Regarding the Tomi situation, I'm looking at it as over-under .5 games played and I'm bracing for the under. I'm not a pessimist. I try to be realistic, but I know I usually blow past it towards optimism, especially when it comes to our basketball program. Here, though, I want to keep my expectations in check. It's the NCAA. They are nothing if not a frustrating, inconsistent organization. It's impossible to say for certain how and when they'll rule.
On the plus side, since we gotta go through this song and dance, at least we have OA who has been through a similar, if not exactly the same situation, with Tomi's brother, Big Z. Along with that, we have an athletic department that is both profoundly competent and seems to do everything above board. In dealing with labyrinthian bureaucracy, experience and competence give you the best shot at getting results.
Being me, here's where I'm glass-half-full about this situation. Even if Tomi never steps foot on the court in an actual game, we have him in practice every single day and that's a massive net positive. He's big. He's strong. He's old. He's played against adults (for better and worse because that's why we are in this mess). What better way to get our stud freshman big ready for what is coming his way this season? In high school, Morez was as physically developed as anyone on the court. Here, he's not. Undoubtedly, going against Tomi every day will turbocharger Rez's development. With that, every one of our guys is going against a legit post-presence, day in and day out. We didn't have anyone this big last year. When Ty, Will, KJ, et. al make those drives to the basket in games, they will have had months of doing it with a man guarding the post. We were stymied by the Edeys and Clingans of the world last year. That won't happen again.
And here's the thing. Even if Tomi never plays for us, I love the swing. Our coaching staff had a hole and they grabbed the best possible player to fill it. Sometimes you need to take a risk and force the NCAA to rule against you. The NCAA is at its weakest. If ever there was a time to tempt fate and have the NCAA actually rule in our favor, it's now.
And if he does play, college basketball better watch out. We have a big man with size who can shoot. What he brings to the table complements this team perfectly. I hope we get to see it in action.
