Cothron Decommits

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It is being reported on other sites that Cothron has decided not to attend NCSU. It is doubtful he would have been a starter ahead of Smith and Howell but he could have provided some depth.

Jerry Meyer of Yahoo Sports reported on Cothron’s decision Monday night.

Four-star prospect Luke Cothron has been considered a soft commitment to North Carolina State, but now the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward is officially decommitted.

Cothron, an Alabama native who is now at Red Springs (N.C,) Flora Macdonald Academy, has opened up his recruitment and is likely headed elsewhere that NC State.

Cothron’s statement on his decision to decommit

“I want to come in and play as a freshman,” said Cothron. “I also want a good relationship with the head coach, and I want to be surrounded by a great team.”

About Rick

1992 and 2002 graduate from NCSU. Born and raised an NCSU fan. I remember the good ol' days and they weren't in the last 20 years.

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90 Responses to Cothron Decommits

  1. Evroccck 03/16/2010 at 6:44 AM #

    I know its not popular opinion to think its good to lose a Top 50 player, but this kid is bad news. Plays with no effort or intensity, I think we’ll be fine w/o him

  2. Tiew 03/16/2010 at 6:53 AM #

    Maybe he’s been waiting to see how Howell worked out…

    The main thing we can offer big recruits is early playing time, so I can’t say I blame him.

  3. packof81 03/16/2010 at 7:07 AM #

    He can go somewhere else and collect splinters sitting on the pine.

  4. Alpha Wolf 03/16/2010 at 7:12 AM #

    I wonder if this is a sign about one C.J. Leslie’s plans.

  5. Prowling Woofie 03/16/2010 at 7:15 AM #

    ^ My thoughts exactly, Alpha…

  6. packfan03 03/16/2010 at 7:16 AM #

    ^Alpha,

    My thoughts exactly. I watched the two go head to head earlier this year at WOG. Both Cothron and CJ scored 26 points, but CJ clearly owned Luke defensively and played with more intensity throughout the game.

    If we get CJ, this is no big deal. What were we going to do with that many bigs anyway? If we don’t get CJ, this blow will be felt.

    Time will tell…

  7. blackdom 03/16/2010 at 7:25 AM #

    http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=rivals-364362
    Interesting reasons for his actions.

  8. tvp1 03/16/2010 at 7:37 AM #

    I don’t bad mouth recruits, but now that he’s gone and unlikely to come back – this doesn’t strike me as a big loss. All sorts of red flags here: lack of effort, refusal to play defense, demand for early playing time (on a team where that looked unlikely with Howell/Smith starting next year), big man who wants to play like a guard.

    I get that he’s talented but I wondered why we recruited him in the first place.

    Hopefully this means we get CJL. Either way, snagging a quality big man in 2011 becomes a priority. There are rumors that Uchebo will reclassify to 2011 so that might already be taken care of.

  9. TOBtime 03/16/2010 at 7:39 AM #

    His last 3 statements in the article say it all- “I want”. Hit the road Luke. You are no great loss.

  10. newt 03/16/2010 at 7:40 AM #

    I’m not one to turn my nose up at a kid getting this kind of attention…

    Alabama and Kentucky are likely visitation destinations for Cothron and Tennessee, Connecticut and Ole Miss are also on his list.

    Connecticut’s Coach Calhoun is scheduled to visit Cothron this week.

  11. HarrowOwnzU 03/16/2010 at 7:58 AM #

    Later Costner V2.0

    I’ve said since he signed that I wish we hadn’t landed him. He plays like Costner, he has almost the same game Costner had, has the same attitude Costner had… Good riddance

  12. thekind 03/16/2010 at 8:00 AM #

    Good riddance Cothron. If you play even remotely like Brandon Costner (like many have reported), then I am glad your not coming.

  13. Ed89 03/16/2010 at 8:03 AM #

    I think CJL will be committing soon. Luke knew he wasn’t playing in front of CJL or Howell.

  14. packfan03 03/16/2010 at 8:05 AM #

    Even if CJ doesn’t commit, where would Luke’s precious “minutes” come from? Howell has earned significant playing time next year as a rebounding machine, no doubt about that.

    Painter and V have both shown potential and the ability to contribute, if only in relief at this point. Cothron is becoming more enigmatic than elite.

  15. Daily Update 03/16/2010 at 8:09 AM #

    No big loss IMO if he doesn’t want to come to NC State.

  16. wolfonthehill 03/16/2010 at 8:09 AM #

    Sorry, guys, but I fail to see this as good news. The choices are:

    1) He’s bad news. In that case, we should neither have recruited him nor been excited when he committed (shame on our coaching staff and on us).
    2) He’s not bad news, but we’re recruiting over him and let him know that, leading to his decision. In that case, we’re no better than the uncch football program and their famous waiver wire.

    If there’s a third, please let me know…

  17. packfan03 03/16/2010 at 8:15 AM #

    This really bothered me about Luke:

    In the matchup, Luke vs. CJ, that I witnessed, Lowe and Larry Harris were in attendance. Not surprising – how many opportunities do you get to see two recruits matchup against one another 20 minutes away from campus?

    What struck me as bizarre, was that Luke cherry picked. He consistently was the last person down for defense. Sometimes, when WOG attempted to run, he didn’t even approach the half-court line. He just stood around with a scowl on his face. This was with Lowe and Harris WATCHING THE GAME, standing not 20 feet away. Even if you don’t bring effort every night, bring it against a potential future teammate (CJ) and when your future head coach (at that time) is in attendance.

    I really wanted to root for the kid, and show some NCSU love, but he made it difficult.

  18. Classof89 03/16/2010 at 8:17 AM #

    I’m seeing a lot of sour grapes on this thread. I agree with wolfonthehill…if he’s such a bad kid, why’d we sign him to start with? Smacks of a bit of desperation in our recruiting strategy.

  19. Ed89 03/16/2010 at 8:19 AM #

    I personally bet once he goes to Alabama, we rarely ever hear his name again…

  20. Ed89 03/16/2010 at 8:21 AM #

    I think Lowe and Harris realized they may have another “big lazy” on their hands (and a 6-8 guy who likes to stand around and jack up 3’s) and although they didn’t want to officially renege on the offer, they may have unofficially “de-offered.”

  21. kyjelly 03/16/2010 at 8:21 AM #

    If he was this way why indeed wwere we giving him a scholarship?If “packfan03” knew he was a dog than what is wrong with Lowe and Harris? The kid pulled out we did not take back our commitment. Now he has Bama,UK and UConn looking at him?

  22. packfan03 03/16/2010 at 8:25 AM #

    wolfonthehill,

    3. We were honest with him. We told him from the beginning “We’re still talking with CJ. If CJ recommits, playing time is going to be sparse your freshman year. We’ve already got a few talented bigs on the roster, so please understand that. We want you, Luke, but, your priorities might not match up with the current opportunities available at NC State”.

    Listen, it’s never “good news” when a player decommits. We were excited when Luke signed because we see “four stars” and a national ranking of 38ish. At this point, that was all most of us knew.

    Now that he’s decommitted, we see this blow slightly mitigated by the development of R. Howell and D. Painter, the return of T. Smith, and lastly the ongoing recruitment of CJ Leslie.

    With that said, not all decommitments are created equal. If Harrow or Brown decommitted at this point, I would lose my s@$%. (Although, they really couldn’t unless we let them out at this point)

  23. choppack1 03/16/2010 at 8:26 AM #

    Count me in w/ wolfonthehill and others here.

    Either we should have never recruited him or we lost a player w/ a lot of potential.

    I also don’t like to see former Wolfpackers bashed if they didn’t do anything criminal. But I know I’m in the minority here.

  24. Ed89 03/16/2010 at 8:26 AM #

    Bama, UK, and UConn are probably “looking” at about 30 players right now…

  25. Ed89 03/16/2010 at 8:29 AM #

    ^^^^if he’s such a bad kid, why’d we sign him to start with? Smacks of a bit of desperation in our recruiting strategy.

    Again, let’s get facts straight…we NEVER “signed” him. We took a commitment. We do that with 10th graders, too. USC does it with 7th grade QB’s. That’s much different than signing a player.

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