Rivals Roundtable: Previewing the Early Signing Period
The college basketball season is days away but so too is the start of the sport’s Early Signing Period. Today in the roundtable, we focus on the latter, as Rivals national analysts Rob Cassidy and Travis Graf discuss three questions ahead of next Wednesday's signing-period tipoff.
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WHAT’S THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD STORYLINE THAT HAS YOU MOST INTRIGUED?
Cassidy: Count me as intrigued by Baye Fall and his impending decision. The five-star big man has looked like an Arkansas lean for months, but sources have continually told me to watch Seton Hall as a sleeper team. Then, there’s the Auburn situation. The Tigers are very much a player and received the last visit, as Fall was there over Halloween weekend and intends to announce his pledge on Nov. 15. It still sorta feels like Arkansas will win out here, but there’s definitely a level of intrigue left in Fall’s recruitment even at this late stage.
Graf: I’m curious what kind of class Texas can end up with at the end of the day. Out of the big fish still left on the board, the Longhorns are firmly in the mix with five-star guard AJ Johnson, five-star forward Ron Holland and four-star wing Andrej Stojakovic. I’d set the betting line at over/under 1.5 of these players joining the program, and I somewhat think I’d bet the over. At the same time, though, there’s a chance that Johnson could ultimately go elsewhere, Holland could opt for Arkansas or UCLA, and Stojakovic could stay on the West Coast. I’m really intrigued to see how Chris Beard rounds out this class.
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WHICH UNCOMMITTED PLAYER ARE YOU MOST SURPRISED REMAINS UNCOMMITTED?
Cassidy: I’ll go with DJ Wagner. Every single sign related to his recruitment points to Kentucky and he’s seemed close to pulling the trigger on a commitment to the Wildcats on a handful of occasions over the last year. Alas, he remains on the board. It’s gotten to the point where you start to wonder, “OK, what’s the hold up?” I’m not going to say Kentucky fans should worry because I’m not sure where else Wagner, who is signed to an endorsement deal with Nike, would go at this point, but I could see how the situation would start to get to some of the more high-anxiety members of Big Blue Nation. I’d expect Wagner to make things official in the Early Signing Period, but the fact that we’re still discussing him as a metaphorical free agent is wild to me considering how close he looked to a commitment early in the year.
Graf: I’ll double up with Rob here and go with DJ Wagner, who has been seen as a Kentucky lean since he was in diapers. John Calipari has made him a priority every step of the way and he’s got a good relationship with everyone in the recruiting class. So with all of that being said, you’d imagine he’d be committed by now, right? Well he’s not, and with the Early Signing Period approaching, it will be interesting to see if he puts pen to paper over the next couple of weeks. If he doesn’t sign by that time, things get even more questionable.
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WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE EARLY SIGNING PERIOD AS A WHOLE?
Cassidy: The existence of the Early Signing Period is a little too pro-coach for my taste. I understand how it helps them get a better idea of their future roster and what needs they must address with transfers or whatever, but why on earth would you sign early if you were a prospect? Do the financial aid agreement stuff, sure, but why even bother with a “binding” letter months before the coaching carousel begins to spin. Letters of intent seem pretty meaningless as a whole in the era of one-free-transfer anyway, but the whole situation seems outdated.
Graf: I can completely understand and relate to people both for and against the Early Signing Period in sports, but 90-percent of the time it doesn’t have much effect at the end of the day. Players are more freely released from their NLI now more than ever in collegiate athletics, so a lot of it is window dressing anymore. However, if I was a high school athlete, I most likely wouldn’t sign until the spring. The main benefit to signing early is you can put your recruitment behind you and focus on your senior season without distractions. There’s also a chance — more so in football recruiting than basketball recruiting — that a college coach could phase you out of the recruiting class if you’re committed and don’t sign during the early period.