Bishop Sankey made what many of us expected for quite some time official tonight, committing to the University of Washington. Sankey was head coach Paul Wulff's first verbal commit, but has wavered as signing day drew closer. Washington made a late-charge, and Sankey pledged to head coach Steve Sarkisian after an in-home visit on Tuesday.
From the start, it always felt like Sankey was looking for bigger and better things. He was committed, sure, but had wandering eyes all along, looking for the bright lights of a bigger program. It's not unusual or unprecedented, but fans of the Cougs wanted to believe Washington State could land that high-profile recruit. It didn't happen.
I want you all to think back to when you were choosing a college. Now, imagine if the head of whatever degree program you had your eyes on at each school you were considering was calling and texting non-stop in the years leading up to your decision. Each was offering the world, promising future earnings and the college experience you always dreamed of. It's the biggest decision of your life.
None of us know what it's like for a situation like this to happen. It's easy for us to sit at home and take the moral high ground, saying a recruit should be true to his word. It's easy when we haven't gone through the process.
10 years ago, none of this would've played out like it has this year. Now, in addition to those schools trying to sell you, you'd have countless recruiting services, analysts and high school scouts calling you all the time, trying to get a read on where you want to take your services. Fans and alumni of the schools you're considering hang on your every word, hinging their hopes and dreams on you -- all at 18 years old.
Put yourself in Sankey's shoes. He wanted the bright lights and big city all along. He wanted to be wanted by the nation's best -- that was clear from the start. He was an 18-year-old kid making the biggest decision of his life. He chose what he felt was in his best interests and I can't blame him for that; you shouldn't either. If you're criticizing a kid -- that's what he is, a kid -- for spurning WSU, it's time to re-evaluate things.
This isn't the place to criticize Sankey -- go elsewhere if you want to vent. This isn't the place to discuss the morality involved in recruiting -- every coach plays the game. This isn't the place to discuss if Steve Sarkisian engages in more dirty tactics than our own coach -- they all walk a gray-shaded line. We've grown tired of the same discussions and anyone that heads in that direction will take a timeout to evaluate themselves.
Wulff and WSU will move on. This isn't the end of the world and there's 25 kids, along with the five-or-so that enrolled early, that will be welcomed to WSU. Choosing Pullman was the best decision of my life, and it will be their's too. Complaining about the ones that got away will get you nowhere. Embrace what we have and who we are. Forget the rest. It's not worth your time or ours to cry over spilled milk.