When a 5-star big man is your backyard, they're typically a top priority. Not only was Thomas Bryant ignored for two months, he saw the Syracuse Orange basketball program in complete "chaos," his mother, Linda, told Syracuse.com.
The Rochester, N.Y. native committed to Indiana two weeks ago, but he knew long before then that Bloomington, Ind. would be his next destination. A source told TNIAAM that Bryant had known for "a while" that he wanted to attend Indiana. The only issue was convincing his mother, which he was able to do when the NCAA investigation was complete, and the sanctions were announced.
The four finalists included: Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Syracuse. His mother, for the majority of the recruiting process, favored Syracuse. That all changed once the NCAA sanctions were announced. Linda Bryant listed poor guard play, scholarship restrictions, and the transferring of players as the main issues, according to Chris Carlson at Syracuse.com.
Coach Boeheim called Linda while Thomas was preparing for the Dick's Nationals Tournament. She was very understanding, writes Carlson, and knew Boeheim had bigger things to worry about than landing another recruit for the class of 2015. Coach Boeheim was working on getting his program back on track.
At the end of the day, Thomas Bryant would've been icing on the cake. The Orange have already signed what Boeheim calls his "best class ever at Syracuse." With Malachi Richardson, Frank Howard, Moustapha Diagne, and Tyler Lydon all fully committed and signed, the future is very bright.