A UC San Diego transfer watches the NCAA Tournament team he left: ‘Is the grass greener?’

DENVER — Bryce Pope was ready to watch a game he wished he was playing in. A game that he should have been playing in.

“Hit it, hit it” he yelled as a former teammate took a shot. He continued to rattle off reactions, as if he were on the bench. “Shoot it! Get it! Ugh. Go up!”

For four years, Pope was the heart of UC San Diego basketball. He committed to the school before the Tritons played a Division I game. He was the best player over four years transitioning up from Division II.

And it all happened before they were eligible for the NCAA Tournament or even the Big West Tournament, because of NCAA rules regarding reclassification. He spent four years waiting for a night like this, waiting to play a meaningful March game.

It’s a March Madness story that will become more and more common in the NIL era. A story where players put in years of hard work at one school and then have to decide between the payoff or the payout.

Pope chose the latter. It’s a choice he doesn’t regret, but it’s one he still wrestles with: a lucrative NIL offer from USC, or use his extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic to remain at UCSD, a school that couldn’t dream of matching the undisclosed financial package he accepted?

He played four years for the Tritons for this season. For the moment when it could finally count. And he watched it from 30 rows up, behind the basket.

“This is the toughest time. This is where I have the most mixed emotions,” Pope said from his seat. “You see UC San Diego. Twelve seed in the NCAA Tournament. Playing in front of 20,000. I wish I could put on a jersey.”

Instead, Pope paid for his flight to Denver, where he watched with a teammate and his brother, cheering and enjoying himself. He defaulted to calling his former team “we.” The FOMO never too far from the front of his mind.

He took the money because he wanted to be paid what he was worth. That part was great. But he rode the bench all season, playing a total of 71 minutes and scoring just 12 points. He’s often asked by people in his life if he made the wrong decision.

“It’s so hard, man. How can (mid-majors) compete,” Pope said. “I don’t know if (UCSD) could have paid me $10K. It’s just so different. It’s two completely different worlds. … When you’re putting up huge numbers and you’re winning games, part of you is like, ‘Shouldn’t I be getting some reimbursement?’”

In a different era of college basketball, there would be no NIL money to earn. A transfer would have been required to sit out a year. And with all his success at UCSD, there would have been no incentive to leave.

But in this era, the best mid-major players often build their smaller programs, only to give up the glory for the gold. And this March is filled with stories similar to Pope’s.

There’s Frankie Fidler, who was the best player at Omaha for three years before transferring to Michigan State, where he’s now a reserve. Omaha made the NCAA Tournament for the first time this year. Trazarien White starred for four years at UNC Wilmington and transferred to TCU, who missed March Madness while UNCW danced. And don’t forget Jamarii Thomas, who was the MEAC player of the Year for Norfolk State last season. The Spartans are in the bracket this season, but Thomas, who transferred to South Carolina to play in the SEC, is not.

“It’s not all about money,” Pope said. “(USC) had a tough year, and we’re not playing in March Madness, and (UCSD) is. Some of that stuff is priceless. What (UCSD) is doing right now is bigger than money.”

That’s not to say Pope wishes he could take it back. He doesn’t. The money was important. As was his positive experience at USC, which he said will set him up well for the rest of his life.

But missing this game does create a visceral emotion. Coming out of high school, the San Diego native stayed home, eschewing offers from tournament-eligible teams in the Ivy League and Patriot League.

He finished his time at UCSD as a first-team All-Big West player last year, averaging 18.3 points per game on a team that went 15-5 in the conference. He’d keyed a turnaround for a team that went from allowing 103 points to Long Beach State and finishing 13-16 in 2022 to being one of the best mid-majors by the time he left.

When he took his seat on Thursday evening, the sight was overwhelming. Here this program was, in front of a sold-out crowd in an NBA venue. They had won 15 games in a row and were 35th in the NCAA’s NET rankings — and a trendy upset pick against No. 5 seed Michigan, the Big Ten tournament champion.

“I feel like I’m a part of that, even though I’m not on the team,” Pope said. “I feel like I’m a part of what they’re doing and helped build the foundation. … It’s mixed emotions. Part of me is wondering now what it would be like if I was on the team.”

Pope told his current coach, Eric Musselman, that he had to be there, even though USC is scheduled to play in the new College Basketball Crown tournament in early April.

After arriving in Denver, Pope watched the media day news conferences. He heard head coach Eric Olen and teammates credit him. There was an open invitation to celebrate a win in the locker room, should they secure it.

Pope appreciated it more than he could verbalize. It wasn’t about him, and he’s excited for what his former teammates accomplished. But it was easy to feel forgotten.

“Bryce was a huge part of our program through the transition,” said Olen, who was supportive when an anxious Pope approached him about transferring.

“Bryce was really important to our program,” said point guard Tyler McGhie. “Just the toughness and hard work that he put in. He was great for our school.”

Michigan was in control for much of Thursday’s game, from a 10-0 start to a 14-point halftime lead to responding to a UCSD spurt in the second half to go back up double digits. But then everything started to turn. Guard Tyler McGhie hit a game-tying 3-pointer with three minutes left, then gave the Tritons the lead on a floater the next possession.

Pope was delirious, high-fiving everyone in his immediate vicinity. All the casual fans in the arena were just as excited as him, pulling for an upset.

On the next defensive possession, he spread his arms out, mimicking a defensive stance. He was envisioning himself in a moment that could have been his.

Michigan, though, came back, took the lead and won. McGhie’s would-be game-tying 3 rimmed out at the buzzer.

Pope’s head sunk, his hands on his knees. Minutes ticked by after the loss, the stands emptied out. Pope remained.

His basketball career is ending. He’s accepted a job doing real estate in San Diego. In many ways, his career didn’t feel finished until Thursday night. Not until the team that defined his college experience had lost.

Even though he wasn’t on the team plane or in the locker room or film studies, he was still attached. Still invested. And still gutted by the season ending in defeat.

“My story is something you’ll probably see going forward,” Pope said. “It’s kind of like, is the grass greener? Kind of buyer’s remorse. That’s going to be something that happens.”