[olldflame]

The whole situation was dirty from the get go. There may not have been proof but you knew UT contacted and now there making their confession once theyve fired the coach. Layer being fired could be hitched to many different avenues. Bonds was but a small piece of that. Id lay more on gielo and moller and his euro failed recruiting than bonds.

If you want to point out recruiting failures, there are worse thjan those 2 on Layer´s resume. Start with Chad Donley and Asaad Woods and factor in the minutes that went to his son that maybe shouldn´t have, even though I have no problem with him being on the roster as a walkon.

Gielo didn´t achieve his potential at LU, but still had his choice of several high major programs to transfer to, and Ritchie really wanted him to stay. Moller was forced to play a lot at the point and clearly was more suited to the 2.

[jcmanson]

And now he's transferring from Tennessee

[BJWilliams]

You have to think that schools are going to be a bit wary about him, since he signed here, basically left during summer school, transferred, redshirted and now is looking again. Even with the NCAA violation not factoring into things, there will be some pause by potential suitors

[Kiwon]

Sometimes, it takes a young person several tries to find his way. I guess he didn't fit into the plans of the new coach at Tennessee.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.....if he had listened to his grandparents he would have had a year of college under his belt AND had a ton of playing time to boot. Oh well......

[R i]

Id take him at LU a second time around.

There was a reason he committed here, I hope Mckay looks into the situation.

[Purple Haize]

We seem to be in the habit of Round 2 for people

[SuperJon]

Id take him at LU a second time around.

There was a reason he committed here, I hope Mckay looks into the situation.

I had that thought as well.

[olldflame]

We have a scholarship available. At this point we need a big more than a guard, but it would be hard to pass on him if he wanted to come and Ritchie and Co feel he could make us better and are satisfied that he is sure this time that Liberty is the place for him.

If I were a betting man though my money would be on another SEC school even closer to home, which also happens to be his HS coach´s alma matre.

They have one schollie available and 2 PGs on the roster, a senior and a sophmore.

[olldflame]

I would say that the addition of Fields, the PG transferring from Bradley, makes Braxton´s return to the mountain an even longer shot.

[olldflame]

Could someone familiar with the rules fill us in as to whether Bonds would have to sit out another year if he transferred to a D1 school? If so, I would think he would be looking at a year of JUCO.

[olldflame]

BTW, Braxton has gone private with his Twitter account, which is what he did shortly after leaving Liberty, and probably a smart move.

[TheGovernor]

Could someone familiar with the rules fill us in as to whether Bonds would have to sit out another year if he transferred to a D1 school? If so, I would think he would be looking at a year of JUCO.

I think a lot of it depends on things that we probably don't know.

Obviously there are situations where waivers can be requested, but Im sure you arent referring to those.

The only way I can see it happening (him be eligible right away) is if UT eliminated the degree program that he was in... but I doubt that was the case.

there are other ways to become eligible, but they are criteria that we know he doesnt meet (ex: UT is dropping basketball)

There is a rule about returning to a school that you transferred from and being granted immediate eligibility, but I am 99.9% sure that once an athlete participates in practice that is not a tryout, this rule no longer applies. I also think the "spirit of the rule" is for an athlete who transfers back to their original school pretty quickly and not after a full year

Hopefully that helps.

[olldflame]

Sounds like if he wants to play 4 years of college basketball he will need to go the JUCO or D2 route for a year. More likely JUCO. He could then transfer to a D1 and play immediatly with 3 years of eligibility left. Hard to imagine he would want to sit another year at a D1 school and then still only have 3 to play.

[prototype]

Sounds like if he wants to play 4 years of college basketball he will need to go the JUCO or D2 route for a year. More likely JUCO. He could then transfer to a D1 and play immediatly with 3 years of eligibility left. Hard to imagine he would want to sit another year at a D1 school and then still only have 3 to play.

And there's no way to get him to come back? If you convince him to do so, would they let him play right away?

[Sly Fox]

There certainly wouldn't be scholarship restrictions since he was a walk-on at Tennessee. But I still believe the transfer rule would be in effect. I would be shocked if he weren't at a JUCO soon.

The crazy thing is he was on our campus this time last year. And now he's headed to his third school as just a sophomore academically.

[olldflame]

We have 4 new PGs on the roster.

Atencia
Cabbel
Dawson
Fields

Bonds may or may not be better than those guys, but regardless, they are on board, and I don´t see us giving a schollie to another PG.

[TheGovernor]

There certainly wouldn't be scholarship restrictions since he was a walk-on at Tennessee. But I still believe the transfer rule would be in effect. I would be shocked if he weren't at a JUCO soon.

The crazy thing is he was on our campus this time last year. And now he's headed to his third school as just a sophomore academically.

I wasnt sure if they ended up giving him a scholarship as they got closer to the season. I didnt know if they were full or what.

I am pretty sure youre right, it doesnt matter if he had the scholarship since he was participating, the rules still apply.

[olldflame]

Braxton has signed with Columbia State CC in Clifton TN. Looks like it is in the boonies a couple of hours SW of Nashville. The coach there is a friend of his HS coach Drew Maddux.

http://columbiadailyherald.com/sports/c ... xton-bonds

He expects to play there one year and then transfer to a D1 program. He put himself in a position where going to a JUCO was pretty much his only option, and he was able to stay close to home, which apparently is a high priority. Hope it works out for him.

The article makes a point of mentioning his grandfather, who posted here as ¨pop¨quite a bit during the time Braxton was a signee with Liberty and is a class act. Glad you will be able to see Braxton play again soon pop.

[Cider Jim]

In addition to Columbia State, Bonds considered John A. Logan in Illinois, Midland College in Texas and Motlow State, who like Columbia is a member of the Tennesse Community College Athletic Association.

No surprise that he didn't choose JCs in Illinois or west Texas, if he got homesick one state away in Virginia during his brief time at LU.

[olldflame]

The more I look at how Braxton´s situation played out, the more I see the fingerprints of a meddling HS coach who thought the kid who played PG for his championship teams was too good for Liberty. Now he has spent a year of ineligibility busting his butt in practice for a corrupt coach who will probably never get another job in college basketball and will spend this year playing for his HS coach´s buddy at a rinky-dink JUCO. Great job Drew. I do sincerely hope Braxton finally gets to play D1 ball in 2016.

[kingaling42]

I see things don't change much..

350+ posts, almost 10k views for a kid who never played so much as a minute of practice at Liberty; Seth Curry topics have garnered much less commentary. So much for forgiveness. Perhaps moving on would help..

[olldflame]

Bonds is a kid some of us have taken a personal interest in and have continued to follow. Forgave him a long time ago and am really hoping he finally gets to show what he can do at the D1 level SOME DAY. The reason for the most recent post is to point out how increasingly clear it is (to me at least) that his HS coach, Drew Maddux, has been influencing his decisions to his detriment.

[Purple Haize]

I see things don't change much..

350+ posts, almost 10k views for a kid who never played so much as a minute of practice at Liberty; Seth Curry topics have garnered much less commentary. So much for forgiveness. Perhaps moving on would help..

This situation is a tad different
1 - a family member was part of this discussion. I think this family memeber was universally liked which added to the post count
2 - Seth only went to one other school and did very well. And C'mon Duke is a serious move up
3 - Braxton went to a school that was not neat a step up and is now going to another school, theoretically
4. We have a history of tracking former players This is no difference
5 - I don't think anyone wishes him I'll will or is delighting in his misfortune

[olldflame]

I see things don't change much..

350+ posts, almost 10k views for a kid who never played so much as a minute of practice at Liberty; Seth Curry topics have garnered much less commentary. So much for forgiveness. Perhaps moving on would help..

This situation is a tad different
1 - a family member was part of this discussion. I think this family memeber was universally liked which added to the post count
2 - Seth only went to one other school and did very well. And C'mon Duke is a serious move up
3 - Braxton went to a school that was not neat a step up and is now going to another school, theoretically
4. We have a history of tracking former players This is no difference
5 - I don't think anyone wishes him I'll will or is delighting in his misfortune

I agree in principle. He left Liberty to go to UTK, which would normally be considered a big step up. However, he went there as a walkon who was ineligible to play, which in fact made it a step down. Even as an acknowledged LU homer I feel confident in saying that Columbia State CC is also a step down. He will almost certainly land at a D1 program in 2016. It will be interesting to see whether it will be a high major program or not. If he plays really well this year, he should get some offers from the big guys. If he is less than stellar, he will end up back where he started with a mid-major team (but probably closer to home).

[JK37]

Where he started was low-major, not mid-major.