[lawrence-newsletter]You do not normally see Wisconsin Head Coach Greg Gard lose his calm, cool, and collected persona. This past November, Wisconsin’s war with the NCAA over Ohio State transfer Micah Potter and immediate eligibility pushed UW’s leading man over the edge in a postgame press conference. On November 21, after a comfortable 88-70 walk in the park win over UW Green Bay, Gard unleashed on the NCAA after yet another appeal to give Potter eligibility was denied. Suddenly, the media room at the Kohl Center became a stage for words that went far beyond any win in November.
“The level of frustration has gone beyond anything I’ve ever experienced in almost 30 years of coaching,” Gard told media personnel following the win. “And really a look back over 30 years, that’s why the reason why I got into this profession, was to try to help young people and make their experiences and their lives better.” Gard then unleashed on the NCAA in stating that, “we haven’t done a good job as membership and as the organization that kind of heads that membership at the NCAA of making a student athlete’s experience better.”
So, after his final appeal was denied on November 21, 2019, why after transferring before the 2018-19 regular season began was Potter forced to sit out the first semester of the 2019-20 season? Even though the big man left Ohio State just two days before the 2018-19 regular season began, he did not technically begin practicing with Wisconsin until December of 2018, and his first semester at UW in the classroom was spring of 2019. Here is the NCAA policy on transfers directly from the NCAA website that shows why Potter was forced to sit out:
“Under the basic transfer regulations, you must spend an academic year in residence at the school to which you are transferring. If you transfer from a four-year college to an NCAA school, you must complete one academic year in residence at the new school before you can play for or receive travel expenses from the new school, unless you qualify for a transfer exception or waiver. To satisfy an academic year in residence, you must be enrolled in and successfully complete a full-time program of studies for two-full semesters or three-full quarters. Summer school terms and part-time enrollment do not count toward fulfilling an academic year in residence.”
That “one academic year in residence” for Potter technically would have been completed at the end of his fall semester in 2019, and therefore despite missing a full season of college basketball, the Ohio native would have to sit another semester. Despite multiple waiver requests that culminated in a final November 21 denial, the 6-10 forward ended up sitting out for three semesters of basketball.
The inconsistency surrounding the NCAA waiver decision was on display in Wisconsin’s first game of the season in 2019-20. The Badgers met St. Mary’s at the legendary Pentagon in South Dakota to start the year. Potter was obviously still unavailable as multiple waiver requests for eligibility had already been denied. St. Mary’s, however, had a transfer on their team who was suiting up. Sophomore guard Logan Johnson had been granted an immediate eligibility waiver when he decided to transfer from Cincinnati. Johnson absolutely deserved the waiver, and if the NCAA had a one-time transfer rule in place would not have had to apply for a waiver at all. Multiple reports suggested that the guard wanted to be closer to home to be there for his family. Everything about granting Johnson the waiver made his student athlete experience better. The NCAA, however, should not have to pick and choose whose experience they improve. That should be a one-time choice for the player. The NCAA’s inconsistency would have been solved by granting both Johnson and Potter the immediate eligibility they deserved. Instead, one played 36 minutes that night and the other did not play at all. That is the definition of inconsistency.
Potter transferred for mostly basketball reasons. He simply wanted a better fit, and found that at UW this season. On his transfer decision, the junior forward told Mike Lucas of uwbadgers.com that, “the reason I waited so long to make the decision (to transfer) was really because I love Ohio State – I grew up a Buckeyes fan and I tried to make it work as long as I could,” he said. “But in the end, I needed to make a decision that was best for me. I needed to go somewhere I would fit in a little better.”
The reasons were completely pure. In fact, Potter was even given written support from Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith and Ohio State Head Coach Chris Holtmann surrounding the matter of his multiple waiver requests.
When Potter did find himself on the court during second semester, he flourished. The Badgers earned a share of the Big Ten regular season title in large part thanks to the Ohio native’s 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
The timing of this piece is no accident. Earlier today, just a mere day after the NCAA took a leap forward in allowing players to benefit from their name, image, and likeness, they are once again already leaning in a direction that hurts players. Today, the Division 1 Board of Directors and Presidential Forum suggested against allowing a one-time transfer rule. The claim from the board was that, ‘it isn’t appropriate at this time.’
This is by no means a death sentence for a one-time transfer rule in college basketball, however, it was certainly a step back. In the press release from this morning’s meeting, the board chair Eli Capilouto stated that, “Students are — and must be — at the center of everything that we do. That guiding principle has never been more important than it is now.”
If that is truly the case, then we should empower student-athletes and their families to make their own decisions about their future. For all the hard work they put in on a daily basis, a one-time rule transfer for any number of circumstances whether it be family reasons, fit with the team, or a need for change puts the student in the drivers seat of their own future. Fear over whether or not the NCAA’s game of transfer waiver roulette surrounding these decisions spins their way should not change the decisions of the student-athlete.