Cincinnati, Ohio – Both Xavier and Cincinnati landed massive roster additions on Thursday afternoon. Judge Christopher Wagner of Hamilton County issued a preliminary injunction blocking the NCAA from enforcing the 5-in-5 rule for the 2022 high school graduates. These 15 players in this lawsuit can immediately enter the transfer portal and are currently eligible for the 2026-27 season. Paul Fritschner was first to break this news nationally.
My initial thoughts from the 5-in-5 rule lawsuit are here:
Point blank: the court ruled against the NCAA’s attempt to prevent the rule from being applied retroactively. This is not permanent and the NCAA will challenge.
“Defendant (NCAA) argues that allowing these Plaintiffs an additional year of intercollegiate competition will harm other players, but Defendant (NCAA) also modified the Bylaws to now allow players who have played professionally to play at the college level, thereby making a mockery of the concept of student athletic competition.”
– Judge Wagner’s closing statement in today’s ruling
That statement is one of the more intense statements I’ve seen from a judge regarding the state of college sports. I believe that it proves that the NCAA is in a situation that is going to be extremely hard to defend throughout the year. The 5-in-5 rule was already controversial, and here are multiple other lawsuits already in process of a similar nature. My assumption is that most, if not all courts will follow suit with this ruling from Hamilton County today. Cincinnati, Ohio is likely the centerpiece of one of the biggest storylines off the court in the country this year! Now, can Cincinnati and Xavier take that and run with it?
Key Names:
The notable names on this list are Xavier’s Filip Borovicanin and Cincinnati’s MJ Collins. Kolby King is also going to join the Bearcat roster this year. Malik Messina-Moore is in the transfer portal, and I would not expect to see him return to Xavier. Javon Bennett played last year for Dayton and initially, a return is not off the table. Two names that I believe could transfer up include Christian Carroll (Youngstown State), and Ziare Wells (Oakland). Both were standouts and could transfer to high-major type programs if the fit is there. Finally, Josh Reed (former Bearcat) was given an additional year from this lawsuit. I do not expect him to return to Clifton.
Xavier’s Savannah White is the only player on the women’s side who was included in the lawsuit and will have eligibility.
Xavier:
Filip is a known commodity, and with a team who is heavily reliant on transfers. Having Filip back immediately helps steady the ship and give X extra depth as the team looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s what I had to say about Filip when this news initially broke:
Xavier fans likely remember just how much of a rollercoaster Filip’s performances were last year, from the buzzer beater against DePaul to just walking up and chucking threes at times, Filip was never afraid to take a shot. He was also asked to take on a much bigger load than what he was ready for last year, and he did well for what was asked of him. Fil averaged 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 35% from deep and 87% from the FT line last year. He added in a blocked shot and a steal per game, while turning it over 2 times and fouling 2 times per night.
Adding a proven piece like Filip would help navigate the chaotic waters that are injuries and uncertainty surrounding bringing a massive transfer portal in. This would raise the floor for Xavier, especially while Pozzato works back into game shape.
We now know Pozzato is still a month or so from recovering, so another wing piece is critical for the Musketeers.
Cincinnati:
Suddenly, the Bearcats backcourt is extremely deep. In June, here’s what I had to say about MJ:
MJ has played 4 years of college basketball, his first 2 at Virginia Tech, his 3rd at Vanderbilt and his 4th year at Utah State. He was second team All-MWC last year and averaged 18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Last year, he shot 36% from deep, 81% from the free throw line, and averaged a steal per game. He turned it over 1 time per game, and committed just 1.5 fouls per game, both of which are excellent. The Bearcats are already projected as a tournament team this year, but adding MJ will elevate the team to a second weekend caliber roster. We’ll have a lot more coming as this plays out for MJ!
Finally, here’s what I had to say about Kolby:
Kolby has been a bit of a journeyman, starting his career at St. John’s before making stops at Tulane and Butler and finally ending up at Utah State last year. He averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists last year. In addition, he added in a steal and took excellent care of the basketball, averaging just under a turnover per game. He was also able to play defense well without fouling (just 1.4 fouls per game).
The Bottom Line:
The NCAA is not going to go down without a fight, however, this is a fight that has a steep uphill battle and it’s one I don’t believe they end up winning.
The court’s decision today is wrong, and we will immediately seek all avenues for reversal, including a stay of the court’s order pending appeal. The court disregarded over a century of precedent and substituted its own judgment, on a limited factual record, for the collective expertise of the nation’s leading higher education institutions. The court also based its decision on assertions by plaintiffs’ counsel about the NCAA and its Bylaws that bear no resemblance to reality. The effect of this ruling will be to take away valuable participation opportunities from student-athletes who are eligible to compete, in favor of those who have already received exactly the number of seasons of competition they expected.
As disappointing as the ruling itself is the decision by some member schools to support a lawsuit designed to circumvent the rules by which those same schools agreed to be bound. It is fundamentally unfair to the many programs and student-athletes who follow the rules to compete against those who do not. Integrity in college sports relies on all members abiding by the same standards. While we will seek to overturn this ruling, it is now apparent that Congress must act swiftly to restore stability, uniformity, and fair competition in college athletics.
I understand both sides of this, honestly. However, the 2022 class was the first class to not get the Covid-19 waiver after the pandemic caused chaos. They are also the only class still in college not eligible for the new model. My personal opinion was always to just let them play and cut it off at that time. The NCAA, however, took a more aggressive approach; as we’ve seen for years now, they aren’t able to enforce the rules they set.
This is an active and evolving situation and Sansom Sports Media will have you updated every step of the way! Make sure to subscribe below!
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