In April, I wrote about the risk that accompanied the signing of Anthony Hubbard to a letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Iowa.
His checkered past has been well documented — and it was thoroughly researched by Iowa coaches and administrators before he was offered a scholarship to join the Hawkeyes.
As I wrote nearly three months ago, Fran McCaffery is in a position where he must take a risk or two on the recruiting trail as he attempts to rebuild a basketball program that has struggled for a prolonged period of time in the Big Ten.
Hubbard offered offensive potential and at his age of 26, he offered a maturity which coaches seldom find as they recruit.
McCaffery has said repeatedly since signing Hubbard that he is aware that risks can sometimes be a double-edged sword.
He took one for the team when it was announced Thursday that Hubbard had left the team before even attending an Iowa practice.
The player who sounded so promising had decided to pack his bags with plans of finding a place closer to home to play.
If ink could talk, the words printed on the terse release Iowa issued Thursday afternoon announcing the departure would be tinted with anger.
Both McCaffery and Iowa director of athletics Gary Barta addressed the amount of time and energy the Hawkeyes had spent in recruiting Hubbard.
They also touched on the extraordinary amount of research they did into Hubbard’s background, including in-person interviews with Barta and a representative of UI president Sally Mason’s office during Hubbard’s recruiting visit.
McCaffery clearly felt Hubbard was worthy of an opportunity, despite the genuine risk, but his loyalty to a player in need of a second chance now goes unrewarded.
The announcement of Hubbard’s departure was filled with holes, questions that will follow the basketball player to his next destination.
McCaffery will likely find himself asking a few more questions, both of himself and of recruits, the next time a player with a similar history seems like part of the solution to Iowa’s long-term problems.