A man's word is supposed to be what he lives by.  In Isaac Hamilton's case, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for UTEP, which is his word and a binding agreement saying that he will play for the Miners. 

As we all know by now, Hamilton has asked out of his Letter of Intent, and Coach Floyd has denied that request.  So if someone can change their minds so easily then why even have these letters?  As far as I am concerned they are quite useless.  Loyalty doesn't exist anymore, in the past an athlete like Hamilton may have actually stuck to his word and played for UTEP.

Today, a man's word means very little, and the loop holes that exist in the system make it hard to believe that they will stick to their commitment.  In Hamilton's case, he chose UTEP over other big time programs like Arizona and UCLA.  Coach Floyd's relationship with his family was the reason why Hamilton shocked the nation by choosing the Miners over other high profile schools.

Now Hamilton says that he wants to play for USC, I can't imagine why.  It's not like USC is a remarkable basketball program in southern California.  Sure it is close to home, but it makes me wonder what new Trojans' coach Andy Enfield offered Hamilton to make him change his mind so suddenly.  USC has many friends of the program with a lot of money.

I understand that Isaac Hamilton has also said that he wants to be closer to home because of his grandmother who is ill.  If you believe that then I have some great swamp land to sell you here in El Paso.  I am not saying she isn't ill, but it is not the reason that he is not coming to UTEP.  In reality, it is an excuse for Hamilton to not look like the bad guy here.

The simple fact that Hamilton, a top 25 ESPN recruit was coming to UTEP meant the future was possibly brighter than it had ever been for the program.  After all, it was widely known that Isaac's younger brother Daniel may have come to UTEP as well.  He chose to attend Connecticut last May though, making me wonder how long Isaac has known that he won't be attending UTEP.  Hamilton's presence also meant a heavy increase in fan excitement and a fluctuation in season ticket sales too.

Not to mention the fact that when a recruit of Hamilton's caliber comes to a program like UTEP, other players like him would have soon followed.  Anyway you look at this it is an unfortunate situation for Floyd and the Miners.  The team should be solid next season, but did I mention that they won't have Isaac Hamilton?

I suppose this is another life lesson for Miner fans, don't count your chickens before they are hatched.  If you do, then heart break may be soon to follow.  There is no point in wondering what could have been with Hamilton, its time to just move on and hope for a productive 2013-2014 season.

 

 

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