Modern Day Recruiting: Ten Things You Should Know

Spending 11 months in the gym each year and 12 months on the phone talking recruiting I have picked up a lot of things that I think parents, coaches, players and fans should know in the modern game of basketball. Here are those ten things.   Before I get going, you don't have to take my word for it, and I know many of you won't. We are in a time where too many parents of young players are listening to what they want to hear from people, and not what they need to hear. And too often they learn things too late.   And nothing below is a certainty. There are players that will buck the trend no doubt, but most players won't buck the trend. So what are the trends people should know? We give you ten items NOW.   One. Take Advantage of Every Call/Offer/Message from Colleges. Scholarship offers are not trophies and they are not ever lasting. Scholarship offers are opportunities that need to be jumped on, because they will go away quicker now than ever before. Be proud of them, but also be proactive with them.   If a school calls you, pick up the phone and talk to that school no matter who it is. Even if you think they are at a level lower than you want to go, they might be the highest level you can go OR that coach calling you might be at a higher level school very soon. OR that coach might be at a school you want to transfer to in the future. Develop that relationship immediately.   If a school offers you a scholarship look into it and consider it. That does not mean you have to take it, some offers are not very big financially or they might not be right for you academically. But make sure you look into it immediately and often.   All offers are not the same. There are division two offers you see that are for a tenth of the tuition and there are division two offers that are for 90 percent of the tuition. No player explains the difference in their announcement. That said, scholarship should all be looked into right away.   Two. Maturity and Behavior Matters. Colleges don't have to take high school players any more. If they miss on a high school player they can turn right to the transfer portal. They can look right at the junior college level. You are expendable. You as a high school recruit CAN NOT give a school a reason to turn the other way. That means your behavior during a game matters. You behavior off the floor matters. Your behavior on social media matters. The way you respond to your coach matters. The way you respond to your teammates matters. And....   The way you play on the court matters from a maturity standpoint. If you take too many bad shots the college coaches don't care how many points you score. If you don't pass the ball when you should colleges don't care how many points you score. If you take too many bad three pointers they don't care if you scored 20 points, they care about how you got to those 20 points. That is part of a mature game.   Colleges want players that can step right in and make an impact. Rarely do colleges have the time to work with a raw player or a player that doesn't understand the game. They can too easily look to a transfer, or the player that is raw has shown he is too quick to transfer out. Maturity matters.   Three. Poor Parental Behavior Hurts The Kids. If a player has a parent with a bad reputation there will be a lot of college coaches that do not want to waste their time. They don't want to deal with a parent that will be a hassle or that can complain so much it leads to constant troubles. If a parent has a bad reputation schools will worry about what they are telling their kid.   So if you are on social media talking trash at people, colleges see it and it hurts your child.   If you are in the gym yelling at coaches, officials or fans all the time, colleges see it and it hurts your child.   If you are constantly complaining to high school coaches, AAU coaches, or administrators, it gets back to colleges and it hurts your child.   Why? Because if you do that in the direction of others you will almost surely do that towards the college coach if your child plays for them. And colleges will look to a player that does not have a parent that is doing these type of things.   ALSO, college coaches talk to one another. So if you acted like a fool in the stands in front of Central Arkansas, that Central Arkansas coach likely talked to Western Arkansas, and Northern Oklahoma, and Eastern Missouri, etc etc etc   Four. Size Matters. Yes Mugsy Bogues was tiny and played in the NBA. Yes Elijah Hawkins was good for Minnesota and Texas Tech at 5'9. Shorter players can certainly make it to the high level, but not many of them. And the same can be said about every position. You can find examples where players beat the odds no doubt. The door is not closed on you. But if you are 6'2 at lead guard the door is open far more than it is for a 5'10 point guard. If you are a 6'4 shooting guard the door is open for you far more than it is for a 6'1 combo guard. Same at small forward, power forward, and center. Size matters.   Yeah, you might be a 6'5 kid that wins a lot as the starting center for his team, but the NSIC school is going to want that fast developing 6'11 center more than you. That's how it works.   You have to look at this logically. There are way way way more people walking the planet at 6'0 than at 7'0. So if you are 6'9 your chances of playing college basketball are far better than 6'0 because there are far more guys at 6'0 than there are at 6'9. And remember, shorter players get their coordination, body control and agility quicker. Year after year we see really good 14 and 15 year olds that people think are special despite being 5'10, but when they hit 17 and 18 they are not recruited as special as the 6'9 guy when that 6'9 guy matures.   You can't hide your height. Colleges will know. It doesn't mean your chances are gone if you are 5'11, it just means your opportunities are going to be more limited because there are a lot of 5'11 guys to choose from and even more, there are a lot of 6'2 guys at the same position to pick from that can do just about everything the 5'11 player can, but do it in a bigger frame.   Again, if you are shorter for your position than the standard, the door is not closed, it's just not open as far as it is for a player that is similar but taller. Or stronger.   Five. The Power Forward Spot has Changed. In 2004 when I first started writing about recruits guys like Trevor Mbakwe were loved by college coaches: strong, quick off his feet, explosive, so quick to grab a board or dunk that the defense couldn't react in time to do anything about it. At 6'7 Trevor was a power forward and he could play next to a true low post center.   Times have changed, offenses have changed. I am not saying that teams wouldn't want a Trevor Mbakwe now, who wouldn't want that laugh in the huddle (you rule Trevor!)? But these days if they are taking Trevor they are taking him as a five man. Because the power forward most teams want now are players that can stretch the court. Offenses are different and space is at a much bigger premium. Shooting is at a much bigger premium. Teams want power forwards that can defend on the perimeter and shoot the ball from the perimeter.   It doesn't mean that the physical four man of the past doesn't have a place in today's game, they just need to have a jumper or they need to find a team that wants an undersized center. Which means less of those players are taken at the higher level.   AND, those forwards that shoot it at the four, they have to be able to do big guy things in the paint as well. The game has changed but it doesn't mean that power forwards don't still have to rebound in bulk and compete around the cup.   Six. Combo Guard Stock Declining. Versatility is big but schools want a guy who is a pure one running a team, or they want a shooting guard that has size. Is CJ Armstrong a D1 player five years ago? Yes. Is Azayah Washington a D1 player five years ago? Yes. But both will go to the NSIC and play as freshman.   Today schools are often going to take a more experienced player (transfer) at the guard spots if they can find a two that has a proven track record as a shooter. Or if they find a point guard that has shown he can run a team at the college level (transfer) they will often take that player before they take a high school combo that has not run a team, or that has not shown he can shoot at the percentages they need in the frame they need.   Seven. Stop Taking Bad Shots. I can rattle off ten names rapidly from the MBCA Camp that I know hurt their stock tremendously because they took way too many bad shots. One of the worst things you can do is take a no pass shot attempt when it's not needed on the clock.   If you went to a game in the last nine months and took the ball off a dead ball, didn't pass it, and took a no pass contested shot, it didn't matter if the shot went in when it comes to the grand scheme of things. Why? Because you likely did it three more times and the shot didn't go in. Or if you made two of the four, you still didn't make the defense work and you left your teammates staring at you in frustration. Just because you can get off a shot any time you want doesn't mean you should.   Basketball is a game of using space, it's a game of creating space, and it's a game of taking away space. And the more tired a player becomes, the tougher it is to take away space. Every time you take a no pass shot attempt when the clock shows it wasn't needed, you are hurting your team and you are hurting your future potential. Bit by bit.   Colleges aren't looking for individual scorers, they are looking for team basketball players that can be scorers within the framework.   Eight. Take the right path. Do you want to be a D1 player or do you want to be a D1 walk-on? There is a difference. And there are a lot of paths. Some kids just want to go to a school and be a part of a team and that is okay! Erick Reader is a great walk-on for Minnesota that is on the team and he is where he is at for school academically.   Other kids wanted to show they can make it right away and it worked! Look at Jack Janicki at Wisconsin and Ryan Dufault at UST. These are former walk-ons that earned their way on the court. It can happen! But if you want to be a division one player it might take going to the junior college level first. It might take going to the D2 level first. And that is okay! There are different avenues to approach.   But make sure you take the right opportunity towards your goal or it might end up costing you time. And money.   Nine. Be Proactive. Don't sit around hoping somebody will contact you. If you are interested in say.... Hamline Basketball. Look at the header on their website right here: https://hamlineathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball   It says "Recruit Questionnaire"   Fill that thing out! Or fill out the ones on the sites of other college basketball programs. If you have interest let those schools know (but be smart, Michigan State isn't looking for 6'3 centers that averaged six points a game as a junior). And if you have a high school or AAU coach that says you have an offer or interest, make sure that is true. Call them yourself. Learn about it yourself.   Ten. Have Fun. We spend a lot of time these days worrying about things that are interesting but in the long run they don't matter. Go compete with your teammates, your neighbors, your friends, etc. You will have to work hard to be good but make it worth it. Make it fun while doing it. If you are too worried about a ranking, or a social media message, or a scholarship, or doing what a parent says on the court, or your triple counter move, or your highlight tape, you might find that things went by too fast and you missed out on the fun.   All those things can be fun, and interesting, and it makes the game of basketball a bigger world, but each day remember to get the joy out of the work you put in. It's okay to see the value in a friend do well. It's okay to enjoy locking down your opponent because you were all over them when they tried that triple counter move.

Spending 11 months in the gym each year and 12 months on the phone talking recruiting I have picked up a lot of things that I think parents, coaches, players and fans should know in the modern game of basketball. Here are those ten things.