When it's good, like the girl with the curl, college basketball recruiting produces win-win outcomes for all parties involved. But when it turns bad, embittered feelings, language and actions come to the fore. Is there a righteous path that will guarantee that the former marks the outcome? The answer is no as even Lloyd's of London won't dare insure such a mercurial process. But there are guidelines that suggest, if not predict, mutual success -- here they are.
THE BEGINNING
Recruiting begins with form letters and questionnaires -- mass mailings to a degree -- sent to a prospect. Call it vague interest, a shotgun-type suitorship approach by colleges. It's a nice acknowledgment and an ego boost to be a recipient but these efforts have little or no actual meaning or value in the process
Then eventually comes the handwritten letters, the calls, the texts and the emails as a honing in of sorts. This is a whittling down of possibilities by the coaching staffs to something more manageable. trackable and serious.
Players are followed via open gym play, general camps, elite camps and unofficial campus visits.
Then, alongside high school play, comes the various spring and summer club team tournaments.
A key element here for a prospect is finding an appropriate club team that will meet individual needs. Factors to be considered are:
* what's the history and reputation with the club and coach? Are players utilized as pawns for payments or for accessing an assistant coach or basketball operations position at the collegiate level?
* what spring and summer tournaments will be played in so as to maximize collegiate exposure?
* are certain players featured/does the mix of players operate as a team or as a showcase for the best on the squad?
* what's the level of the team roster turnover and why?
Additionally, prospects are also discovered by recruiters through word of mouth, professional contacts, cruising the 'net, the ever-burgeoning multitude of recruiting sites and sometimes by luck itself. The latter comes about through catching a previous unknown kid because a recruiter hit the wrong gym, arrived early or stayed late and witnessed an intriguing performance.
Individual prospect profiles are being pieced together all this time consisting of evaluations of work ethic, skills set, contribution projection at the next level, academics, mutual interest, sign-ability, and coach-ability.
Very critical to the process is an ordering of a player's value by a coaching staff. Recruits are ranked as #1, #2, #3, #4 , #5 and so on as 'targets' at each position.
The non in-person contacting remains in place until transforming into actual home visits and official campus visits.
One other action a player can take to increase visibility is putting together a videotape and mailing it out to selective college coaches. The best consist of a demonstration of effort and attitude on the floor, offensive strengths, defensive presence, passing and ballhandling skills and rebounding prowess. A listing of personal contact information (including that of your high school and club team coaches), SAT/ACT scores, grade point average and transcript availability information should be included. A rap soundtrack is not required.
TAKE A PERSONAL INVENTORY
Determine what you want in an educational setting -- is it a big school/small school, a city/suburban/rural school, a certain student/teacher classroom ratio?
Determine the basketball program you wish to join:
* is it an already winning program?
* do you see yourself more in the role of a program changer?
* is signing with the highest-ranked program that offers first and foremost?
* is the possibility for early playing time versus sitting a year or more a factor?
* what coaching style brings out your best -- a Phil Jackson type? Bob Knight? someone in between?
* is parents or relatives coming to home games a factor or not?
ACTUAL OFFERS
Once a formal offer is received, the ball still resides on the courts of both parties.
A player can 'commit' but nothing is 'real' until NCAA official until a letter-of-intent is signed, be it in the November or spring signing periods. A prospect will continue to receive contacts from the verbaled-to coaching staff and realistically other schools will continue making last-minute outreaches gauging the strength of the spoken commitment.
A prospect has the option to wait (for a little or a long while) in order to see what other offers are extended and/or to remain in play until the second basketball recruiting period opens
Some college offers are open-ended with one or both sides elect to letting it 'float' but others come with drop-dead dates in which an answer is required or the offer is rescinded.
The general advice seen most often is to remain open to all offers and interests until a formal decision has been made.
Some prominent factors to consider when deciding include:
* how many years remain on the contracts of the various coaches? are extensions expected? are the current college athletics directors the ones who hired the current coaches in your mix?
* what are the 'rumors' about the basketball programs? have the head coaches been prominently mentioned in conjunction with other positions or considered under fire?
* do the head coaches have a history of oversigning recruits and ultimately running off the ones no longer preferred as some are well known to be run-off coaches, whether it be a situation of a player not evolving as projected or a transfer becoming available who is perceived to be better or a recruiting target thought 'lost' or 'unreachable' expresses or renews interest.
* what's the focus of the each recruiting pitch? is a coach negatively recruiting or promoting the best of his school and program?
* does a specific scholarship offer also include tuition costs for a fifth year?
* how many, if any, scholarships are available? -- some schools wish to convince players to come as a walk-on but want a recruit on campus before broaching this subject
AFTER DECIDING
Obviously, call the 'winning' head coach first with your acceptance of a scholarship offer but then also call each coach in your finals list of schools and thank them for the opportunity.
RETRACTING
Remember, college sports are a business, with a yearly scholarship renewal -- or not. There should be a mandatory tattoo required on the arm of each frosh to serve as a visible remainder of this etched-in-granite fact as all isn't little chocolates placed on your pillow each night after you arrive as a freshman on campus. This relationship can quickly evolve into a vituperous divorce the second it stops working for either party.
Hopefully, all the homework done will lead to for a successful and positive college and basketball program experience. But all is not lost if that doesn't transpire -- just learn from the experience and carefully repeat the guidelines and process.
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