Roster Turnover Continues: Baylor grants C Dominic Woodson's request for a release

According to numerous people on twitter, 2013 MBB recruit Dominic Woodson, a top-100 national player, has asked for and received a release from his LOI to Baylor Basketball. Some are speculating this request came as a result of Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson returning to Baylor this season, greatly increasing the chance that Woodson might be asked to redshirt, while others say he was a grade risk from the get-go. For the record, per NCAA rules, should Woodson not qualify and be forced to go the prep school route before enrolling, he would have to be released from his LOI, anyway.

To be honest, I don't know for certain what the truth is. I've heard speculation for weeks about the likelihood he wouldn't qualify, meaning Baylor might have always had one more potential scholarship spot than we thought, but it hasn't been confirmed. And it won't be confirmed until it happens, since Baylor can't comment on a prospective student-athlete's qualification. We've also heard, though, that Woodson doesn't see himself as someone that would need a redshirt year, despite the fact that he probably does. That could be why ESPN's Jason King said this was a "bad fit" from the start just a few minutes ago. If someone knows for certain what's going on, they're not talking about it openly.

We can take away from this, however, that Baylor now has an open spot should we choose to use it, and I'd think that former Mizzou player Michael Dixon is the primary candidate. Dixon could step in immediately at PG and be one of the best players on the team, if not the best, elevating our chances for a deep postseason run almost by himself. There is, of course, baggage to take into consideration from Dixon's past that muddies the water a bit. We'd have to decide if that's worth it.

You also deal with the fact that as a transfer player, Dixon would technically have to sit out a year. He'll definitely apply for a waiver as a senior, since sitting out would exhaust his remaining eligibility, so it will be interesting to see if that request is granted. Dixon didn't play at all this year after his legal troubles and has a good argument based on previous cases for immediate eligibility, but again, the NCAA is hardly consistent in its application of its own rules.

We'll see going forward how all this turns out. I wouldn't expect anything to happen immediately on the Dixon front, if it ever happens, since all the teams that would be interested in him won't want to give a scholarship to a player that might never play. They'll wait out the NCAA process first. The bottom line for us is that our roster has changed considerably since last season, but I don't know if that's really a bad thing. We lost two players most say were unlikely to contribute and a recruit that probably wouldn't have made it here in the first place. We've also gained a player that should be, at the very least, a valuable role player this season in Royce O'Neale, assuming his own transfer situation gets worked out, and another potential impact recruit in Allerik Freeman. I'm ok with this.