This Week's Trap...

[hatvol96]

is up in the Blog section.

[kiffincrazy28]

This is a good read hat.
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[BasketvolsFan]

Hat, I agree completely with you on the NCAA and their reviews of particular players. The system has become a joke and the summer leagues need some type of intervention, especially the NIKE and other shoe sponsors.

[cotton]

In the flurry of post Bama activity, I almost missed this one; thanks, hat.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I couldn't agree more on the NCAA focusing on minutia while rampant and real threats to the integrity of college sports goes ignored. I would like to hear your thoughts on changes to clean up the policing of recruiting in both major sports. Maybe that's a future trap...

2. Nice banner. I hadn't noticed that before.

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by cotton

In the flurry of post Bama activity, I almost missed this one; thanks, hat.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I couldn't agree more on the NCAA focusing on minutia while rampant and real threats to the integrity of college sports goes ignored. I would like to hear your thoughts on changes to clean up the policing of recruiting in both major sports. Maybe that's a future trap...

I don't pay much attention to football recruiting, so I couldn't begin to give suggestions on how to clean that up.

There are a number of things that would help attack the real problems in college basketball. First, limiting standardized test fraud needs to be the first item on the agenda. The 'AA, like the rest of the world, knows who the top prospects in high school basketball are. Send 'AA enforcement people to randomly monitor and ensure they are taking their own tests. You obviously can't do it for all prospects, but the mere chance of being caught by a spot check would dissuade a great deal of cheating. Next, I would eliminate the July evaluation period. Put those evaluation days in April and May. That would allow coaches to spend more time with their players who are in summer school and reconnect with their families. The big July events would still occur, the college coaches just wouldn't be there. This would put a little more sway in the recruiting process back with the high school coaches. While I'm certainly not an enemy of AAU/travel coaches, I like the idea of someone who is responsible to a school system for their actions being involved in recruitments more than a guy whose only loyalty is often to a shoe company. Finally, let the coaches have more access to recruits via phone, text, or other means. I know some people think that will result in kids being bombarded with calls and such, but they can always turn their phone off if it becomes too much. One of the main reasons the transfer rate is so high is that coaches don't get to know prospects as well as they once did.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

[ukvols]

Originally Posted by hatvol96

I don't pay much attention to football recruiting, so I couldn't begin to give suggestions on how to clean that up.

There are a number of things that would help attack the real problems in college basketball. First, limiting standardized test fraud needs to be the first item on the agenda. The 'AA, like the rest of the world, knows who the top prospects in high school basketball are. Send 'AA enforcement people to randomly monitor and ensure they are taking their own tests. You obviously can't do it for all prospects, but the mere chance of being caught by a spot check would dissuade a great deal of cheating. Next, I would eliminate the July evaluation period. Put those evaluation days in April and May. That would allow coaches to spend more time with their players who are in summer school and reconnect with their families. The big July events would still occur, the college coaches just wouldn't be there. This would put a little more sway in the recruiting process back with the high school coaches. While I'm certainly not an enemy of AAU/travel coaches, I like the idea of someone who is responsible to a school system for their actions being involved in recruitments more than a guy whose only loyalty is often to a shoe company. Finally, let the coaches have more access to recruits via phone, text, or other means. I know some people think that will result in kids being bombarded with calls and such, but they can always turn their phone off if it becomes too much. One of the main reasons the transfer rate is so high is that coaches don't get to know prospects as well as they once did.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

I like the idea of the shoes companies not controlling recruiting, but I read a column about how the July period is a necessity for programs who aren't at the elite level. That is, the programs who need to evaluate as many prospects as possible, because (A) they need to find diamonds in the rough who slip past the top programs and/or (B) they have a limited budget that makes the opportunity to view a large number of prospects in a single setting all the more valuable.

What are your thoughts on that? Also, UT isn't at the elite level but does have a large recruiting budget, so how do you think eliminating the July period would affect us? Please respond with something besides the Maccabi Games. Thanks!

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by ukvols

I like the idea of the shoes companies not controlling recruiting, but I read a column about how the July period is a necessity for programs who aren't at the elite level. That is, the programs who need to evaluate as many prospects as possible, because (A) they need to find diamonds in the rough who slip past the top programs and/or (B) they have a limited budget that makes the opportunity to view a large number of prospects in a single setting all the more valuable.

What are your thoughts on that? Also, UT isn't at the elite level but does have a large recruiting budget, so how do you think eliminating the July period would affect us? Please respond with something besides the Maccabi Games. Thanks!

There are plenty of events in April and May where midmajors can see a bunch of players in one spot. Also, should teams on shoesting budgets really be concerned about recruiting nationally? Look at many of your best non BCS programs. They recruit their own backyards.

Schools like UT shouldn't be affected at all by an elimination of the July period. If you are in a BCS conference and can't parlay the exposure that comes with that into quality recruiting, you're not going to save yourself in the summer. Elimination of the July period would probably actually accentuate the advantage programs with big budgets have. They can go to multiple locations, whereas programs with limited budgets need one stop shopping.
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[cotton]

Originally Posted by hatvol96

I don't pay much attention to football recruiting, so I couldn't begin to give suggestions on how to clean that up.

There are a number of things that would help attack the real problems in college basketball. First, limiting standardized test fraud needs to be the first item on the agenda. The 'AA, like the rest of the world, knows who the top prospects in high school basketball are. Send 'AA enforcement people to randomly monitor and ensure they are taking their own tests. You obviously can't do it for all prospects, but the mere chance of being caught by a spot check would dissuade a great deal of cheating. Next, I would eliminate the July evaluation period. Put those evaluation days in April and May. That would allow coaches to spend more time with their players who are in summer school and reconnect with their families. The big July events would still occur, the college coaches just wouldn't be there. This would put a little more sway in the recruiting process back with the high school coaches. While I'm certainly not an enemy of AAU/travel coaches, I like the idea of someone who is responsible to a school system for their actions being involved in recruitments more than a guy whose only loyalty is often to a shoe company. Finally, let the coaches have more access to recruits via phone, text, or other means. I know some people think that will result in kids being bombarded with calls and such, but they can always turn their phone off if it becomes too much. One of the main reasons the transfer rate is so high is that coaches don't get to know prospects as well as they once did.
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I don't know the rules like I once did, and it is easy to fall into the fallacy of thinking it was better in my time. I do know that it was simpler in the early '90s, but I'm not sure it was any cleaner.

I did have the opportunity to have ringside seats to the recruitment of Scotty Hopson, and I didn't like the spectacle. AAU has tremendous sway (although in his case, he went another direction,) and there is virtually no control over the people involved.

[Shaun1985]

Nice read. I agree with the transfer rate being so high because coaches are limited to recruits. I guess you have to set a limit somewhere for the sake of the players but an increase in contact would be nice.

[hatvol96]

Originally Posted by Shaun1985

Nice read. I agree with the transfer rate being so high because coaches are limited to recruits. I guess you have to set a limit somewhere for the sake of the players but an increase in contact would be nice.

As I said, I don't see why the recruits and their families can't be the arbiters of how much contact they allow coaches. If you don't want coaches calling at midnight, simply tell them that anyone who does will be eliminated from consideration. It's not like the players have to accept every call or return every text.

[TennesseeFan07]

Good job, Hat.