It's often what we don't know that matters more

We've been following Arizona Western prospect Andre Almeida for some time. His 'presence' -- 6-foot-11, 300 pounds -- demanded attention and our intrigue grew when he was named the most valuable player last season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.

Who is this kid? He's out of Brazil and averaged 13.7 points, 8 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots a game as a freshman for Coach Kelly Green, shooting 70% from the floor.

Almeida certainly sounded like a player to snag if you wanted some beef in the middle.

What we didn't know until today is that Nebraska 'placed' Almeida at Arizona Western and voila! the young man recently announced a commitment to the Cornhuskers. From an article at Arizona Preps (a Rivals sub required):

"Nebraska was instrumental in him coming to the United States and recommending him to us, so he's had it in his mind that's where he would go, pending the visit," AWC Head coach Kelly Green said. "They wanted to know if he was willing to work, and I think him coming back and losing all that weight (38 pounds) has shown he's willing to do what it takes to succeed on this level and the next level."

It's not explicit that Almeida would head to Nebraska but implicit at the very least. So anyone minus this knowledge, hoping that Almeida might end up on his or her favorite college team, was obviously in the dark (including us).

In recruiting (as in so many other matters), it's often what we don't know that matters more.