Keith DeWitt released from USM

[The Mad Hatter]

I don't know what Southern Miss will do, but if I were in their shoes, I would release DeWitt, but wait to do so until the signing period was over.

That way WSU would have to choose whether they wanted to sign someone else or let the signing period expire in the hopes that DeWitt gets his release.

If WSU were to sign someone, Southern Miss could ask DeWitt if he still wanted his release if there wasn't a roster spot at Haier's new school. If WSU didn't sign anyone, it would have at least made WSU sacrifice considering other options in order to keep the DeWitt option on the table.

Wouldn't that also inhibit Southern Miss' ability to fill said empty position (at least with a signee)? But I see what you're saying. I just think it's a gamble for all parties.

It would, but with losing their best recruiter, they might have trouble in that regard anyway.

In my mind it is their best bet to keep DeWitt because if WSU did happen to sign someone out of uncertainty about DeWitt's release it might change his mind about leaving Southern Miss at all. They aren't going to get a player as good as DeWitt in any case at this point, so anything that increases the possibility that school he might be interested in won't have a roster spot available is probably a better move that trying to replace him with another player.

[Snapshot9]

If they try to 'force' him to stay by not releasing, at least in a timely manner, wouldn't he end up harboring resentment over it? I think the best thing is to honor his request and release him right away, and let the chips fall where they may, and if he wants to come here, I am sure he will be welcomed with open arms.

[The Mad Hatter]

If they try to 'force' him to stay by not releasing, at least in a timely manner, wouldn't he end up harboring resentment over it? I think the best thing is to honor his request and release him right away, and let the chips fall where they may, and if he wants to come here, I am sure he will be welcomed with open arms.

Why should they care about the risk of him harboring resentment? The worst case scenario with him resenting the school is that he doesn't choose to stay after all, which is the exact same scenario as if you release him right away.

He signed a letter of intent, so the school is under no obligation to let him go. If they do, it will be out of courtesy to him. If you are asking such a courtesy, you can hardly be too resentful about the group you are asking a favor of setting their own time-table.

Southern Miss also has to think about precedent. Granting the release is smart because not doing so can hurt your reputation. However, granting the release too quickly sends a message to other players (potentially even other members of the current recruiting class) that the school will instantly cave to their requests and that the commitments they made don't really hold any weight.

Waiting until after the signing period still lets him go to another school that has a roster spot, but sets a precedent for both players and other schools that a coach leaving does not mean an automatic easy transfer of signed players to another institution.

[WSUwatcher]

LOI

For what it's worth, if DeWitt signed a letter of intent out of high school -- and I admit I don't know one way or the other and don't have the inclination to try to find out, although it seems likely he would have signed one -- I don't believe any LOI he has signed now is actually binding.

I know that as recently as Fridge Holman's time, the LOI he signed at WSU was legally non-binding. Turgeon wanted him to sign it anyway, because he believed the degree of commitment involved in putting one's name to paper was significant and that signing would make Holman more likely to end up here than to take a "better deal" elsewhere.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Back channel communications.

[tropicalshox]

Re: LOI

For what it's worth, if DeWitt signed a letter of intent out of high school -- and I admit I don't know one way or the other and don't have the inclination to try to find out, although it seems likely he would have signed one -- I don't believe any LOI he has signed now is actually binding.

I know that as recently as Fridge Holman's time, the LOI he signed at WSU was legally non-binding. Turgeon wanted him to sign it anyway, because he believed the degree of commitment involved in putting one's name to paper was significant and that signing would make Holman more likely to end up here than to take a "better deal" elsewhere.

He signed with Missouri.

[SB Shock]

Re: LOI

He signed with Missouri.

Sigh

[WuDrWu]

Re: LOI

He signed with Missouri.

Sigh

SB, if that's consternation I suspect, then I'll say I believe trop was referring to Keith's initial signing with Mizzou, and not a more recent signing.

Unless I am severely misinformed.

[The Mad Hatter]

Re: LOI

For what it's worth, if DeWitt signed a letter of intent out of high school -- and I admit I don't know one way or the other and don't have the inclination to try to find out, although it seems likely he would have signed one -- I don't believe any LOI he has signed now is actually binding.

I know that as recently as Fridge Holman's time, the LOI he signed at WSU was legally non-binding. Turgeon wanted him to sign it anyway, because he believed the degree of commitment involved in putting one's name to paper was significant and that signing would make Holman more likely to end up here than to take a "better deal" elsewhere.

I found this quote in a PDF on the NCAA's National Letter of Intent Website.

Enrollment in a Junior College After Signing an NLI
A prospective student‐athlete who signed an NLI while in high school and later enrolls at a junior college, must graduate from the junior college if he or she does not want to be subject to the NLI penalty for the previously signed NLI.

In this case, the prospective student‐athlete may sign another NLI in the signing year in which he or she is scheduled to graduate from the junior college.  If the prospective student‐athlete graduates, the second NLI would be the binding one; otherwise, the original NLI, if not already satisfied, would remain valid.

[ShockRef]

Re: LOI

He signed with Missouri.

Sigh

SB, if that's consternation I suspect, then I'll say I believe trop was referring to Keith's initial signing with Mizzou, and not a more recent signing.

Unless I am severely misinformed.

Trop means out of HS. He did not sign with Mizzou yesterday.

Trust SR.

That is all. 8)

[Kung Wu]

Rant: Only the NCAA can take an LOI and make it a binding contract. In business thats simply not done. Pathetic. Instead of calling it a Letter Of "Intent", please call it a contract.

If you are a parent why in the heck wouldnt you add some language to the LOI (given its actually a contract) something like (in non-legalese): If either party changes the terms of the agreement, then the LOI shall be non-binding. Examples of altered terms are: coaching changes, signee fails to make grades, or signee is injured.

There are probably more conditions to include and you'd have to clean the language up and set a time limit on the release execution.

As a parent why wouldnt you negotiate that in with the school?

[The Mad Hatter]

Rant: Only the NCAA can take an LOI and make it a binding contract. In business thats simply not done. Pathetic. Instead of calling it a Letter Of "Intent", please call it a contract.

If you are a parent why in the heck wouldnt you add some language to the LOI (given its actually a contract) something like (in non-legalese): If either party changes the terms of the agreement, then the LOI shall be non-binding. Examples of altered terms are: coaching changes, signee fails to make grades, or signee is injured.

There are probably more conditions to include and you'd have to clean the language up and set a time limit on the release execution.

As a parent why wouldnt you negotiate that in with the school?

A) For a Letter of Intent to be binding, it must be accompanied by a scholarship offer from the school, so semantics aside, there are obligations on both sides of the agreement.

B) There a good reasons to have the Letter of Intent be a standard form rather than a negotiable contract. The opportunity for schools to use the Letter of Intent to give additional benefits to certain students is dangerous. It's not that you couldn't organize the system differently, but there are benefits for oversight from having a standardized system.

[Shox21]

Seems ESPN has picked this up too -- From ESPN Insiders Rumors:

When word broke that Keith DeWitt would be heading to Southern Miss, there was an expectation the forward would fill the same role as Gary Flowers. However, assistant coach Greg Heiar -- who formerly was head coach at Chipola JC -- filled the open assistant position at Wichita State. Heiar, who Josh Pastner had tried to bring to Memphis, had been a main reason for USM's success recruiting top ranked junior college players.

Perhaps not surprisingly, DeWitt has asked to be released from his NLI (per Brad Winton of JucoRecruiting.com). It is not known whether DeWitt has been granted his release but it has been whispered that if he is released, he could quickly land at Wichita State.

Though it would appear WSU does not have any open scholarships, the Shockers will lose almost all their bigs next season (besides Garrett Stutz, who is more of an outside threat).

- Matt Giles


I thought we had one open scholarship -- am I wrong (again)?

[WuDrWu]

No, you aren't wrong. We do have a scholarship. This is life in the internet world.

This guy is completely ill-informed, which would normally make me extremely pessimistic about the potential big news.

We do have a scholarship.

We lose 3 big men this year, not next.

Garrett is hardly "mainly an outside threat".


Stay thirsty my friends.....more to come.

[ShoxFan963]

We do. I don't know if Tyler Richardson's transfer has been made official yet.