Cormani McClain has his close ones rooting for him. One such person is his mother Kaishay. “Gotta be somewhere where your appreciated and not just tolerated!!! God take the lead, we right behind ya,” she wrote on X back in April. McClain and his mother haven’t been happy with his situation in Colorado Buffaloes and, as a result, the player hit the transfer portal.

However, IsmokeHiphop, also known as DJ Blessone, weighed in on the situation in his latest YouTube video. “Cormani mom speaks out about Cormani not getting signatures, not being signed up. She speaks up about the situation. So basically you know it’s making excuses,” he started .

McClain and his mother’s actions caused annoyance

IsmokeHiphop further stated, “What I want to show you what some of these people do bro when they don’t like you and they find every excuse to make… I find it funny how they’ll suck up to anybody that don’t look like them who just gives a little bit of credit to your kid or yourself or whatever you’re at the floor for these people.” 

He criticized McClain for acting like a child under his mother’s control. “We’re talking about the immature attitude lack of work ethic no accountability and being just a snotty brat who’s been coddled his whole life by his mother. His mother and sister just embarrassing him through the social media.”

IsmokeHiphop might not be entirely wrong here. Deion Sanders was not happy with McClain’s lack of discipline. Not being on time for practice and not attending meetings were where Sanders and McClain’s heads clashed. In fact, in September 2023, Sanders called out the player because of it. It is surprising that such a thing happened, considering McClain, who was originally committed to Miami, came to CU as a generational talent and wanted to follow Coach Prime’s footsteps.

However, discipline issues are not something new when it comes to McClain. His high school head coach, Keith Barefield, spoke about him after news about McClain entering the transfer portal spread. The coach stated that McClain was used to getting away with things because he was a good athlete. And that’s something that could pull him down.

He surely has the potential. But the season didn’t pan out the way he wanted. Coach Prime had also benched McClain for multiple games in his debut season. All in all, the player and his mother were just not happy and didn’t think McClain was appreciated. No doubt McClain took a dig at Sanders. “I feel like I just don’t want to play for clicks. I actually want to be involved with a great leading program that’s going to develop players,” McClain stated in his YouTube video, which was titled ‘Next Step’.

When ‘Prime Time’ was asked to comment on McClain’s transfer portal, he too seemed to take a subtle dig at the player. After wishing the player well, Sanders said, “I pray to God that he goes to a program that challenges him, as well as hold him accountable and develop him as a young man. Unfortunately, we weren’t the program that could accomplish that, so preferably he understands that this is the second go-round and get it – go get it, man, because he has a tremendous amount of talent. But he has to want it.”

Clearly, the coach and student’s relationship is a bit rocky, but what about McClain’s mother? Did she and Deion Sanders sort their differences?

A look at the Kaishay-Sanders drama

When McClain had hit the transfer portal targeting the spring window, his mother was the first one to post on X. Without taking Coach Prime’s name, Kaishay openly brought charges against the head coach. However, in a follow-up tweet, realizing her mistake, Kaishay acknowledged the Buffs’ impact on her son and shared nothing but gratitude for his time in Boulder.

Re-sharing the tweet, Sanders retorted rather calmly, “Much Love Mama and I pray that all things work together for the good.“

McClain’s decision to enter the transfer portal initially surprised many observers. “I’m just ready to bring the old version of me out and change the narrative, be a part of a real and a great program that’s going to impact me at my best ability,” McClain asserted.

The latest update is that many schools have approached the 5-star recruit, receiving interest from SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 programs. The names that appeared at the top of McClain’s list of pursuits are USC and Georgia.  

Losing a player high-ranking athlete like McClain to the transfer portal is tough. However, let’s also not forget that CU has also benefitted from the portal. They boosted their roster with 86 new players- 53 of them were from transfers in his first season.