Taurean Thompson's situation is uncommon, but not unprecedented.
With scholarships still left unaccounted for, it's not lost on Syracuse Orange basketball fans the importance of locking up 2016 target Taurean Thompson. He'd add much needed depth to the 2016-2017 team, while hopefully becoming a building block for his years after that (assuming he sticks around past freshman year). There's just one problem: he can't seem to make up his mind. Thompson is officially the last player in the ESPN Top 100 for 2016 to make a commitment.
While it is frustrating to play this waiting game, Syracuse fans should remember that this type of situation has actually happened before to the Orange. As Mike Waters reminded us earlier this week, in 1997, Syracuse basketball recruit Eric Williams announced his commitment just one week before classes started. Williams chose Syracuse over UNLV, Connecticut, St. John's and UMass.
So, the good news here is that if Thompson decides to follow in the footsteps of Williams, he could very well end up in an Orange uniform for the 2016-2017 season. The bad news, is that Williams only played two seasons for the Orange, before transferring to one of his original choices, UMass.
The moral of the story here is don't panic. While this situation is extremely rare in the world of college basketball, it is not unprecedented. Here's to hoping that Thompson ends this crazy waiting game soon, and doesn't make us wait until the end of August to find out if he will be wearing Orange next season. If he goes with Seton Hall (not sure how) or Michigan State instead, Syracuse's depth will certainly have several question marks this coming season.
