Terrence Jones picks Washington ... maybe

Friday night, Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross, two highly touted recruits and teammates for Portland's Jefferson High, held a joint press conference in their high school's gymnasium.

As expected, Ross signed his letter of intent to Washington.

Jones committed to Washington, and despite hanging around the gym for a couple hours after the press conference was over, he didn't sign an LOI.

Why?

It may have had something to do with the 15 minute phone call he had with John Calipari immediately after he made the announcement. While there were six hats on the table, representing the final six schools on Jones' list, it was no secret that Jones' decision came down to UW and Kentucky. According to those close to him, this decision and this process hasn't been easy on him.

Terrence Jones boxing out Enes Kanter, another former UW commit who is now headed to Kentucky.
(photo credit: Seattle Times)

But believe me, Jones made the right decision.

And I'm not talking about his commitment.

Either school would be a good landing spot for the versatile 6'9" forward, who has drawn comparisons to Lamar Odom. At Washington, he would be joining a team that returns a talented back court of Isaiah Thomas and Abdul Gaddy, filling a role left open by Quincy Pondexter, and playing with a high school teammate at a school that would be the early favorite in the Pac-10 and close enough to home to allow family and friends to come see him play. Not a bad landing spot.

But Kentucky is Kentucky. If Jones were to renege on U-Dub and head to the Bluegrass State, he would join arguably the best recruiting class in the country, he would play for a coach known for his ability -- at least recently -- to churn out first rounders, and he would have a chance to compete for an SEC title. And in case you didn't know this, Big Blue Nation treats their players like gods. Again, not a bad landing spot.

Wherever Jones decides to play, the future is bright for this young man. Seeing as I don't have a dog in this fight, my only hope is that Jones chooses the school that will make him the happiest. You should feel that way too.

Anyway, the decision I was talking about is his refusal to sign a letter of intent.

If you read this blog, then I am sure you already know what an LOI is. If you don't know, read these. Essentially, an LOI is a binding, voluntary agreement -- a contract, really -- that a recruit signs that officially ends his recruitment and ties him to the school he signed the LOI with. Its intent was to prevent college coaches from continuing to recruit a player that had already made his decision on where he wanted to go to school.

But in today's collegiate game, the LOI has become nothing more than an assurance for the coach that a player won't -- and can't -- back out of a commitment. The problem most have is that an LOI associates a player with a program, with the school. Not with the coach.

You see, the NCAA believes that a recruit, no matter how talented, should be picking where he is going to play basketball based on how good UNC's business program is, or if UConn has a strong dental program, or what classes are taught by Kentucky's english department. Its an effort to keep up the farce that the best student-athletes are actually "student"-athletes.

In all actuality, recruits are picking schools based on how the basketball program is run. What conference does the school play in? Does the school have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament, and how far can they go? Can the coaching staff get a player ready for the NBA?

Players picks schools based on the head coach and his coaching staff. Players that sign LOI's then become committed to that school. But the coaches that earn those signatures are not committed to the player. They can leave for a better job or be fired, and that player is still stuck with this commitment.

If a player is going to sign anything, he needs to take notes from Brandon Knight. Knight, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country, committed to Kentucky in mid-April. But he didn't sign an LOI.

He signed a financial aid agreement.

What that means is Kentucky has committed to giving him a full ride next season, but there is nothing that ties Knight to UK. So if John Calipari decides to take the Nets job this summer, or if another scandal comes to light over the next few months, or if Knight simly decides he no longer wants to go to Kentucky, he can go to college elsewhere.

No hassles. No waivers. No paper pushing. No NCAA involvement.

He's like any other college kid who has a financial aid agreement.

Anyway, back to the point.

The reason I say that it was a good decision by Jones not to sign an LOI to Washington is because it is pretty obvious that he is still torn on where he wants to play. Right now, he still has room to flip flop. If he takes a few days and realizes that Washington is where he wants to be, is the outcome of this going to be any different?

If he decides that Washington isn't the place for him, he can still go to Kentucky and play for Coach Cal. Sure, Lorenzo Romar will be upset, as will the Husky fan base.

But at least Jones will be happy with his decision.

And isn't that what really matters here?