Arizona announced this morning that they were granting Emmanuel Negedu his full and unconditional release from his signed letter of intent and this may actually be the best news of the offseason so far.

Yesterday on Happy Hour we discussed, for basically the entire show (I was able to get in a few jabs at the NBA Playoffs), whether Arizona should release him from his letter of intent.  The speculation from Negedu's coach and several other media outlets stated that Arizona was not considering a release at that point.  I strongly felt Arizona should release him, if at the very least, to avoid further public discussion about the reasons for the release.  The discussion also allowed me to introduce the corniest joke ever told on Happy Hour; calling him Emmanuel Nege-don't want to come to Arizona.  It was a joke worthy of being on the worst sitcom which is really any sitcom on ABC.

I think Coach Olson and Jim Livengood's quick decision to grant the release is a good example of what can be avoided with decisive action.  This issue is now resolved and anything that happens will be just a foot note.

Arizona has struggled this offseason to quickly resolve outstanding issues that have adversely effected the program and to an even greater extent, the publc perception of the program.  When issues linger, such as ambiguous reasoning for coaches being let go, a players transfer status, unfilled coaching vacancies, etc., they become explored, discussed, and repeated.

Let's think about the last 24-48 hours for the basketball team. Two highly qualified new assistant coaches introduced to the media where they left a very positive impression, a combo guard from California commits to play next season, and Arizona reaches a quick decision on a tough situation.  Its been the best 2 day stretch for Arizona Basketball since any 2 days Kevin O'Neill didn't cuss a player out.  Actually, that probably never happened, so lets just say its the best 2 day stretch in a long time for Arizona.