By Mark Pszonak
The transfer portal is never boring. One of the latest soap opera storylines is the ongoing saga between Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell and star true freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas. Both are taking a stand, but at the end it is hard to see how the Badgers end up winning.
Lucas is very talented. He is considered one of the top true freshman cornerbacks in the Big Ten. And other programs are well aware of this. With the Badgers missing a bowl for the first time in more than 20 years and then a significant amount of players entering the portal, the blood was in the water. The result was this announcement from Lucas:
https://twitter.com/XavierL_25/status/1869815411379974377
The problem is that Lucas never officially entered the transfer portal. But as everyone found out a few days later, that was Wisconsin’s doing and not his own:
https://twitter.com/XavierL_25/status/1872697059146645986
Since Lucas’ most recent post, the debate has been about who to blame. Is it Wisconsin for not letting him enter, is it the NCAA for not having any control or is it other schools, who were tampering with a player who wasn’t in the portal?
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All should share some level of blame, but none are completely responsible for this situation. Wisconsin, Lucas and the tampering schools are doing what they believe is best for them, while the NCAA has long been a lost cause when it comes to regulations. Blaming the NCAA is the easiest answer, but that is a pointless endeavor.
Many believe that this wouldn’t have happened if schools didn’t tamper. While true, tampering is widespread and uncontrolled. So, while the Badgers try to take a stand, this is happening everywhere and all the time, so it won’t make a difference.
And it won’t make a difference because how can Lucas play in Madison going forward? He obviously doesn’t want to be there, and this method isn’t the one that changes his mind. An angry, disappointing and possibly disruptive player isn’t what any team wants or needs on their roster.
2024 has been a rough year in Madison and while they don’t want it to get even worse by losing Lucas, the reality is that he is already mentally gone.
