Busting Brackets
Fansided

All Indications Point Toward Austin Nichols Joining Virginia Cavaliers

By Chris Godfrey

facebooktwitterreddit

The ugly saga surrounding the transfer of Memphis Tigers big man Austin Nichols has finally come to a conclusion. After a complicated ordeal that subjected the Memphis basketball program to widespread criticism and forced Nichols to hire an attorney to represent his interests, the two parties have finally agreed to part ways in an amicable fashion.

More from Memphis Tigers

After a scathing rebuke from Nichols’ newly hired attorney, Memphis made an almost immediate mea culpa, granting Nichols his release without restriction. Now all signs seem to point towards an eventual marriage between the talented forward and the Virginia Cavaliers, where Nichols can be a key contributor for the head coach Tony Bennett after he sits out the 2015-2016 season.

A move from Memphis to Virginia was one of the occurrences that Memphis originally tried to prevent when they first released Nichols under a blanket of restrictions.

The terms of Nichols initial release forbade him from transferring to any school listed on Memphis’ 2015-2016 schedule. Iowa, Providence, and Virginia were also placed off limits due to the fact that Memphis will play these schools in the 2016 Emerald Coast Classic (a preseason tournament in Florida). For good measure, Nichols was also blocked from attending Tennessee for no reason beyond the fact that the Volunteers are Memphis’ hated rivals. 

Memphis’ change of heart regarding the restrictions was probably dictated by the involvement of  super attorney Don Jackson, who dropped this bomb on Memphis head coach Josh Pastner and his regime in an email that Jackson sent out to select members of the media.

"“Memphis’ denial of his release is based upon a bad faith effort to deny his request to transfer,” Jackson wrote in an email that was sent to multiple media members on Tuesday. “The current NCAA regulations relative to member institution to member institution transfers violate the Sherman Act (as they illegally affect both the ‘input’ and ‘output’ markets). Further, the restrictions are nothing more than a calculated effort to punish Austin’s family for his desire to transfer to a new program. Although the staff has attempted to imply ‘tampering,’ the broad nature of the restrictions clearly establishes that ‘tampering’ is not an issue; this is a calculated effort by a dysfunctional staff to punish a player for taking a step to remove himself from a failing program.”"

It’s clear that Memphis wanted no parts of a legal tussle with the likes of Jackson, which ultimately led to the program swiftly complying with Nichols’ wishes once the contents of Jackson’s message hit the news wire.

Obviously, Nichols intends to transfer to one of the schools that he was previously blocked from attending. He wouldn’t have retained counsel to have the stipulations lifted otherwise.

After coming to that realization, some thorough reporting from NBC Sports’ Rob Dauster sheds additional light on where Nichols may be leaning towards spending his future.

"“The Cavs and Tony Bennett offered Nichols in high school and were one of the final schools on his list before he committed to Memphis. The connections run deeper than that. Paul Tudor Jones II, the billionaire that founded Tudor Investments, donated $35 million to Virginia, his alma mater, to help with the construction of Virginia’s new basketball arena. The building, John Paul Jones Arena, is named after his father. Paul Tudor Jones II now lives in Memphis and is reportedly close with Nichols’ former AAU coach.”"

If Dauster has indeed pinpointed a pipeline that leads Nichols to Charlottesville, the Hoos could be on the verge of a major coup. Nichols was on the verge of stardom during his sophomore season in the American, and has the ability to be an All-ACC performer after he sits out his transfer year. A two-year stint at Virginia could help maintain the Cavs recent success in the ACC, and it could also lead to the type of exposure that may get Nichols noticed by scouts and general managers on the next level.

Next: Kansas Jayhawks Win Gold at World University Games

More from Busting Brackets