This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
When Quincy Bair and Marcel Davis committed to Utah State last summer, the consensus was that the Aggies had overachieved a bit to secure a pledge from those two months before their junior seasons, and that as their game and profiles grew, so would interest in their services - whether they were committed or not.
Sure enough, that scenario played out this weekend with Bair, a weekend that proved to be tense and anxious for USU's coaching staff.
Proving to be much more aggressive at in-state recruiting than Jim Boylen, Larry Krystkowiak, Utah's new head coach, offered Bair late last week, the Salt Lake Tribune has learned.
With the offer, Krystkowiak attempted to sell Bair, an athletic 6-5 small forward out of American Fork, on the prospect of playing in the Pac-12. Bair told the ute staff of his commitment, and it didn't take long for news of the offer to reach USU assistant Chris Jones and Stew Morrill.
The Aggie staff, the Tribune learned, was irate. Morrill, on Sunday morning, called Krystkowiak personally to voice his displeasure since it was already known that Bair had committed.
"I understand both sides," Bair told the Tribune. "I know why the coaches at Utah State were angry, and at the same time, I know that coach Krystkowiak was just doing his job. But I'm committed to Utah State, 100 percent."
For a minute it didn't seem that way. The USU coaching staff asked Bair to call Utah and say "thanks, but no thanks,". That didn't happen on Saturday night.
But Bair and Marcel Davis, USU's point guard recruit from the same school, are best friends. On Saturday night, the two had a long talk, according to Marcel Davis' father Rodney.
"They want to play college basketball together," Rodney Davis said. "Quincy told Marcel that he wasn't going anywhere without him, and Marcel is completely committed to Utah State."
On Sunday, the situation stabilized a bit for the Aggies. Bair had several talks with the USU coaching staff, and again told the Aggies of his commitment.
For USU, November's signing period can't come fast enough. Bair and Davis are clearly two of the top five players in the state, and two guys that have potential to be the core of USU's team when they arrive in Logan.
Krystkowiak was just being aggressive because he faces a depleted roster and needs to turn a downtrodden program around. But with his 25 year relationship with Stew Morrill, it will be interesting to see the dynamic of that friendship as they begin competing for recruits.
Tony Jones