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Utah State coach Stew Morrill breaks convention with comments about departing player

Morrill

When a player transfers or leaves a program, the official release from the school is typically pretty simple. There is some polished quote that thanks the player for his contributions to the program and wishes him luck in the future.

Utah State coach Stew Morrill broke the mold when the school announced that freshman Quincy Bair would be leaving the team.

“I’m extremely disappointed in Quincy for making the decision to quit the team. He told me he has lost his passion for basketball during his junior year in high school,” said Morrill in a statement. “This is obviously something we would have liked to have known in the recruiting process.”

Of course, Morrill has a point. Bair was likely one of a number of players at his position that Utah State was recruiting and now the program will be without his services. Bair saw action in four games this season and registered one missed field goal attempt on the year.

But let’s play “Devil’s Advocate” for a moment.

There are innumerable situations when a recruit is left out to dry when a coach departs before he is able to set foot on campus, many times resulting in that player decommitting from a school and going elsewhere. Now, when the situation is flipped, it becomes more of a headline.

Not to say one is right or wrong, especially in this situation, but it’s interesting to see the contrast between the movement of a paid coach and the decisions of an amateur athlete.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_