Wisconsin on Thursday reversed its position on the pending transfer of freshman forward Jarrod Uthoff, ending an attempt by Badgers coach Bo Ryan to block as many as 25 schools from contacting the player.
Ryan came under fire after it was revealed he put together an unusually large list of schools barred from contacting the 6-foot-8 freshman, who announced his intention to leave Madison last week.
Uthoff, who appealed the release restrictions, met with university officials Thursday, who determined he could transfer to any school outside the Big Ten.
Under NCAA rules, a transferring player cannot speak to other schools until those schools have been granted permission by the player's current university.
Ryan earlier barred contact with all Big Ten schools, all ACC schools, Iowa State and in-state rival Marquette, according to multiple reports.
Uthoff, a Cedar Rapids native who was named Iowa's "Mr. Basketball" as a high school senior, chose the Badgers over Iowa, Iowa State, Butler, Virginia and Northwestern.
He redshirted his freshman season in Madison, but was expected to be a contributor for Wisconsin.
Ryan responded to criticism of his decision to block Uthoff from transferring to several schools outside the Big Ten saying he was "doing what every other coach in the country has done."
"I didn't create the market," Ryan said on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike In the Morning" Thursday. "It seems there are people who want to go after the rule. I'm perfectly fine with an educated conversation about a rule, but what has happened here is it has become an attack on a particular institution, when over the years, 300 and some institutions have done the same thing."
According to Scout.com, Uthoff's decision to leave the program shocked Ryan, with the freshman forward saying he wanted to play in a more up-tempo offensive system.
Ryan was questioned Thursday whether he understood how his attempt to interfere with Uthoff's transfer could be perceived as vindictive.
"Do you have in your contract that if you leave where you are, is there any penalty?" he asked the ESPN radio hosts in response.
"This is a scholarship. When they sign the scholarship, there's fine print on that paper, that isn't even that fine. It's very readable. And everybody understands that."
