Fontan expected to bolt

[85RAM]

According to my source, Fontan will announced his decision to leave very soon.   Let's hope my source is wrong. 

[fordahmballer]

If he decides to leave and is not granted a release then what?? Wouldn't he have to pay to go to school somewhere next year! In our tough economical times that is not an easy task!

[T1L]

According to my source, Fontan will announced his decision to leave very soon.   Let's hope my source is wrong. 

Can't blame him. The administration doesn't care about the basketball team and the coach is terrible; if you had a choice, would you voluntarily subject yourself to this mess?

[rambacker]

It's very hard to transfer without a release.  Hopefully this rumor is false.

[ace93]

WHM reported last week (or earlier) that the release was denied and that Jio had not yet decided if he was going to appeal or not.  I'd have to look up the thread to get all the details as I can't remember them right now.  Is the news that he is going to appeal or is it that he is leaving irrespective of the outcome of the appeal?

I am not a big fan of keeping a guy if he does not want to be here.  I think it can be more detrimental to the team than if you let him go.  The kid might remain physically, but will he remain mentally?

[Bronx Boy]

The kid might remain physically, but will he remain mentally ?

Kinda like doin' a Dee - Dub ?

[T1L]

I am not a big fan of keeping a guy if he does not want to be here.  I think it can be more detrimental to the team than if you let him go.  The kid might remain physically, but will he remain mentally?

Agreed. Denying a release has more potential bad outcomes for Fordham than good ones. Gee, what a foolproof plan by the brainiacs running things- hold your best player captive, and "hope" that everything will turn out ok. If Fordham continues to deny the release, I wouldn't be surprised if Jio & co. push back, and maybe this could be the shaming in the media that might finally spur some change, yesterday's bogus "press release" notwithstanding. Obviously losing records, mass transfers and fan dissatisfaction does not matter, maybe public ridicule will do the trick.

[NYRambler]

I sorta disagree Ace, he may not want to be here, but if we don't release him he has precious little choice in the matter.  He obviously holds his basketball skills in very high regard and believes in his career after college.  That means he has to play, no matter where he is, he can't be afford to be labeled as an "attitude problem."  A hold-out makes a kid look very bad and will drop his stock faster than trading in mortgage backed subsidies (sorry to the finance guys there).  

If Jio's here next year he'll play.  He may not be happy and that may be pretty obvious to everyone in the locker room, but I'd bet that he'll play.  

[ayteefie]

I sorta disagree Ace, he may not want to be here, but if we don't release him he has precious little choice in the matter.  

NY , have to disagree.

Jio would have numerous options. He can transfer and pay his way for a year and perhaps get financial aid. He could easily just take a year off college, play AAU to keep his skills honed and then sign eslewhere.

He could appeal and air dirty laundry about Fordham.  The feud could become very public and destroy some recruiting lanes for us.

I see little upside to being hard asses here.

[rambacker]

The key for him is are his reasons for considering a transfer good ones, meaning ones that will benefit him in the long run.  The plan is to build our program around him, which is quite unique.  Unless he were to transfer to a lower level program, I doubt that will be the case with any of the programs he might be looking at.  From a personal, non-basketball perspective, a degree from Fordham is a very useful tool to advance one's career after his playing days have ended.  I hope he's looking at the big picture and not a limited one.

[ace93]

NYRambler, I never suggested that if he is here next year that he would not play.  I am saying that if he is checked out mentally that it will be detrimental to the team, perhaps not on the court, but in the lockerroom. 

I don't pay enough attention to other programs to know if players regularly are denied their releases, but I do recall it happening one other time at FU.  After his freshman year, Jeff McMillan asked for his release and was denied.  Coach Hill felt that the timing was not right, so Jeff remained here one more year.  Anybody that saw him play that year could tell that his effort was sub-par all year with one exception.  At Duquesne Jeff McMillan put on his best performance of the year, hit most of his free-throws which he rarely did.  Word was that he was showcasing himself b/c he wanted to transfer to Pitt and one of their coaches was there.  I don't know how true that is, but at the end of that season McMillan asked for his release again and eventually transferred to USC (Southern Cal, not South Carolina).  He left there number one in field goal percentage in USC history; don't know if that still stands.

Players that don't want to be around should not be forced to be around.  I think they undoubtedly end up negatively influencing the team and that is the last thing a program like ours needs.

[NYRambler]

I'll respect your insight on the matter ace.  I just think we're better with a subpar jio then with a juco transfer PG.  plus with jio here our recruits will stay (at least that seems to be the consensus).

[John]

You can't keep a kid at Fordham against his will. Denying the release just means the kid can't get athletic aid for the first year at his next institution. Once the kid announces his transfer to another institution, denying him his release serves no purpose other than being vindictive. If Jio announces he's leaving, we'll grant him his release.

I could see witholding a release if we feel that the transferee school was tampering with our player. But since we haven't leveled a tampering charge against anyone, if we deny the kid his release, we look like the a-holes.

Read your tea leaves:

April 1-3: Published rumors swirl about Jio transferring to Rutgers or elsewhere. Jio's hanging out at Rutgers' arena for a HS game with Mike Rosario (no problem), who's running back and forth to speak with Fred Hill, also conveniently at said game (potentially big problem). Rumors also swirl about a possible coaching change at Fordham.

April 3:  Jio states on his Facebook page he's "looking for a new university".

April 5:  Jio visits Frank and asks for his release. Frank denies the release, asks Jio to wait until after the Easter vacation to make his decision.

April 14: No change in the Fordham coaching picture. Easter vacation ends. Presumably, Frank seeks out Jio to ask him what he's decided.

April 15: Fordham posts strange, tight-lipped "statement" supporting existing basketball coaches and re-affirming dedication to the A-10. Says Fordham will be competitive with its "returning" players, and players it might sign in the future.

Hmm . . .

Now why would someone need to post a statement of "support" for coaches who each have a couple of years left on their contracts? It's pretty transparently a weak gambit to try to get ahead of the public relations curve that's sure to erupt when Jio makes his announcement to bolt. Maybe they feel that reporters will think, "Oh, Fordham already posted something. No need to call them for a comment on Jio's departure."

If they believe that, they're even dumber than we think they are. God help us all.

[ace93]

I'll respect your insight on the matter ace.  I just think we're better with a subpar jio then with a juco transfer PG.  plus with jio here our recruits will stay (at least that seems to be the consensus).

How did we arrive at that consensus?  On what grounds would these recruits be asking for a release?
I am going to backtrack on what I said before b/c my comments on the release were really about current players.  Those players gave it a shot, saw what it was like here and for whatever reason did not like it and asked for a release.  I think we have handled all of those situations ok up to now.  With Jio we told him he would not get his release and presumably he thought it through and is now deciding to appeal.  At this point I would say ok, if you have thought it through and that is what you want to do, here is your release.  Good luck.  A current player is not violating a contract, they put their year in and as has been said before, scholarships are renewable by year.

I see it differently for a recruit, they have not fulfilled their contract, they have not even given the university and the program a fair shot yet.  Their release should be denied and they should be forced to suffer the consequences.  You do not get released from a commitment b/c your buddy decided to leave.  Lance Brown's father already said that his son is committed to FU, that they would like to see Jio stick it out, but that Lance is still on his way.  I have not heard anything about Chris Gaston other that what has been said here, but he is in prep school already, I am not sure how many options he has if his release is denied.  Brian Freeman has little connection to Jio other than he probably met him on recruiting trips.  I suspect he arrives here irrespective of Jio.   So where is this consensus coming from?

I do agree that 80% Jio on the court is probably better than a late JUCO signing, but I think the influence he can have on the team can be enough of a detriment if he does not want to be here.  If he has changed his mind, well then that is an entirely different story, but that does not seem to be the case right now.

[ace93]

I could see witholding a release if we feel that the transferee school was tampering with our player. But since we haven't leveled a tampering charge against anyone, if we deny the kid his release, we look like the a-holes.

According to a post by WHM in the "The Silence is Defeaning" thread we have contact Rutgers about potential tampering.  FYI.