It's been awhile since we've had a wacky story from the college basketball ranks. Here's one that ties in all the fun stuff: AAU allegiances, teaming up with fellow stars (the LeBron-syndrome), and reneging on a verbal to check out other places.
Dave Krupinski, the Digital Media Director at the Hoop Group, has some serious information to dish out about a former Villanova Wildcats verbal. Krupinski has apparently been saying that Savon Goodman, a 6'6" 220 pound power forward from Philadelphia who was once Villanova's biggest haul for the 2012 class, decommitted from Villanova because he wanted to play his college ball with his AAU buddy Kyle Anderson. The two are likely to make independent decisions though.
Most worryingly for St. John's fans, they will not pursue a Goodman-Anderson connection at the next level according to Alex Kline of The Recruit Scoop. This could be good news for UCLA fans, who believe that Anderson has them near the top. Getting a player like Goodman to team up with Anderson and (potentially) Shabazz Muhammad would be the coup of 2012 college basketball recruiting.
It should be important to state that UCLA has not done anything wrong in these proceedings. But it again shows how in the treacherous world of college basketball recruiting, you need to bring paper and pencil to keep track of all the changes, because nothing is ever certain until the guys sign their LOIs, and even then you have to make sure they stick with it.
And who knows? Maybe Goodman will end up going back to Villanova and this story is all for naught. Just another typical day for amateur hoops. College basketball recruiting is such a joy.
For more on UCLA basketball recruiting, check out Bruins Nation.