Rivals five-star shooting guard Tyler Dorsey, out of Maranatha High School (Pasadena, California), says he loves the University of Oregon. He's 100 percent committed to a future in Eugene, and he has no interest in any other programs.

He intends to enroll at Oregon in June and has a strong relationship with both head coach Dana Altman and assistant coach Tony Stubblefield, who has known Dorsey since his freshman year.

But the Gatorade state player of the year in California said he won't be signing a National Letter of Intent, shining a spotlight on a growing issue for high school prospects and the NCAA.

"Me and my family decided we are not going to sign the National Letter of Intent, but it's guaranteed we're going to Oregon," Dorsey said. "We just decided as a family - came together - and we're not going to do that."

Dorsey isn't trying to make a statement or get extra attention. He sees it as a pretty simple issue, really.

"Signing that means you can't get out of it if anything bad happens," he said.

According to the NCAA website, the NLI was created by a collection of seven conferences in 1964 with the "original intention... to curb recruiting excesses that began when college sports became a national endeavor with the increased television exposure of the late 1940s and early 1950s."

Once signed, the three-page contract ensures a bond between the institution and prospective student-athlete that will last at least one academic year, and makes it a violation for other institutions to continue to recruit the aforementioned individual.

Although the overwhelming majority of recruits are quick to ink NLIs on or around signing day - an unofficial holiday in college sports circles - the document is not a requirement.

In fact, it says so in the letter itself:

"The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a voluntary program with regards to both institutions and prospective student-athletes."

However, if that optional agreement is broken by the prospective student-athlete, the NCAA can rule that student ineligible for athletic participation for one year:

"I understand that if I do not attend the institution named in this document for one full academic year and I enroll in another institution participating in the NLI program, I may not compete in intercollegiate athletics until I have completed one full academic year in residence at the latter institution."

That's where Dorsey and his family have an issue.

Tyler Dorsey on his September visit to the University of Oregon

He knows that he wants to go to Oregon, and after registering 33.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game as a senior, it's not as though the Ducks are prepared to recruit somebody for the five-star shooting guard's spot any time soon.

He wants to keep his options open. Just in case.

"It was a family decision," Samia Dorsey, Tyler's mother, said. "We just decided it'd be best, just in case a coach leaves, he has the opportunity to re-evaluate that decision, so he's not stuck. He loves the school, but he built a relationship with Altman and Stubblefield, so if they would leave, you don't know who's coming in... it gives you an option."

And if the Oregon basketball program is concerned about Dorsey's hesitancy, they certainly aren't showing it, according to Samia Dorsey.

"We haven't talked to Oregon about (concerns)," she said. "They seem comfortable."

At first glance, it may seem like Dorsey is being paranoid about the possibility of major changes at Oregon, so it might be worth a quick rewind to explain his stance.

The 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard, who was once committed to Arizona for five months, took an official visit to Oregon in early September and committed on February 2. Less than a year prior to the apex of Dorsey's recruitment, Oregon dismissed three players - Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin - from the basketball team in the wake of rape allegations, placing Altman on the hot seat.

On the court, Altman has been recognized as one of the top coaches in the country, leading Oregon to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, while winning Pac-12 coach of the year two of the past three seasons.

While it's highly likely that Altman will return for another season, both the off-the-court controversy and his on-the-court winning ways make him a possible target to go.

One might think the NCAA is understanding when it comes to a player having a change of heart when the coach that recruited him or her leaves. In reality, college athletics' governing body recognizes it as a potential pitfall, and directly states in the LOI that it is not a valid excuse for breaking a commitment:

"I understand I have signed this NLI with the institution and not for a particular sport or coach. If a coach leaves the institution or the sports program (e.g., not retained, resigns), I remain bound by the provisions of this NLI."

Famously, one football recruit avoided that sticky situation in February by making the same decision as Dorsey.

ESPN four-star linebacker Roquan Smith committed to UCLA on signing day, but decided not to sign his letter of intent. Only hours later rumors began to surface that Bruins defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would be stepping down from his position to accept the linebacker coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons. It took a few days, but those rumors proved true.

The following week Smith, unencumbered by a letter of intent, committed to - but also decided not to sign binding paperwork for - Georgia.

Just like that the recruiting world was turned on its ear, as Smith's controversial stance marked a historic recruiting process that put a spotlight on the perfect example as to why elite recruits could benefit from refusing to sign a letter of intent.

So why are so many kids signing them when they restrict an athlete's ability to move on if something happens with their chosen school?

The fear of a school signing someone else is real for many student-athletes, so stability is a factor that should not go unaccounted for by the vast majority of student-athletes.

However, for a small group of elite recruits who possess the leverage many prospects cannot, Samia Dorsey argues, the movement for not signing a letter of intent has come from a lesson many learn at a young age: read the instructions.

"They are reading the fine print about it," she said.

Dorsey is the most high-profile Oregon recruit ever to refuse to sign a National Letter of Intent, but Maranatha High School coach Tim Tucker insists Ducks fans shouldn't be concerned.

If comfortable, Dorsey can simply sign the necessary paperwork when he arrives on campus in June.

"I think he's committed to Oregon, he likes Oregon, he's always talking about how much he likes it," Tucker said. "He liked the visit, he likes the style. I wouldn't read too much into it. These days you've got to be careful."

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec