It’s been quite a long time since I last sat down to write a superb edition of “The Great Debate.” Between spring break and sports editor Henry Mode’s best efforts to make sure my column isn’t on the budget so he doesn’t have to write up a response afterward, I’ve had a lot of time to craft my takes for my last stretch of columns.

While I’ve had a lot of time to brainstorm which USC sport to critique next, one constant theme that I keep seeing during this year’s college basketball season — and especially as of late — is the debate over the transfer portal and name, image and likeness, which people feel are potentially “ruining college basketball.”

For those who don’t know, you can now change schools essentially as many times as you want in college sports. There used to be a rule that if you wanted to transfer to another school, you had to sit out a full year waiting to play at your new school. Now, as long as you meet academic standards, you can transfer from one school to the next year after year.

Couple this with the fact that some players are being granted extra years of eligibility because of lost time during the coronavirus pandemic and normal redshirt seasons due to injury, and now, some players are transferring to four or more teams during their collegiate athletic career.

One prominent example is senior guard Meechie Johnson Jr. He started his career by playing for two years at Ohio State before deciding it was time to leave and transfer to South Carolina, where he played for two more years. I guess he missed his old home because he decided to transfer back to Ohio State this past season. Then, on Monday, Johnson decided to change his mind once more and transfer, once again, back to South Carolina for next season.

Johnson is an extreme example and by no means the norm in college basketball. But it is safe to say more and more players are taking plenty of advantage of the portal. As of March 25, 22% of men’s college basketball players have entered the transfer portal and 19% of women’s players have submitted their names, and there’s surely still more names to be added.

The growth of NIL has given more athletes an opportunity to seek greener pastures and get not only the best program for themselves, but also the most money they can get. The rise of NIL has undoubtedly made it more appealing for athletes to jump ship instead of waiting to see if their role increases a few years down the line.

I constantly see takes online about how athletes are abusing the portal, they’re paid too much and it’s all just ruining the sport. But honestly, when hasn’t money been at the center of sports? Why has it become such a problem now that it’s the broke college kids collecting a check?

I’m totally fine with the critique of the transfer portal and NIL, which has gotten out of hand. I think there could be additions, such as a transfer fee, to help protect these smaller schools from bigger teams constantly poaching players. But stop blaming college athletes for being able to take advantage of a system that has taken advantage of them for so many years.

God forbid a kid who didn’t have much growing up actually gets paid and is able to support themself. This notion that college athletes get paid too much fails to acknowledge the absurdity of the tens of millions of dollars universities are raking in from these athletes.

Many people will say athletes are running away from hard work by transferring too soon in their college career if they don’t play much during their freshman year. Wouldn’t you, too?

You’ve been playing basketball all your life and are most likely the best player on all of your teams, and you play just two minutes a game in your freshman year. You then see all these other highly touted recruits in your class not only getting more minutes, not only getting more buzz on draft boards but also making way more money than you because of those playing opportunities.

Why would you not take advantage of those opportunities and try to get more playing time for yourself? Also, the idea that athletes should stay at one college is outdated. Rarely do you see, even in professional sports, one player play for their original team for their whole career. It’s a part of sports that’s changing and that’s just now gotten to college basketball.

Also, let’s not act like it’s just the players jumping ship for more money or bigger programs. Head coaches are constantly changing programs more than ever, very similarly to these student athletes, but you rarely see them get as much heat.

Look at Drake University’s men’s team. This next season, the team will have a third head coach in three years, having won more than 27 games each of the last two years. It’s happening across all aspects of college sports, not just on the players’ side.

It’s some crazy form of elite hating to not want these student-athletes to make the most of their opportunities. Are there flaws with the system? Of course. Is that the student-athletes’ fault? No.

These student-athletes deserve to get paid and are within their rights to use the transfer portal as it currently exists. If you have such a problem with it, direct your anger toward the NCAA for “ruining” the sport, not these kids.

Stefano Fendrich is a senior writing about his opinions on some of sports’ biggest debates in his column, “The Great Debate,” which runs every other Friday. He is also the editor in chief at the Daily Trojan.