te’j or Alex Barcello and we likely finish with another losing record without both. Consider what our alternative would be at the 1 and the 2 w/o them….Hunter Erickson and Nate Hansen?

When CB’ers want to crap all over Pope in basketball for his use of the portal, they just need to think it through and list out what the alternative would’ve been to not hit the portal and instead stand pat.