Philly's Maurice Watson orally commits to Boston University

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We've spent a good deal of space here tracking the progress of Boys' Latin point guard Maurice Watson, a Class of 2012 recruit who appeared to have his sights set on Penn last spring. His father and coach even called Penn Watson's top choice back in March. But a breakout summer on the AAU circuit elevated Watson's standing as a prospect, leading to 18 college offers.

Wednesday at Boys' Latin, Watson announced his decision to attend Boston University next fall. He had narrowed his choice down to nine teams by the beginning of August -- none of which were Penn -- and five teams before today's announcement, including La Salle. Interestingly, the Terriers are now coached by former Columbia head man Joe Jones, who spent last season under former Penn assistant Steve Donahue at Boston College, after Philadelphia native Pat Chambers left for Penn State in June. Jones' brother James has been head coach at Yale since 1999. Watson will become the fifth Philadelphia area player on the Terriers' roster.

Though Penn being out of the mix took away much of the drama from our perspective, there are definitely some key takeaways from Watson's recruitment. To me, the main thing this shows is that scholarship offers from mid-majors usually trump offers from the Ivy League. I'm sure Jones is elated to be able to reel in kids like Watson, which would have been impossible at Columbia. And it must be frustrating for Penn coach Jerome Allen to let players like Watson slip from his grasp. Which relates to my other main takeaway, that Watson's commitment is another indication of how challenging Allen's pursuit of the Quakers' first Philly Public League recruit in 30 years will be. Already, two known recruits who for a time appeared headed for Penn -- Watson and longtime friend Xavier Harris from Constitution -- have gone in different directions, though Harris is still focused on getting here.

Watson also shows how quickly a prospect can "blow up" on the recruiting scene and turn from possibility to pipe dream for Allen and his staff. The Quakers did well to get involved with Watson early, and to target a 5'10 player who mid- or high-majors might consider undersized. But sometimes, too, nabbing quality recruits can hinder a program's pursuit of other recruits -- Watson said the addition of fellow Class of 2012 point guard Jamal Lewis meant he would see reduced minutes if he chose Penn. We also learned that Watson was told he needed an 1820 SAT score, a number to keep in mind as Penn attempts to lure future recruits away from scholarship programs that surely have significantly lower thresholds.