The Outlet: Positives and Negatives of Committing Early
This the time of the year where you will see highly recruited prospects commit to a college basketball program heading into their senior year. Here are a few positives and potential negatives of committing early.
What are the positives of committing early?
Recruiting can be a fun but stressful process so their is a certain weight that is lifted off of your soldiers when you commit before your senior year. You get to really know a program and you can spend all year recruiting for your school to other top prospects.
Some players ruin their senior years due to stress and overthinking everything. They end up playing with an agenda with their school team which is never a positive.
Committing verbally or signing the Letter of Intent has become a great way to end all the stress and to allow you to have fun playing the game you love for your final season.
What are the negatives of committing early?
College basketball is a business and if you don’t think so look at Oklahoma State this past spring. Coming off a successful bounce back season and a NCAA tournament birth, their Head Coach bolts to an inferior program for more money.
No one saw it coming.
Unfortunately coaches come and go in today’s game. Committing early puts you in a vulnerable position because the coaches you are speaking to could move on to another school the next year.
What advice would you give to a player thinking about committing early?
Fall in love with the school not the coaches. That sounds strange because you need that report with your coach to trust him. Build a relationship with your coaches but you must see the bigger picture. Ask yourself which school you would go to no matter who the coach is.
So many players end up transferring because they fell in love with the “idea” or persona of their coaches.
What does sticking to your commitment say about you?
It says that you are loyal and dedicated. It shows you ability to stand by your decisions and not be persuaded by outside sources. An underrated benefit of committing early is that the coaches can help you academically.
Many players are on the fence rather they will qualify or not. College coaches will help you understand what you need to do to be fully admitted into that particular school.
If coaches feel like you are committed, they will have your back and support you in any way they can.