Ok Scoopers, it's time for a quick discussion of contract law by a non-lawyer who has entered into more than a few contracts of various sizes over the years.
All this nonsense about Buzz "offering" this and Buzz "offering" that is just that -- NONSENSE. Unless Buzz is placing a National Letter of Intent in front of a ninth grader, then all Buzz is doing is providing an "indication of interest." An indication of interest may be an implied contract between coach and ballplayer, but the reality is that no court in the land including the court of the NCAA is likely to enforce it.
Lets suppose that Buzz offers Phenom T. Star a Marquette scholarship. And lets assume the young Mr. Star is in eighth grade (are you listening Tommy Crean). And two years later, Mr. Star goes to high school and can't hit the broad side of a barn with his one-inch vertical leap jump shot. In fact, he turns out to be so slow that my cocker spaniel can run rings around him. You think Buzz is going to honor that?
About the only silly thing in the whole 8th and 9th grade stories is that college coaches are spending time at that level. The talent is too raw, the kids too unpredictable and the parents still worried about their "babies."
That's why I am less than overly upset about overcommitting. Lots of kids say lots of things. A young basketball phenom may say he's coming to Marquette in his junior year, leading up to his signing of a National Letter of Intent, but until that letter is banked, he's still a free agent. You think that if Roy Williams had a sudden need for a guard and one of our recruits fit the bill, the recruit wouldn't somehow begin to think of North Carolina?
Of course he would!
The point is that Marquette is only overcommitted if it grants more scholarships than it legally is entitled to grant. We inevitably know there will be what mortgage bankers call "pipeline fallout" and I applaud Buzz for ensuring he's got options to put a great team on the floor.
