Recruiting away from the bright lights

It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what the UCLAs, North Carolinas and Dukes have in their welcome wagons to entice recruits to sign a letter-of-intent.

Locally, St. Mary's possesses that remarkable winning program while Stanford and Cal are, well, Stanford and Cal.

So what does a D-2 school, with limited scholarships and zero television time -- the Holy Grails of recruiting -- utilize in making a case to prospects?

To answer that question, we talked with Chico State Assistant Coach Chris Cobb. The Wildcats play in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, way off the yellow brick road so initially favored by high schoolers.

Cobb is from the Bay Area, having played at Menlo College after starring at Bishop O'Dowd High. He also coached under Bill Treseler at San Francisco State.

"One thing we sell is location," Cobb explained. "We recruit hard in Sacramento and the Bay Area and Chico is close enough to home in order to play in front of family and friends."

"Plus, Chico isn't a commuter school. We have a college town atmosphere and a program supported by the community. The city loves Chico basketball. Chico and Humboldt have a home court advantage, really the  only two schools that do. It's definitely different from others."

So how does Chico State begin the process?

"We're out all summer long," Cobb explained, "going to all the events."   

The staff then makes up a broad list of possibilities, primarily focusing on seniors-to-be.

According to Cobb, "we then narrow it to a top 10 or 15, ranked by position.We like guys from winning programs like Bishop O'Dowd, Serra, De La Salle and others."

Then the suitorship begins.

"We keep tabs, determining serious interest in D-2 and target two or three, getting on them hard," Cobb offered. "We use emails, phone calls and Facebook. The guys we're recruiting know that we want them."

One element Cobb emphasizes is "do you want to go to a place where you are the fourth or fifth option or the first option? You're our guy."

He continued, "Nobody will ever work harder than us. We ask recruits 'who is on you the hardest?' If it isn't us, we'll work harder."

The process is something Cobb enjoys.

"I like developing relationships with these guys. I like talking to them, being genuine so that we can build a bond, a comfort level."

"We tell them to come here if you want to get your degree. You meet us halfway and you'll get a degree. We also say 'you're going to play with great people' -- teammates and coaches -- hardworking people all with a similar purpose."

When a visit takes place, the process evolves.

Cobb said, "We're going to make guys feel like they are special. Once here, they are surprised at the level of play and competition. We talk to them about our skill development, telling them guys get better here."

Ultimately, it comes down to one thing.

"We want guys who want to be great."