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Coppin State basketball loses recruits in wake of Baltimore riots

Coppin State basketball loses recruits in wake of Baltimore riots

The unrest that gripped Baltimore last month led several Coppin State basketball recruits to withdraw their commitments to the program.

Coppin State coach Michael Grant told the Baltimore Sun that the rioting and violence that followed the funeral of Freddie Gray, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody and later died, scared away two members of his eight-man recruiting class.

Grant said he tried to reassure parents that the tensions in the city were a temporary problem and not a regular part of the atmosphere, but he ultimately chose not to push too hard because parents should feel comfortable about the environment to which they are sending their kids.

"The parents were very, very concerned," Grant told the Sun. "Some dealt with it pretty well, and a couple of kids we ended up losing because of the activity going on. They said that they didn't want their kids in that type of environment."

The paper also spoke with coaches and athletic administrators from other Baltimore-area colleges who said they had to calm the fears of parents of both current students and recruits during several weeks of upheaval in the city in April.

Coppin State was the closest college to the area where rioting and looting took place and it was the only athletic department that reported losing recruits because of the unrest, the Sun reported.

Loyola Maryland men's basketball coach G.G. Smith told the newspaper he called a team meeting to talk to his players about what was happening and reminded them to take precautions. He also had his assistant coach and Baltimore native, Keith Booth, talk to the team. The Loyola program rescheduled several recruiting visits during those tumultuous weeks.

 

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!