Coach Fox may have caught a break in the pursuit of Marcus Thornton the 2010 Mr. Basketball in the State of Georgia.
According to a report in a North Carolina paper, no ACC school can sign Thornton without him sitting out a year due to tranfer rules within the conference that apply to kids that sign a Letter of Intent and then change their minds...as Thornton did with Clemson following the departure of their coach.
As GT is one the final four teams vying for Thornton's signature and as distance is reported to be a big part of the decision making process for him, this could be a big break for Coach Fox.
The only caveat here....a conflicting version of this rule is floating around that says the paper misreported the situation. Dan McDonald of UGASports and I are both hearing that today.
I'm going to defer to the publish report for now and keep my fingers crossed.
The article in question
We should know in about a week.
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5 comments:
Huge Break, if true, cuts out GT and UNC threat.
The rule has popped up before with kids, and Thornton would have to be granted a waiver. It's a double whammy from what I'm told in that not only can't they play as FR, but a kid couldn't get a scholarship as a fr either. That is a really bad rule from the kids' perspective, and if both schools OK the move, I don't get why the ACC would go out of its way to hurt their own schools and an innocent kid.
But if he can't get the rule waived, that'd eliminate GT, plus late comer NC. Texas still has its allure with the name program, recent success and high profile recruits, and top 10 biz school, while Bama has Grant and a path to more immediate playing time. I like our chances, but I'm not counting this chicken before it hatches.
As is the case in the SEC with Alabama football and Kentucky basketball, in the ACC rules that have a lot of crosscuts often go away when the shoe pinches on Carolina basketball's foot. We'll see.
That may not come into play, though, because the MT camp's justifiable concern about getting recruited over at UK would apply almost as much to Carolina.
I guess you puppies missed it...but your little league baseball team got swept right off the field over the weekend..just find it funny no mention of this anywhere!?!?
GO GATORS
Chip Towers has received confirmation from ACC compliance that Thornton will have to sit out a year if he goes to an ACC school other than Clemson.
According to an ACC compliance person, “There are waiver opportunities,” said Lyons, who would speak only in generalities. But, he said there is “no precedent” where the league ruled in favor of the transferring player."
Towers reports that Thornton "is aware of the ACC’s transfer rules and has been assured by coaches recruiting him he “has a chance of winning” a hardship appeal." But Towers says such an appeal has never been granted, even for a Va. Tech player who transferred to Maryland due to the 2007 on-campus shooting at VT.
I imagine there will be strenuous objections from other ACC schools should Thornton commit to an ACC program and try to receive a waiver.
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/05/18/ten-at-10-acc-rule-complicates-techs-pursuit-of-marcus-thornton/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
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