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Wisconsin Badger freshman point guard Tai Stickland announced his intention to transfer in late March.
Thank you to my teammates, my brothers, for everything y’all have done for me. I’ll always root for your success. I also want to thank Coach Gard and staff for giving me this opportunity, but at this time I have decided to transfer from Wisconsin and continue my career elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/ffr56CPF7b
— Tai Strickland (@taistrickland13) March 26, 2019
The Tampa Bay-native appeared in 16 games this season averaging 1.8 points per game. He had a career-high 14 points against Savannah State in mid-December. Check out his highlights below. Video courtesy of Wisconsin’s athletic site.
Strickland was a late addition to the 2018 recruiting class. He blew up after a strong senior high school season and was courting offers from Minnesota, Rutgers, and DePaul amongst others. The three-star prospect signed with Wisconsin in mid-April and was on campus by June.
Playing time wasn’t expected right away, but Strickland seemed to be in the mold of past and current Wisconsin guards like Trevon Hughes, Jordan Taylor, and D’Mitrik Trice. Those are some big shoes to fill, but through Wisconsin’s ability to develop talent, it seemed possible as an upperclassman.
It didn’t materialize. The Wisconsin backcourt is basically set for the next two years with juniors-to-be Trice and Brad Davison locking down both spots. Strickland would need to be happy with backup guard minutes until his senior season. That wasn’t a tenable situation for the 6-foot-2 guard.
No word yet on potential destinations for Strickland. No limitations are in place on where he could go.