Daniel West not eligible at BU

[BradleyBrave]

I don't want to get into a war of words here, because ultimately we're all on the same side and want the same thing. T, DC, and I have had very passionate discussions about BU hoops before, and I am sure we will again.

I was thinking more about the West thing this afternoon, and was wondering about this scenario as well -

We got our verbal from Daniel West last fall, and have seemingly been very happy about it until recently. Now, while recruits' verbal agreements are non-binding (see Eric Gordon), scholarships offers can also be pulled off the table by the universities as well. Alvin Brooks III comes on board, with a great reputation as a recruiter in the south. He turns JL onto a point guard who ends up being a head-and-shoulders better talent than Daniel West. BU has every right to change direction if they can secure this other player (Eddrin McCain), which they have. Grade questions would seem to be the perfect out for pulling the scholarship.

Is this the case? Who knows. But I think it's a very real possibility that McCain could have just flat-out been a better talent, and BU had an easy out with West. I don't think Les would forget to cover his @rse if a kid was questionable, not after our recent failings in getting Crawford, Buycks, and Williams to campus. But at the same time, I don't think JL would settle for a significantly lesser talent either. Bottom line - If you trust our staff (which I DO), you have to believe that McCain is every bit as good as Daniel West. If not, we wouldn't have pulled the offer.

[brocks]

I don't want to get into a war of words here, because ultimately we're all on the same side and want the same thing. T, DC, and I have had very passionate discussions about BU hoops before, and I am sure we will again.

I was thinking more about the West thing this afternoon, and was wondering about this scenario as well -

We got our verbal from Daniel West last fall, and have seemingly been very happy about it until recently. Now, while recruits' verbal agreements are non-binding (see Eric Gordon), scholarships offers can also be pulled off the table by the universities as well. Alvin Brooks III comes on board, with a great reputation as a recruiter in the south. He turns JL onto a point guard who ends up being a head-and-shoulders better talent than Daniel West. BU has every right to change direction if they can secure this other player (Eddrin McCain), which they have. Grade questions would seem to be the perfect out for pulling the scholarship.

Is this the case? Who knows. But I think it's a very real possibility that McCain could have just flat-out been a better talent, and BU had an easy out with West. I don't think Les would forget to cover his @rse if a kid was questionable, not after our recent failings in getting Crawford, Buycks, and Williams to campus. But at the same time, I don't think JL would settle for a significantly lesser talent either. Bottom line - If you trust our staff (which I DO), you have to believe that McCain is every bit as good as Daniel West. If not, we wouldn't have pulled the offer.

BINGO!!

The more I think about this, this is the only scenario that makes sense. JL has West penciled in at pg. Along comes Alvin Brooks III and tells JL he's seen a great pg in Houston. Any coincidence that BU's interest in McCain materialized THIS SUMMER?

The more the staff sees, the more the staff likes. West starts giving BU headaches with academic shinanegans (sp?). JL turns to his new assistant: "Get McCain up here and let's see him."

McCain visits BU, coaches work him out, he scrimmages with team, etc. Les says holy cow . . . this is my point guard! We've got a top-100 guy here who's slipped by the bigs. BUT you've already got your pg. How does one deal with this? If JL wants his other schollies for an impact forward and a tall shooting guard, then he doesn't want BOTH West and McCain.

JL to McCain: We want you. You wanna be a Bradley Brave and be part of something big, or you wanna go with one of those REGONAL programs down south?

McCain to JL: Gee, haven't had much time to think . . .

JL to McCain: Well think fast young man . . . I'm offering you a schollie that's already spoken for. I'm not gonna drag this on.

McCain to JL: Yes, I want to be a Bradley Brave.

JL to bball secretary: Get West on the phone. I just found a better deal.


I'd bet money that's how it happened. It explains all the timing, the quick commit, backing off a Louisville-worthy recruit, etc. And again, Les has been magic at recruiting. I'll bet he's done it again.

[BradleyBrave]

Exactly brocks. That's kind of why I was prodding DC and T for some more insight on this (if there was any to be had) to see if my theory had any legs. JL has become a master of keeping things VERY close to the vest, so it doesn't surprise me that this came out of nowhere or was kept on the down-down-down low. So, let's see how this thing materializes. Schools pull scholies all the time. They don't always have the out that it looks like we had. Call it an opportunity to absolve a relationship without either side looking bad...something JL's business experience certainly taught him!

[tornado]

I am not sure those are the exact words used..... :-)
but I'll bet what we know, as fans on the street, about the recruiting angles,
is only about 10%, and the other 90% of what's really going on would probably surprise us!

[BradleyBrave]

I am not sure those are the exact words used..... :-)
but I'll bet what we know, as fans on the street, about the recruiting angles,
is only about 10%, and the other 90% of what's really going on would probably surprise us!

Agree 100%. Just imagine how much we didn't know BEFORE the internet and boards like these. We feel like we're 'in the know' now, but in reality we're probably not even scratching the surface. I'm sure we would find it truly amazing to learn everything that goes on to get those 12-13 guys on the court every year.

[thefish7]

I dunno if Les would have dumped West just because McCain is a better talent. The timing is a bit suspect, but we have four scholarships for 08 available, and also you have to be careful not to burn bridges. If West's grades were okay and we pulled the offer just because we found a better PG, it seems like that would hurt us on other recruits in Michigan later as our integrity would very much be in question after that.

I personally buy into the, grades are questionable, and we got burned pretty bad by questionable grades, so let's take care of this ahead of time.

[PeoriaLou]

I dunno if Les would have dumped West just because McCain is a better talent. The timing is a bit suspect, but we have four scholarships for 08 available, and also you have to be careful not to burn bridges. If West's grades were okay and we pulled the offer just because we found a better PG, it seems like that would hurt us on other recruits in Michigan later as our integrity would very much be in question after that.

I personally buy into the, grades are questionable, and we got burned pretty bad by questionable grades, so let's take care of this ahead of time.

What I think everyone is saying is the grades were suspect AND the coaching staff thought McCain is a better talent. So, JL uses the "grades are not good, we've been burned before" card to open a spot for McCain at BU. In the end, it works out that we save face and get a talent as good, if not better, than West.

[BradleyBrave]

I dunno if Les would have dumped West just because McCain is a better talent. The timing is a bit suspect, but we have four scholarships for 08 available, and also you have to be careful not to burn bridges. If West's grades were okay and we pulled the offer just because we found a better PG, it seems like that would hurt us on other recruits in Michigan later as our integrity would very much be in question after that.

I personally buy into the, grades are questionable, and we got burned pretty bad by questionable grades, so let's take care of this ahead of time.

Kind of what PeoriaLou said, and what I alluded to earlier - The grade issues provided a great way out for BU IF they had someone just as talented if not more talented waiting in the wings. If grades were not an issue, I don't think BU would have pulled the offer, even if McCain was better. With McCain possibly being a better talent, I think it made the decision easy. Heck, if West really is getting serious looks from BCS schools, there's a chance that since he's questionable already, he could have signed his LOI, see what happens, and then maybe tank his senior and go the prep school route. We would have really been up a creek if that happened.

[romar]

Looked through this thread & I didn't notice that anyone had added the link to DR's Blog about the Daniel West situation. Thought some might find this interesting.

http://www.pjstar.com/php/index.php?/reynolds/index/

[romar]

One more thought on this situation in the big picture. I understand BU's desire not wanting to take the, "wait and see" approach on DW (they haven't been very lucky with those initials & BU recruits making it to campus lately), but to say they are replacing him with EM is an interesting thought. I mean they have 4 scholarships available, why do they need to "replace" one of them unless they feel pretty solidly they have 3 other recruits lined up? At least that how it comes across to me.

[tornado]

Sounds like Dave Reynolds has said all that's necessary to clear this up.

"While West has a full year of high school left, his core course grades are at such a low level that the BU coaches decided to cut their losses and go recruit another guard ...
...the bottom line is it seems only a miracle can get him eligible for a Division I basketball program by next fall.
Bradley has been burned too often lately hoping for divine intervention with some of these classroom-challenged kids.

...the BU coaches decided to cut their losses and go recruit another guard (Eddren McCain) while there were still plenty out there."

http://www.pjstar.com/php/index.php?/reynolds/index/

[Da Coach]

The other point Dave makes is this paragraph--
Bradley coaches and administrators can??™t discuss any of this publicly because of privacy laws regarding academics and NCAA rules restricting comment on recruitable athletes. Since West had not yet signed a National Letter of Intent with the Braves, Jim Les can??™t say anything about him in a public forum other than Bradley is or isn??™t recruiting him.

Some have criticized Bradley and the coaches for not telling us more about the situation. This explains why they can't say more.

[BradleyBrave]

The other point Dave makes is this paragraph--
Bradley coaches and administrators can??™t discuss any of this publicly because of privacy laws regarding academics and NCAA rules restricting comment on recruitable athletes. Since West had not yet signed a National Letter of Intent with the Braves, Jim Les can??™t say anything about him in a public forum other than Bradley is or isn??™t recruiting him.

Some have criticized Bradley and the coaches for not telling us more about the situation. This explains why they can't say more.

I don't know if this is directed at me or not, but I fully understood why BU couldn't comment.

[Da Coach]

No it wasn't meant as a response to your comments. I have heard from people, not on this board, that they felt Bradley wasn't telling us the whole story with Daniel West. I think they have said more than was needed.

[BradleyBrave]

No it wasn't meant as a response to your comments. I have heard from people, not on this board, that they felt Bradley wasn't telling us the whole story with Daniel West. I think they have said more than was needed.

Ok, gotcha. I think Dave Reynolds' piece today was a very solid point-by-point explanation of why BU took this course of action. BU absolutely made the right move.