Brumbaugh decommitted
- Thread starter Alan Smithee
- Start date
I don’t think “bummer” is a strong enough word. This is devastating news. I just posted a story listing his commitment as the high point of the year for NU basketball. 🤦♂️
Really sucks. I hate knocking kids but would be nice if they understood what a commitment was before they “commit”.
It was always a bad sign when he didn't sign a LOI.......
Devastating is right. This kid would've been a huge difference maker. Let's hold onto Hunger.
Neither signed? Yeesh.
Frankly, the program looks , to my eyes, significantly better than it did when RB committed in August.
Them’s the breaks. Is he lying about a family tragedy?
Last edited:
I believe Hunger signed his letter of intent back in November while Brumbaugh did not.
So much for taking a path less traveled. Just reinforces how tough it is to get top players to NU.
This is surprising. Sure, kids de-commit all the time. But he said he was “1000000% committed”. And that’s a lot of percent.
I was worried as soon as I saw he wasn’t 10000000% committed.
Can’t we ever just have nice things. There is always some level of crazy that happens with our team. This news really sucks as he was our highest need.
It means he wanted to keep his options open for as long as he wanted.
I will choose to believe that Roper and Simmons appear to be nice things, I guess.
Being a Wilcat fan is a bit like being a character in a Cormac McCarthy novel. There are moments of unspeakable cruelty and horror, but never enough to destroy a belief in a higher power that will someday deliver blessings. Ultimately, the journey's destination is disappointing, but the path is always revealing. And life goes on.
Then he shouldn’t have committed. This whole process is broken and exhausting. There has to be a better way.
It’s definitely broken.
I’m going to consider someone committed once they show up at their first practice. And nowadays coaches have to keep recruiting their players continuously throughout their time in the program.
That’s not to say players having greater autonomy is a bad thing, but the sea change has come very quickly and the adjustments have to be wholesale and just as quick. Bottom line, the rich have always gotten richer and this will only accelerate that process.
Having taken an "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude about this kid Brumbaugh, it doesn't bother me that he changed his mind.
I guess he got his unrated friend Luke Hunger an NU scholarship though, so that works out for Luke Hunger. Hopefully NU gets something out of that.
I guess he got his unrated friend Luke Hunger an NU scholarship though, so that works out for Luke Hunger. Hopefully NU gets something out of that.
Reminds me of the Dave Barry joke to never ask a woman if she's pregnant unless you literally see a baby coming out of her at that moment. This seems to be true in both football and basketball. Unless you see him suiting up for a team in an actual game, assume no commitment is rock-solid.
Hungry Jack,
Are you including Blood Meridian? Great novel but I saw no higher power or future blessings coming from that one.
I need to read Blood Meridian. I understand it is quite brutal. My experience with McCarthy is based on the Crossing, All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, and The Road. Themes vary, but the figure of a loving and protective father is common. Also a journey whose purpose is not clear, but infused with the expectation of a better outcome or some type of salvation, which does not manifest (I have always thought that McCarthy despises religious faith). There is also human cruelty.
Hawk: No squabble intended…and not directed at you, but my fandom does not begin until a young person matriculates to NU. As someone who has an 18 year old senior in high school (with her Dad’s athleticism…and therefore no scholarship offers), I would be horrified having internet commenters discuss her choice of school.
A few quick ones ...
1) Yeah, it's disappointing.
2) No two ways about it ... not a good look for the program.
3) On the other side, I never saw where the kid fit in to start with. At least in his freshman year.
4) I've said it before. The older I get, the less convinced I am that players rated 60ish - 100 are automatic successes. Nowhere near it. Yes, that's cheap, sour grapes talking. But two years with a strong, experienced transfer probably makes this easily acceptable. Nobody is banging their heads over Cormac Ryan, Ethan Morton or Joe Bam (so far).
OTOH, it would be nice if you could depend on CC's 60-120 choices
1) Yeah, it's disappointing.
2) No two ways about it ... not a good look for the program.
3) On the other side, I never saw where the kid fit in to start with. At least in his freshman year.
4) I've said it before. The older I get, the less convinced I am that players rated 60ish - 100 are automatic successes. Nowhere near it. Yes, that's cheap, sour grapes talking. But two years with a strong, experienced transfer probably makes this easily acceptable. Nobody is banging their heads over Cormac Ryan, Ethan Morton or Joe Bam (so far).
OTOH, it would be nice if you could depend on CC's 60-120 choices
#4 is a fantastic point, 112. The difference between players in the 60-100 range and players in the 100-200 range seems very unreliable and extremely subjective. System and culture fit seems substantially more important than the difference between a kid ranked 75 and a kid ranked 125. Stating the obvious here, but the game isn't just aggregating highly ranked guys...it's aggregating skilled guys (skilled guys are usually ranked) with strong development projections who fit together well.
One thing is fairly certain though - if a kid comes into a program with a high ranking, he will get a lot of opportunities to play, whereas a guy rated lower will have to really stand out.
I just mean in general.
Thats where the transfer rules benefit guys who were not highly recruited and end up at a mid-major. They prove their value on the court and the power 5 teams "steal" them to fill in holes left by their more highly-rated recruits.
I must have missed the "blessings" in "No Country for Old Men". Great movie, by the way. Deeply unsatisfying.
You really should read Blood Meridian. It's a remarkable novel, however jarring and grotesque. I need to read it again myself.
Would have been easier if the past 4-5 seasons hadn't been a complete disaster.
The more surprising thing was CC having garnered his commitment in the 1st place.
What especially hurts is that Brumbaugh may have been the PG this team desperately needed ever since BMac graduated.
I don't think your sentiment actually differs from mine. I am about to the point of not paying any attention at all to recruiting anymore, given the chaos of the transfer portal, NILs, and meaningless verbal commitments. Until someone actually shows up on the field or court, why should I care? Frankly, given the transfer portal and NIL issues, I am likely to care less even then. The lack of continuity in lineups lessens my connection to the team and also decreases the focus on academics. None of these changes are going to help NU in the long run.
My main point had to do with with fact that if a player chose not to sign a letter of intent on signing day because he wanted to keep his options open, he should not have verbally committed in the first place. Teams rely on verbal commitments in ceasing to recruit other players for the same slot. When a player reneges on a verbal commitment, particularly so late in the process, the lost opportunities cause damage to the program from which he decommitted. So the decision does not affect only the player. And the publicity surrounding such decisions necessarily goes with the territory; many recruits actively solicit the attention.
