I’ll never claim to have as much swag as ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas. Come on, he’s a swagger hound.
But one area in which I do consider myself on par with Bilas is my distaste for the way universities can restrict where student-athletes transfer. I’m disgusted with what institutions think they can get away with.
The recent situation with the LSU men’s basketball team got me thinking about these restrictions. After former head coach Trent Johnson bolted for TCU, I expected at least a few of the players to leave as well.
The NCAA loves to try and brainwash us that the athlete should choose the school, not the coach. I’m not buying it.
I would have wanted to leave if I was like rising sophomore guard Anthony Hickey or sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III, who thought Johnson would be around for the long haul. No big deal, right? The coach leaves, so the player should be able to transfer and go wherever he pleases.
Not so fast, my friend. Just ask Wisconsin redshirt freshman forward Jarrod Uthoff.
Uthoff decided to transfer from Wisconsin after this season, but Badger coach Bo Ryan wasn’t going to just let him go anywhere his heart desired.
Ryan blocked Uthoff from schools in the Big 10, Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida or Marquette University. It’s ridiculous that a coach thinks he should have that much power over where a transfer wants to go.
I understand why he doesn’t want Uthoff transferring anywhere in the conference. But in no way, shape or form should Ryan be able to tell a student-athlete that he can’t attend a university halfway across the country if he feels Wisconsin isn’t the right fit.
After Ryan was called out on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” for his ridiculous denial of Uthoff’s request, the school finally approved him to transfer to any school not in the Big 10.
It’s sad it took a national radio show to get Wisconsin and Ryan to change their mind.
Uthoff was lucky. While he hasn’t made his college choice yet, he’ll actually be able to transfer to an institution to complete both his basketball and academic career at the college level.
Florida International sophomore Dominique Ferguson isn’t so lucky. He made his request to transfer even before NBA Hall of Fame coach Isaiah Thomas was fired April 6. Ferguson said he wanted to move closer to his family in the
Midwest and look into attending a smaller school where he could get one-on-one work in the classroom. There was no reason for FIU to deny his request to transfer. Well, they did.
What’s even worse is the e-mail Ferguson received from the university.
“We believe it is in your best interest to continue your studies here at FIU,” the e-mail read. “We would particularly encourage you to apply yourself to your courses for the rest of the semester.”
It sickens me that FIU blatantly told Ferguson he should continue to attend the university. There’s no way a school can tell a student-athlete what is in his best interests.
Since the school still won’t approve his transfer, he was forced to declare for the NBA draft. Ferguson averaged 8.7 points as a sophomore. He’s not going to get drafted.
Does FIU really think it’s in his “best interest” to be essentially forced out of school with nowhere else to go?
Both Uthoff and Ferguson would have to sit out a year wherever they transfer. Is there any reason to deny them the right to start over somewhere else?
The NCAA is hypocritical when it comes to athletes transferring. It’s perfectly fine for coaches to recruit players to come play for them and then bolt at the first sight of a better job or more money. But when a student-athlete makes the decision that a situation isn’t right for him, he faces a grueling and unfair process.
Micah Bedard is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houma. Follow him on Twitter @DardDog.
 —-
Contact Micah Bedard at [email protected]