Commitment?…what is that?
Webster’s dictionary has commitment as a pledge or a promise or an obligation. I have no reason to doubt Mr. Webster or Mrs. Webster for that matter or even Miss Webster if that’s the case. I do doubt though whether the NCAA should change the word committed when talking about college athletics.
Since this is a basketball blog I will keep it focused on that, but in college football the term commitment is as loose as it gets. Players constantly are changing where they say they are going to go. Basketball hasn’t been that way in the past as when a player commits to a school other schools tended to focus on other players to sway. Football also has many many more scholarships to fill each season and they can afford to continue to recruit committed players. However, in basketball that simply isn’t the case. Most college coaches only have a couple scholarships each year to give out and have to use their time and energy wisely. To go after a committed player is a strain on recruiting resources and is a big gamble.
Eric Gordon, in my opinion the best player from last years high school class, had committed to the University of Illinois. You all know my love for the Illini so I won’t try to hide it. Kelvin Sampson got the Indiana job after Mike Davis was let go and went after Gordon. Gordon decommitted from Illinois and signed with Indiana. I was crushed. Eric Gordon is a one and done player and a signature recruit for a coaching staff. As much as it pains me to write this I don’t think Sampson did a lot wrong here. Sampson had to give it a shot as Gordon was an Indiana kid and nobody ever told him ‘no’. He was doing his job. In the coaching ranks it is being debated whether or not this is ethical or not and some would say that it isn’t ethical to go after a committed player. Personally I see both sides of this argument and I have a hard time siding with either of them.
Basketball has the advantage of having 2 signing periods throughout the year where football only has one. That plays a large role in decommits as so much can happen in a year. What I think needs to happen and should happen is that a player signs a letter once he has committed and if he wants out then it would have to be granted. It would force kids to make more thought out decisions and teach them to learn to live with their choices. Football needs to add a second signing day plain and simple and they will see this cut down a lot. If they don’t they will continue to have recruits poached up until and including signing day.
