What does it mean when a site like Verbal Commits or a Twitter post states that a player has received a scholarship offer from the Rockets? During the recruiting periods Coaches will attend events all around the country and seemingly make immediate offers to several players almost at court side. Granted through previous contacts and scouting services they may have enough background information to make an offer but in many cases that offer isn't really a "commitable offer".

https://gmtm.com/articles/college-basket...hould-know

It’s important to remember that a basketball scholarship is not binding until a student-athlete signs a National Letter of Intent (NLI). College basketball coaches might rescind a basketball scholarship offer for many reasons.

A coach’s roster is constantly in a state of flux due to reasons which include: players transferring in and out of a program, grad students using an extra year of eligibility, and academic casualties. When a basketball coach offers you a basketball scholarship, he or she might not have taken into account or predicted changes in the future.

Also, coaches who offer basketball scholarships early during a student-athlete’s recruiting process do so as a measure of recognizing potential, which could be in terms of physical or skill potential.

When a recruited student-athlete fails to develop as anticipated or a coach doesn’t see desired growth in skill development, a coach might rescind a basketball scholarship offer. Remember: “Nothing is guaranteed unless it’s in writing...”

Ask: “Am I on track to receive and earn a National Letter of Intent to sign?”

Not All Basketball Scholarships Are Committable
“If a college basketball coach offers me a basketball scholarship, I can commit at any time, right?”

After receiving a basketball scholarship offer, immediately follow up with the question, “Am I able to commit now?” If a coach says you aren’t able to commit, then, assuredly, it’s a non-committable offer.

College basketball coaches extend non-committable offers for a myriad of reasons, which include publicity exposure and to retain coaching relationships with coaches at the grassroots, AAU, and high school levels. Also, college basketball coaches can offer you a basketball scholarship, despite not having an actual basketball scholarship available or a roster spot for you.

Ask: “Is this a committable offer?!”

As I understand the rules, I believe an offer is not a "real" offer until it is a written offer which details the amount of financial aid offered. By NCAA rules, those aren't allowed to be sent until August 1 of the athlete's senior year. Even then, of course, the offer doesn't turn into a commitment until an NLI is signed. So, prior to that, verbal offers are really just expressions of interest. We as fans have essentially no insight into which verbal offers are just passing interest in the player (just in case) and which ones are to players the school really wants and is working hard to get.

Cullop talked some about recruiting in the age of the transfer portal in her recent podcast interview with Balbinot. Because she is not going to get every recruit she goes after, she has to recruit multiple players at each position that needs to be filled. She said some of the recruits will delay their decisions and then lose the slot when someone else commits first, even though they really did want to commit to UT. It is worse, she said, with the transfer portal, as a player may become available in the portal that fits the needs of the team better than the HS recruit, and so there is even more of a chance to lose a slot if they delay a decision. Therefore she recommends to athletes to do a lot of research early and, assuming they find a place they like, commit early and don't wait around thinking a better offer may come, because the offer you thought you had may go away.

How does the coach react when an athlete is holding out for the best offer to come along ? I believe those athletes are your 4 or 5 star athletes, the can't miss types. The rest I believe are taking their chances that the school they really want will offer that scholarship, if not, they settle for 2nd choices. That is where the athlete having the relax transfer portals as they are, will transfer out after one season or 2 to the school they wanted from the get go. Case in point, I believe this is what happen here at Wright State in the case of guard Tanner Holden 6-6 small forward from Wheelersburg Oh who transfer to OSU (his dream school all along). He was a 2019 enrollee at Wright State. This past season he got to show off his skills on the big stage during the NCAA tournament playin game and subsequently the game against Arizona.