Now that coach Jim Boylen has signed his lucrative new contract, he has a little more ammunition with which to fight off in recruiting the claim that “he's not going to be there” — something he has encountered quite a bit.

Of course, it's not necessarily true.

Although my understanding is that the buyout in the first couple of years of the contract is quite substantial — haven't seen the actual contract yet, though — the fact of the matter is that buyout or no buyout, if the right job comes along for the right money, coaches will leave. That's just the way of the world.

That said, signing a new deal shows a reciprocal commitment between Boylen and the university that can only be encouraging for prospective players. Without it, recruits might have fairly wondered if the school had much faith in Boylen, after such a strong season — and Boylen might have been more active in seeking other opportunities.

In fact, it definitely helped Boylen to have had Arizona and Memphis sniffing around at the end of last season, and surely athletic director Chris Hill knew that if Xavier's Sean Miller hadn't finally taken the Arizona job, Boylen might well have been the one signing a massive contract with the Wildcats.

And nobody around here wanted that.