You could be right ... as I said, it's murky from our position on the bubble (not being privy to the inside details). What I'm going on is what he said:
"I haven't talked to them in a while, to be honest," Bryant said. "I talked, not to Jim (Boeheim), but (to) Mike Hopkins at the Hoophall Classic a couple months ago. That's the last time I talked to them."
"In my way of thinking, (Syracuse) has been there from the start, since I was at Bishop Kearney," he said. "So I'm just taking it slow."
http://www.nunesmagician.com/2015/3/31/8317901/syracuse-basketball-thomas-bryant-recruit
http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...use_as_team_in_chaos_according_to_mother.html
To me, this sounds more like disappointment from the recruit (over SU not contacting him) than an apology or excuse to locals for leaving the state. Rochester is a big 'Cuse town, no doubt. But it's not all that unusual for kids to leave the state for college. Secondly, there was some tumult at SU after the report ... although Bryant's commitment would have warranted a delay of the scholarship sanctions until next year (as it is, they wound up with 10 and didn't need to request a postponement).
In any event, this is exactly the kind of discussion our staff could (or should) have had with the recruit if they had kept in proper touch with him -- communication was crucial during the NCAA 'chaos period'. The staff's apparent failure to stay in touch with such a high-profile (and high priority) kid is baffling ... again assuming that my factual assumptions from the article and the recruits statements are correct.
I also think the other SU players were caught up in some chaos themselves .. there were two transfers, the voluntary ban and some turmoil. And I think that affected TB as well -- not feeling love from the other SU players.
In the end .. I understand the young man's decision. But it was a huge recruiting loss for us ... leaving a hole that hasn't been filled and might not for 2 more years.
