After shocking the Badger coaching staff, players, and fans with his decision to transfer from Wisconsin Jarrod Uthoff remained rather silent in the following days. He broke that silence in an article posted on IowaPrepSports.com (The Gazette owned) earlier today and we also know the final details on his release from Wisconsin.
He received a “limited release” that bars him from going to any Big Ten school, Iowa State, and Marquette. All were somewhat expected, but the Iowa State one is a bit puzzling. The only thing I can think of is that there could be a series coming between the two schools and with Jamie Pollard (a former Badger Athletic Dept. employee) as the Cyclones AD it wouldn’t be surprising to see that in the works. If that’s not the case then I’d really love to hear the reasoning behind that school being on the list.
Jarrod also confirmed that he has a visit scheduled at Creighton in a few weeks, a destination we first reported was most likely according to sources immediately following his announcement. He didn’t say any other schools were receiving visits in the article, but Northern Iowa and Drake could receive visits should the Creighton one not go as planned. It would be a shock to see him not head out to Omaha and be part of the Bluejays program, it’s a natural fit for what he’s looking for.
That brings us to the reasons why Uthoff transfered out of Wisconsin. According to the article:
“I just think after being in the system and getting a true understanding of it, it would most benefit me to play someplace else,” Uthoff said. “It’s a great campus, great coaching staff, great guys. But I need to go someplace where I feel like I fit in better as a player.”
A.k.a. he didn’t like the swing offense and wants to play more up tempo. After re-watching the tape that is out there on him from AAU and his high school days one can see why a bit more. That was the style of offense he played in and it suits his strengths a bit better than what Wisconsin runs. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have done well here, because almost everyone thinks he would’ve, but sometimes if you aren’t comfortable then you tend to play below your capabilities.
He also said that it wasn’t a split second decision and that he’d been thinking about it for awhile. If that is the case then it was one heck of a well kept secret, something none of his teammates, present or former coaches knew about.
Also from the article:
“I know it’ll be tough not being able to play for two straight years,” he said. “But this is the best thing for me overall.”
That statement killed off any rumors of him playing a year of Juco ball and returning back to the Division I level, something a lot of people thought could be the case.
If the Creighton visit goes well it should be an easy decison for Uthoff, otherwise we could be looking at a much longer time table and we’ll keep you posted once a decision is made.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
