Negedu Wants Out of Letter of Intent
Last Thursday night, Emmanuel Negedu placed a phone call to Arizona Head Coach Lute Olson and asked for a release from his NLI. Olson, who was already scheduled to be in New England this weekend in order to attend his grand-daughter’s graduation ceremony at Endicott College, traveled to Brewster Academy on Sunday to meet with Negedu.
“He met with [Arizona Head Coach] Lute [Olson] face to face today and again requested his release,” said Brewster Academy Head Coach Jason Smith.
The instability of the Arizona coaching staff is apparently at the heart of Negedu’s decision. Not only is Olson, who missed the entire 2007-2008 season, rumored to be retiring in the very near future, but all three of the assistant coaches who were on his staff at the time of Negedu’s commitment have since left the program.
“There have been so many changes that I feel they’ve lied to me all along about the situation,” the Tucson Citizen quoted Negedu as saying. “Everything has changed a lot since I’ve signed down there. I can’t take it [anymore].”
Negedu’s guardians have also contacted the Arizona Athletic Director in hopes of securing his release.
While it remains uncertain whether Olson will allow Negedu out of his National Letter of Intent, it has become apparent that the Brewster forward has no intention of enrolling at the University of Arizona.
So what will happen next? Essentially, there are two possibilities. One, if Negedu is allowed out of the letter, he hopes to commit to another school and remain in the class of 2008. Two, if Arizona refuses to let him out of his commitment, he will return to Brewster next year as a post-graduate and sign somewhere else next fall.
“Ideally we hope he won’t have to return to Brewster, but if they don’t release him he’ll return as a post-graduate,” said Smith.
Wherever Negedu ends up next year…expect him to have a significant impact. If he returns to Brewster and joins the class of 2009, he will immediately become one of the most dominant big men in the country. If he is able to open up his recruitment right away, he will likely be pursued by virtually every high major program still holding open scholarships.
Emmanuel Negedu