"No honor among thieves": NCCU HC Levelle Moton gets candid on transfer portal, NIL rules

For North Carolina Central coach Levelle Moton, college basketball has turned into a complex landscape where there's no one to trust anymore.

On Thursday's Run Your Race podcast, the head coach fired shots at the current state of the game, arguing a lack of regulation and respect between all parties involved.

"The person that you thought you could trust, you can't trust. Everybody's in it just for the money. The most important thing during that time was, I learned it's no honor among thieves.

"Now you fast forward and you looking at this NCAA business, and everybody's chasing it, and it's no more morals, it's no more values, it's no more," Levelle Moton said.

For Levelle Moton, one of the issues is the way NIL and the transfer portal have changed the game, with players able to move between program each year looking to get better payment.

While Coach Moton repeatedly said that he's in favor players getting to profit from their image, he believes the spirit of the NIL deals has been lost.

"I'm all for the bag but the problem right now is, this NIL, has become something it wasn't intended to be, and most people don't even know what the NIL acronym stands for. It was created for the name, image and likeness of players to benefit off of," Levell Moton added.

---

Levelle Moton's biggest worry about the transfer portal

For Levelle Moton, the biggest issue with the way the transfer portal is being managed now is not even on the court, but the impact made on young student-athletes who lose focus of their education while chasing better deals.

"Let's say a kid goes to (North) Carolina, gets upset and then comes here. Then he leaves here and goes to Duke and he's able to play right away. Then he leaves Duke and goes to NC State, and he is able to play right away. ...

"You were able to play instantly at Carolina, at North Carolina Central, at Duke and at NC State and you exhasted your eligibility, but now you are 24 hours short of graduation. Who pays for the rest of ypour graduation? Now you go back to your hometown without a degree," Levelle Moton said.

With NIL still receiving some tweaks along with the transfer portal, experts expect more regulation in the future. According to Verbal Commits, over 2,300 male basketball players entered the portal this year, which is over 40% of college basketball players.