Chad Baker Mazara Getting His Final Four Ring And Having His Teammates Celebrate With Him At An Entirely Different School Is A Just Another Sign Of The Times In The NIL/Transfer Portal World

This is in no way a shot at Chad Baker Mazara or USC or anyone involved in the video at all, it's more an observation of the state of college athletics. I found this video very very weird and again no one is at fault because it's just a sign of the times, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. Chad Baker Mazara was a lightning rod for Auburn last year averaging 12.3 points per game while shooting 38.1% from 3, highlighted by an 18 point performance in The Final Four vs Florida. He got to a Final Four after spending a year at NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE ! And San Diego State and Duquesne before that ! Reminder, this is a kid who was a STARTER ON A FINAL FOUR TEAM who started his career at Duquesne and had to go to a JUCO in between. Achieving the success he did should have been something he DREAMED of. What more could he have asked of his time at Auburn? They are again ranked in the top 25 of preseason polls and play in the toughest conference in the country so this year could have been another run at the Final Four. For DECADES in college hoops this would have been INSANE for a kid to transfer at this point in his career and after all he achieved but as a combo of teams always on a quest to improve their roster, and kids looking for more money, CBM decided it was time to find a new team. Not malicious, not dirty, just a player and a team going in different directions which is happening ALL the time now. It is what it is. 

However, it is weird to me to see Chad being handed a ring in an entirely different uniform with entirely different teammates and everyone be happy about it. Those USC teammates are being supportive of their new guy and it's a nice gesture by them, however shouldn't it be eating them up that they didn't achieve one in their careers? Isn't it weird that this was the way CBM received his ring? There couldn't have been a way to fly to Auburn during a football game on campus and receive it with their fans celebrating him? If you were CBM wouldn't you feel a little sheepish that this is the setting you got your ring? The first pictures are you wearing a USC jersey? In 10-15 years looking back aren't you going to look at those and think how weird it was to attend 5 schools in your career and the one you likely will have achieved the success that you dreamed of and players across the country worked so hard towards was the one you left right after achieving it? Just a very weird video that is again no one's fault but growing up where college players felt like lifers for their school it just sits wrong with me and upsets me to where we've gotten with our morals in sports. What happened to being part of a team and working towards that success and putting winning a title above personal success? It sure feels like me comes before we in college athletics and it's a sad state. Final reminder ... Matthew Meyer left Baylor one season after after winning a national title with them. That was still the craziest transfer in the history of sports to me. YOU WON A TITLE THERE ! DON'T YOU WANT TO FINISH YOUR CAREER THERE? DON'T YOU FEEL A LITTLE DIRTY LEAVING A PLACE YOU HAVE KNOWN YOUR ENTIRE CAREER AND WON'T BE WEARING THEIR UNIFORM IN YOUR FINAL GAME? Just bizarre to me growing up being preached the value of team sports. But again times have changed, and clearly priorities as well and the Baker Mazara situation is just another example.