Wayne Blackshear originally committed to U of L on Christmas Day 2009. About a week later, reports out of Chicago said it was a soft commitment and he was still open to hearing from other schools.
Blackshear said he never wavered once he made his decision.
“When I made that commitment, I knew I was coming,” he said. “As far as all that other stuff, I don’t know where it came from. They were just rumors, but it was never true. I was always coming here after the first day I committed.”
What really gave the rumors legs was the fact that Blackshear played for a club team with deep ties to Nike and there was no way the powers that be would allow him to be steered to an adidas school.
What those rumors didn’t take into account was his mother, not his coaches, had the final say in where he would go. And Carol Blackshear wasn’t concerned about sneakers.
“That recruiting process gets out of hand because people don’t take control over their household and their children,” she said. “I’m the boss. Period. I don’t need anybody to come in after 19-20 years and tell me what’s best for me or him. The rumors that were put out there were put out there by people who wanted to be in control. And in the end people saw who was in control.”
Needless to say, U of L coach Rick Pitino said he knew once she signed off, he didn’t have to worry about the ‘soft commitment’ rumors.
“Carol is the reason that Wayne is at Louisville,” Pitino said. “She was a very big supporter of mine personally, very big supporter of our (former) assistant coach Steve Masiello and without her I’m not sure Wayne would have wound up at here. So we’re obviously extremely found of his mom she’s a very strong willed lady and very much behind us.”
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