I have read quite a few of these replies, and my initial impression is that a majority of the people writing on this board believe Olson should grant this kid his release. A multitude of arguments have been posted, most of which seem to revolve around the fact that the athlete should basically be able to play wherever he wishes.
The one thing that is so very rarely emphasized, is that this kid already MADE his decision. If he is THAT good, he has been thinking about potential colleges for several YEARS! He did not make a hasty decision.
I choose to look at this like buying a house - another huge life decision like choosing a college. More often than not, you'll be just fine in whatever college you choose, just like whatever house you buy.
But... Is there a grace period when you sell your house? Once you sign on the dotted line, and the lawyers finish all that paperwork, do you think you get another week to think about it? When I bought my first house, I looked at nearly FIFTY places (it was exhausting and painful). This kid was undoubtedly contacted by at least that many colleges. He knew that Arizona was not the most stable program in the country, and yet he signed anyway. He made the choice.
It certainly is within Negedu's rights to ask for the release. It is a perfectly reasonable request. But, for everyone to simply expect Olson to grant the release is sad.
I do agree with what you are saying, however imagine buying the house and you must wait 1 year. In that 1 year, the house is damaged severely (Lute taking 1 year off), and the backyard you liked so much is completely ripped out (all the assistants are gone), would it be fair to not receive what you signed for? This is his case. It's not like UofA has the same people and nothing wrong occured when this kid signed, alot of things have changed and who knows maybe a lot of promises weren't kept on the school's part.
Assistant coaches recruit.... Most of the recruiting at some of these large programs with an icon for a head coach are done by the assistant coaches and the relationships these coaches have with the kids' AAU coaches. It looks to me like the assistants who recruited this kid have left Arizona and now he's lost the comfort zone he once had. He was probably guaranteed playing time and a great team around him and now that might not be the case. Tennessee and Indiana sniffed a "change of air" and swept in to convince him he could ask for a release. It's a shame that it might cost the kid a year. You have to remember it was the assistants who aren't there anymore that promised the kid everything.... I think he'll get his release.... but it's so much more complicated than just breaking a contract. The kids have to start to realize that instead of playing for a coach... they are playing for an education and the school. On the other hand... they are also playing for their future chances in professional basketball. That's a lot of pressure... and a very tough decision. There are no right answers......
If it's true that Tennessee and Indiana really encouraged this kid to ask for a release, and it probably IS NOT true, that would be a MAJOR recruiting violation that would probably result in post-season suspensions.
That said, from my view, if the entire assistant coaching staff at a school changed, I might want to get out too. Especially given Lute's apparent non-viability.
Also, when you buy or sell a house, you typically can get out of the sale between when the agreement is reached and closing...
Maybe because coaches commonly break their contracts. Or because all the coaches that recruited him (the assistant coaches do the recruiting, all the head coach does is talk to him on visits and show up a couple times if he's a big time recruit at one of his games) have left the system. Or because their is no stability and a possibility the coach won't make it through the season. Or because he's a teenager and all people make mistakes, and it's jsut a college choice.
That's why everyone expects him to be released, and the right thing to do is to release him and let him sign elsewhere, and Lute will do that, because if he doesn't he knows EVERY school in the future will tell recruits about this situation and that will scare kids off.
Why wouldn't you let him go? If his heart isn't there then why would you want him on the team?
This isn't the pro's. He hasn't started school there.
Comparing choosing a college to buying a house is absurd. The rest of your life doesn't hinge upon what peoperty you buy. Colleges go after these kids and promise them the world. Why does the kid have to be contractually obligated to a university has yet to attend. He hasn't used any of his scholarship. Hasn't taken a class.
And... there can be a "grace period" when you sell or buy a house. It's called a "contingency clause" which you can opt to have in the contract. However, these kids don't even have that option.
I am sure that Zona painted a rosy picture, got him all excited and then when he had time to think about the situation it wasn't what he was sold.
One side that hasn't been brought up is that Olsen stopped recruiting someone else when this guy committed. So, when he releases this guy (which I'm sure he will), he will have a gaping hole on his roster that could have been filled by another recruit.
Breaking a deal is a tough thing from either side. When a coach leaves, it's a tough deal for the incoming recruits. On the other side, when a recruit changes his mind it leaves the program in a lurch. Arizona did not recruit other players because Emmanuel N. accepted a scholarship with a commitment to play. Releasing him strengthens a competitor while hurting your own program and having little if any opportunity to replace the player -- and certainly not at the same talent level.
If Emmanuel wants out, he can sit out a year and transfer. Or he can live up to his commitment and play for Arizona. Lute Olson is still the coach and that is who Emmanuel signed to play with. Yes, the assistants have changed, but that happens, especially at good programs where your assistants will have opportunities to move up.
I hope Emmanuel takes some time to think this back over and decides it's in his best interest to play for Arizona.
What you folks don't seem to get is taht he does "NOT" have to sit out a year because he has "NOT" even registered at the school yet. He gets cut loose he is a free agent available now.
I hear a lot of jealousy over a kid choosing a school like we have the right to decide what he should do. He has the right to ask and he has done so. Now if Lute Olsen wants to be a jerk and deny him the right to be at a school he feels comfortable with so be it. He hurts Arizona and nobody else. When Lute fired the guy who was to be his replacement I knew the sit was going to hit the fan. Lute has gone looney!
no, the house metaphor is not absurd. I agree with you when you say that the rest of your life doesn't hinge on what property you buy, it also doesn't depend on what college you go to. Every school paints a "rosy" picture, so that argument is moot.
You ask why does "this kid have to be contractually obligated to a university he has yet to attend?" Well, that's just the thing, he signed on the dotted line. He made a commitment. Last I checked, that means you follow through on your promise.
As for the "contingency clause" you bring up, well, I don't know the particulars on the signing. If the kid had something in writing, then it certainly should be honored - just like purchasing a house.
The issue for me is the blase attitude our society seems to have toward honoring our promises. The divorce rate is over 50% for crying outloud - and last I checked the vows stated "for better or for worse" and "til death do us part."
Make a commitment. Honor the terms. Goes for everyone else. (You listening Brian Urlacher?)
Make a commitment? Didn't Arizona use all the assistant coaches, and the head coach last year Kevin O'Neill, to recruit him? Didn't they tell him how they planned to use him, playing time, etc.? And now aren't they all gone? So all those 'commitments' the school and coaches offered him are gone because those coaches are gone.
You can't expect him to keep his 'letter of intent' when the school changed all the coaches. If you want to use the 'buying the house' comparison that's like agreeing on a house, then someone comes in and changes everything inside, the outside, the yard for the worse and saying 'well, you signed for the house'.
