by Alex Schwartz

The NCAA Coaching carousel has been turning rapidly these past few weeks, which means that the futures of committed and signed prospects across the country are once again foggy.

Even before Norm Roberts was fired at St. John's, Red Storm signee Ron Roberts '10 of St. Peter's Prep (NJ) was already confused about his future. Imagine how players feel when the head coaches they thought they would be playing for are actually fired or leave for a different job.

Both De'Mon Brooks '10 of Hopewell (NC) and Josh Daniell '10 of St. Patrick's (NJ) are in that exact situation. In the early signing period, Brooks signed with Howard and Daniell inked with Wagner. Now, Gil Jackson has been fired at Howard while Wagner has dismissed Mike Deane. The two players are handling their futures in different ways.

"I was disappointed and shocked. I didn't know what I wanted to do," said Brooks of his reaction to hearing the news that Jackson had been removed of his duties.

The bruising power forward has since been released from his Letter of Intent, and schools have gotten involved. "I'm still getting recruited by schools. I will make a decision within the next couple of weeks," commented Brooks. He said that Davidson, Elon, and Appalachian State are the three programs involved. He does not list any favorites.

Asked if Howard is an option, Brooks responded, "At this point, no." Depending on who is hired as Jackson's replacement, might Brooks still go with the MEAC school? "Probably not."

Josh Daniell, a long combo forward, had a similar reaction to heaing about Coach Dunne's dismissal that Brooks had about Jackson's. "I was disappointed at first, knowing that I would not be able to have the chance for him to coach me. He seems like a very good coach and I would have liked the opportunity to learn from him."

Despite his disappointment, Daniell still plans on attending Wagner next year. "Yes, I like the school and the whole atmosphere. Wagner is the place for me," remarked Daniell, who is ranked #44 in Northstar Basketball's New Jersey Class of 2010 Fab 50.

On who he wants Wagner to hire, Daniell commented, "It really doesn't matter because I know I have to come in and play as hard as I can for whichever coach and try to win some games."

Be sure to stay tuned, as I will be posting more updates on players that have been impacted by the recent coaching changes.

Note- photo is of De'Mon Brooks and is from http://prepinsiders.blogspot.com/