The Syracuse Orange really would love to fill that open scholarship spot with a 2016 big man. And they'd really like that big man to be Taurean Thompson, the 6-foot-10 senior from Brewster Academy who is one of the last few remaining ESPN Top 100 recruits on the board.
While Thompson has Syracuse on his shortlist (along with Michigan State and Seton Hall), he hasn't made up his mind yet about where he wants to play next season. And he's not in any rush either, per Mike Waters:
No one, not even those close to Thompson, seems to have any idea when he will announce a decision.
"Good luck with that,'' Brewster coach Jason Smith said via text message this week.
While you never want to get too comfy, there are some signs that look good for the Orange. While MSU has offered, he has yet to actually visit East Lansing (while he has visited SU). Seton Hall has put on the full-court press, but they also received a commitment from Eron Gordon this week, which puts them at their scholarship limit. Depending on whether or not Isaiah Whitehead goes pro or comes back could end up making the decision for Thompson.
For those wondering how and why a recruit can take all this time to decide where to go to school, Mike Waters reminds us that NLIs aren't the be-all-end-all agreements we think they are.
The NLI binds the student-athlete to the school. It's a one-way agreement. In terms of securing a spot at a university, a recruit really needs to sign scholarship papers. There is no deadline for that. As long as a recruit is confident that the school will have room for him on its roster, he can wait as long as he wants.
Syracuse really would love to lock down that spot and Thompson's the perfect guy for it. If he doesn't come to SU, it's unclear what, if anything, the Orange will do with that schollie.