There's not a bigger blue-blood than Kentucky, and they have the fans, banners, and facilities to prove it.

Is our program at Kentucky's level? Not even close. But I still HONESTLY believe BYU has more to offer Saunders than Kentucky does/did, and that's why he stayed.

- The bigger fish / smaller pond thing has merit. He'll be a star here. Meanwhile, he'd be just another ho-hum "depth guy" at Kentucky... forgotten in 5 years.

- He's likely to get more playing time here. More opportunity to showcase his skills for the next level.

- The level of competition he'll face at BYU is certainly equal to what he'd face at Kentucky.

- The long-term connections he'll make at BYU will be much more long-term than at Kentucky. Real career connections after he hangs up the shoes.

- The religion thing at BYU is not a small factor for an RM recently married.

- And last but not least, Cougar Nation is about to embrace this kid like no other fan base could. Sure, Kentucky fans would've cheered for him, but we all know he'd be treated like a "rental" over there... all but forgotten in 4 years. Here, he's one of our own! He'll be the fan favorite next season and remembered 20, 30 years down the road.

Richie made the smart move.