Missfit

No, Tristan Spurlock was far from a misfit - it simply appears UVa was not a good fit for him. In other words, a miss-fit. By all accounts, his decision to leave is solely due to basketball and where he fits in moving forward. Hoo fans have speculated the move for months, and, quite frankly, it comes as no big surprise. As a top-100 rated recruit and a player expected to come in and get immediate playing time, the fact he played very little this past season made it a natural for fans to speculate his departure. Despite the constant talk about his future, Spurlock contends he finalized his decision last night, and it stemmed from the fact Coach Bennett saw him as power forward while he envisioned himself as a wing player.

Spurlock came to Virginia after having a couple of contentious relationships with previous coaches, but in this case, the freshman out of Word of Life Christian Academy has proven a model citizen. He continues to say all of the right things; singing the praises of UVa, and the fans (not too often anyone compliments Virginia fans) as well as showing unwavering respect for Bennett. Spurlock has shown a great deal of class throughout the entire ordeal (unlike senior Calvin Baker, he never griped about playing time), and he has handled the transfer with a sense of maturity far beyond that of most freshman. It's hard for Hoo fans not to like him.

Some people will likely wonder why Bennett fought so hard to keep him committed to the Cavs if he wasn't a good fit for his system. First and foremost, that assumes Bennett knew right away that Spurlock was not a player well suited for his system, and there is no indication of that being the case. Even more importantly, keeping Spurlock was a necessary PR move for the new coach - it was an early win that showed he could come in, pick up the pieces, and start the program moving forward. Losing Spurlock would have signaled that the wheels had fallen off and that Bennett was working with a program stripped down to its foundation. Ultimately, Bennett has reworked the program - breaking it down to the foundation in order to install his system and philosophies with the intent to build it back up from there. Yet at the time, keeping Spurlock was a key pickup for Bennett and helped maintain the positive outlook that came with his arrival.

Many UVa fans will be disappointed not to have had the chance to see what could of become of Spurlock - it was an intriguing story to say the least. It will certainly come as no shock to see Spurlock do well somewhere else, and given the fact he is leaving on good terms, most Virginia fans will likely be rooting for him. We here at the Society wish him all the best.