Last night was, in every sense of the word, a recruiting shit storm. People called for Golden's head, they wanted the entire staff fired, they questioned their motives, they labelled it a mistake, a screw up, stupid, etc. Denver Kirkland's coach blasted Miami in the immediate aftermath, then cooled down after talking to staff a bit later. Everyone and anyone you asked had an opinion on why it happened, or knew, just KNEW that the staff had just ejected an elite prospect and ruined the future.
Of course, this is all just par for the course for a fan base who just lost the chance at a good, but not necessarily elite prospect 6 days before signing day, and without the real reason. So, what is the reason? We may never know, but I can at least help dispel some of the more popular ones that are out there.
First of all, this was not a mistake, a screw up, or any other adjective along those same lines. Forget Coley and Cristobal, the existing staff would never make a choice like this without seeing every possible angle. They had their reasons, and they knew the backlash.
The next popular reason was that they had miscounted their scholarships and gotten commitments from too many people. First of all, no. Again, this staff would not be simpleton enough to not realize how many scholarships they had this late in the game and realize they had to let someone go. Let's pretend, though, that they did. Do you honestly think that Kirkland would be the sacrificial lamb in this scenario? How does that make any sense? If they realized they had to let someone go due to a numbers mistake, you would see a lower caliber kid being let go, not one of the top recruits.
Kirkland's coach told a tale of Kirkland being a silent commitment, but wanting to wait for signing day, and that not being good enough for Miami. While this is a popular opinion among the Golden haters and rival schools, this simply doesn't make any sense. If Miami could take the kid, they don't care when he announces. A scholarship doesn't have a time limit on it for a kid that they can accept.
This morning's version was that the coaches were not sold on the fact that he would choose Miami, and they didn't want to leave the scholarship in limbo if there was a possibility that he would go elsewhere. While this is a little bit more sensible than most, it too does not make sense. They are doing that same thing with other recruits on their board like Thomas, Coley, Bostwick, etc. Why would they single out Kirkland's case in this scenario?
The above reasons are believable for the most part, but when you really sit down and think about them, they don't add up. I have a feeling, based on information that I have been given, that in a few days everyone will fully understand exactly what happened and why, and then we can finally put all the rumors, opinions, and postulating to bed.
Oh, and Golden isn't going anywhere. Shut up, Uncle Luke.