After the Kevin Broadus and Binghamton scandal blew up two weeks ago, we posed a question - whether recruiting high school players with questionable backgrounds is worth the risk? In an interview published by USA Today, John Thompson Jr. gives his opinion. He states:
"[Broadus] probably thinks he made some mistakes, and he's got to deal with that. But I cannot under any circumstances blame him. I'm proud of the fact he tried. That's the thing when you do something like that: Somebody's going to (screw) up. You're dealing with kids, hoping you can hold onto them long enough to help them take advantage of the opportunity you're providing for them."
Two thoughts - (1) I don't disagree with Thompson. I do not doubt Broadus' motives for recruiting these players and giving them the opportunities to earn an education through basketball. I still don't think it was worth the risk though, especially for a new coach in a program looking to establish itself (lot of parallelisms to Thompson and Georgetown but a lot has changed in the last 35+ years). (2) It's nice to know that when everyone else turns their back, you still have the boisterous support of your Georgetown extended family.
Good talk.