The world of college basketball recruiting is a cold one, and it gets especially shrill the later in spring it goes.
The latest example of this is what we’re seeing with Caleb Swanigan, the five-star center who committed to Michigan State in April, but then decommitted less than a month later. Initial rumors seemed to suggest that Purdue was the team to beat for him.
However, in the background, Cal was right there as well. For much of the late winter, industry sources indicated that a bond had been forged between Swanigan and two other five-star prospects, Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown. While package deals are hardly ever seen coming to fruition, this one might be days away.
See, Rabb and Brown are already signed with Cuonzo Martin and the Bears. It would seem as though Swanigan, the third piece to the puzzle, would be on his way. Oh, but that would be too simple.
Source close to Caleb Swanigan’s guardian continued: Swanigan waiting on spot at Cal to open up.
— Lindsay Brauner (@lindzcatharine) May 12, 2015
With the additions of Rabb and Brown, Cal is at their limit of 13 scholarships, meaning that if Swanigan wanted to join the fold, the Cal staff would need to open up an available slot for him.
This is where things get tricky, since that would mean someone on the current roster would be getting told that their scholarship was being rescinded, or a different 2015 signee would be told that when they arrived on campus, there wouldn’t really be a spot for them and it would be in their best interest to ask for a release, which would be granted.
Yes, this is the reality of college basketball.
