Originally Posted by
Nugget
I assume others have seen it, but the recent edition of the ACC Sports Journal has a telling tidbit about Nolan Smith that gives a window on how all of us would be better off in thinking about either NBA go/no-go or recruiting decisions.
They quote Nolan as saying that, despite his early, emphatic statements that he would be coming back, after the NCAA tournament he did, indeed, consider going (the reporter characterizes this as a "smokescreen"). Nolan essentially acknowledges as much, in a direct quote:
"I also had meetings with Coach K. I was also thinking about (the NBA). It just made it easier for me, not having to deal with all the questioning every day, be letting them know I was coming back. If I had to change my mind, I would have done that."
I find Nolan's candor refreshing. But, more importantly, it is a stark reminder to me of 2 things:
1. People who react to comments like the ones Nolan made early on that he was coming back as ironclad promises are deluding themselves --nothing a player says makes any difference until there is a deadline or a press conference; and
2. People who claim that players who say they are coming back but then go (or, do something like what Barnes did in his recruitment) are "liars," are going massively overboard -- sometimes someone just changes his mind.