The Outlet: Prospects lying about offers
There are a few sins you can commit as a high school prospect that can get you a bad reputation and blackballed in your area. One of them is lying about getting offers from certain schools when that is not in fact true.
Obviously lying in any situation is wrong but I’ll answer some of these questions to give you a greater context on why lying about offers is particularly frowned upon.
Why do kids lie about offers?
We have become so consumed with social media that we will lie about a serious matter to get retweets and likes not understand the consequences of our actions.
First of all, it makes you look bad. Sure a coach may have called you and they have expressed interest but that doesn’t mean that you have an offer on the table.
If you are dealing with a good college coaching staff, you will know if you have been offered or not.
What effects does it have on the school that is being lied about?
The worst thing as a college coach is to walk into a recruiting event and have another coach from a different program tell you about an offer you supposedly have out there for a kid.
It’s embarrassing and infuriating to be caught off guard and to learn that you can’t trust a kid you are interested in. Don’t put the coaches recruiting you in that position.
They now have to look at you in a different light. Coaches become your de facto “guardians” when you arrive on their campus and the last thing they want to deal with is liars.
What respect do you lose from lying about an offer?
You lose the respect of the media who are usually on your side and wants to see your flourish. They can no longer trust you which results in less coverage which hurts the prospect.
Coaches are in contact with media members they trust and word travels a lot faster when a kid is known to be a knucklehead or a lier.
How can prospects avoid miscommunication with their coaches recruiting them?
Be upfront and honest about what you are looking for as far as on the floor, financially, and in the classroom.
I always respected a kid more when he laid out his wishes and was very clear on his expectations.
Coaches can then go back and see if they can meet those needs. Kids who are clear usually are higher on the board than kids who are difficult and wavering.
This clear communication will eliminate a lot of empty words that can cause confusion. Usually what you give off to coaches is what you get back.
If you are difficult and vague then that’s what type of communication you will get from your coach but if you are honest and detailed, coaches will respect that and communicate back to you in that way.