tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489976410121533313.post3938696902362029909..comments2023-11-11T19:09:33.398-07:00Comments on Big Sky Basketball: Changes Coming to Mormon MissionsJonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06120614209940641241noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489976410121533313.post-28153075845018978922012-10-10T11:54:50.207-06:002012-10-10T11:54:50.207-06:00I like the idea of moving the age to 18. I think ...I like the idea of moving the age to 18. I think a school still takes a risk in signing a mission kid, but it seems to be somewhat reduced now. If a kid is good enough to play as an 18 year old, I almost feel like he is getting a year to "audtion" against college level competition before leaving on a 2 year mission. An athlete is able to be re-recruited after one year, so the school who originally signed him undertakes some risk.<br /> <br />A couple of examples. Riley Nelson, the QB currently at BYU, originally signed and played at Utah State. After he went on a mission, his father has stated that BYU asked and received permission from the mission president to contact him. This opened up a can of worms, because many were left wondering if the mission president would have given permission to non-mormon schools asking to contact him. Regardless, he ended up signing and transferring to BYU. ISU had a good freshman player in the 90's, Justin Jones, and something similar happened with him. He left for a mission, and after at least a year, he was contact by Larry Eustachey (then at Utah State). Jones ended up enrolling and playing at USU upon returning from his mission. They didn't lose a year of eligibility by doing this, either.<br /><br />Now, a kid can go on his mission at 18 and still have 5 years to play 4 when he returns. If he's still committed to play, he can redshirt that first year to get back into the swing of things. If he decides to transfer any time after that, he would need to sit out at least a year if at the same division. It seems a little more fair for the school which initially took the risk of signing him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com