A parent's perspective on recruiting

Recruiting. Although this premise may get some degree of argument, it's the foundation for success in college basketball. Do it well (a definition open to interpretation depending on one's position in the equation) and you have a future. Stumble as a coach and it's start ordering the packing boxes.

We've all read accounts of the process involving coaches and players but rarely has the vantage point of a parent been presented..

Here's a take after talking with the father of a three star D-I prospect son who is in the midst of the recruiting proceedings. His offering are in quotations.

"It's like high school dating -- an emotional roller coaster. Coaches get hot and cold. It's like a girl going steady with a boy until a boy with a cooler car comes along."

For the family, there was this experience: "one school sets us down for a big talk, telling us 'we love your son' but then we haven't heard boo from them since."

Yes, the phone calls end, the attention fades but hopefully replaced by a new suitor.

But sometimes, coaches make a return appearance.

"Coaches will call back after being out of touch for a long time saying 'we've been real busy working on our next class but we really love you.' When what has really happened is some more desired prospects declined offers from that school and the situation became 'remember so-and-so, let's call them back up."

Then there was this: "Last year, a handful of coaches come see him at his school in September. This September it’s a new handful of schools with little contact from last year’s schools.”

Followed by this: "When my son was a ninth grader, a coach had us to campus and said 'you're our top recruit  and can't wait to offer when you're older.”

They are no longer hearing from that school.

The father also introduced what was a new term to these ears.

"In some situations you have early offers or what we call projection offers because there are a number of schools in the state and the competition and pressure is there to go after the younger kids, to get a jump on the competition.  Then, the kid doesn’t grow or progress like they expected and they are dropped like a box of rocks."

There was also homework to do and a reality to be discovered by the parents and prospect: "Before all this, we thought if they offered you a scholarship, you signed it and have your four years of school paid for. We didn't know they keep evaluating a kid annually and will cut him if they like a new recruit better.  Some schools have reputations for doing this so make sure your kid is at the top of their depth chart or he may be on the chopping block after his freshman year. Certain schools have much better reputations than others and are committed to seeing the kid through his education."

Regarding advice, a bevy was forthcoming.

*  “Beware that some schools hand out offers like candy.  Sometimes 15 offers for 2 available scholarships.  These are usually the schools that will throw out a lot of early offers or projection offers. Other schools are much more stingy with offers and patiently wait and evaluate the athlete until they are sure. One isn’t better than the other. You just have to be realistic and investigate what type of school is giving you that offer. A great sight is VerbalCommits. It is not totally accurate or up to date but it does give you an idea of which schools hand out the offers like candy.”

* As a warning, "you don't really know you have a legitimate offer until the call to sign the paperwork. They are all verbal offers and verbal commitments until signing day. A verbal offer is still better than no offer but either side can back out at any time. The coaches won’t tell you it’s not a good offer anymore. They just stop calling so you lick your wounds and go on to greener pastures. It all depends on who still wants you when it’s time to sign the letter of intent.”

* "Go to practices as well as games because you can learn so much more about coaching styles through practice."

* "'Do due diligence' as we actually made contact via Facebook with some former players at certain schools in order to solicit opinions about the education and coaches."

Now granted, all of the above is based on a small sampling. Coaching behavior runs the gamut -- good, bad and ugly -- just like it does in any other profession. An education on the process is necessary, much preferably before getting on the roller coaster.

The father closed with "I did fail to mention it has been pretty exciting when a program develops an interest in your son and then follows that up with watching him during the summer. Then it really is exciting when they like him enough to offer. Then it is even more exciting to have them follow an offer up with a visit. When you get the head coach on the phone and at your school then you know they are serious and want your son. Those are the best times!”

Friday's WAC basketball compendium

Chris Murray offers up -- to mix sports metaphors -- a doubleheader: someone new has arrived in Reno, someone old is still involved with hoops.

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Gary Wilkinson, coming off an Australian National Basketball League championship, says that a repeat will be tougher and details the keys in doing so.

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Brian McInnis is back blogging and has some important news about the UH schedule.

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From the New England Recruiting Report folks:

"Today marks the beginning of the NCAA contact period, meaning division I college coaches are permitted to conduct “in-person, off-campus evaluations and contacts.” 

Essentially, that means coaches are permitted to attend school workouts and meet with prospects and their families for in-home visits..."

A fascinating article on mid-major (or lower) recruiting

It's not necessarily WAC-related but read on if you wish to gain some degree of insight into the college basketball recruiting process for the non-Dukes:

Recruiting an emotional, physical roller coaster for UNCW coaches
Brian Mull
Star News
December 4, 2010

On a steamy morning in mid-July, UNC-Wilmington men's basketball coach Buzz Peterson and his staff met in the office of assistant Jamie Kachmarik.

Like practically every other Division I coach in the country, the four men entrusted with rescuing the Seahawks from CAA oblivion had spent the 10 previous days on the road. They sat on hard bleachers in hot gyms for up to 14 hours a day evaluating high school seniors-to-be playing in games that often deteriorated into rec-center pickup ball, sans skins.

Unlike 95 percent of their peers though, the new UNCW staff had to restock more than half its roster. They entered the July recruiting period with a lone verbal commitment and a half-dozen scholarships to hand out.

The Seahawks' coaches were in need of every essential – skill, speed, guards, big men.

Peterson and assistants Kachmarik and Matt McMahon arrived at UNCW in April from Southern Conference member Appalachian State. However, players of a higher talent level would be required to return the Seahawks to elite status in the CAA. The Southern had an average RPI of 19.6 (out of 31 Division I conferences) over the past five seasons. The CAA had an average RPI of 12.4 in that same period and three member programs won an NCAA tournament game.

The coaches were already evaluating potential Seahawks through a specific lens. They sought fundamentally sound, skilled players possessing a high basketball IQ, 3-point shooters, prospects with wide wingspans and the versatility to play multiple positions. All of these qualities must be inside a coachable package that includes high character and sound academics.

This was non-negotiable...

Go here for the remainder.

The RTC inside look at recruiting and scheduling continues

Rush The Court is posting a fascinating series of article featuring head coaches, assistant coaches and ADs talking about recruiting, scheduling and the like. We offer many thanks to Andrew Murawa for his work on this.

Here's the initial article.

Here is part two.

Part three can be read here.

This is the latest, part four.

We don't ask for a lot...

We don't ask for a lot so here is one simple request to the tweeters, posters, bloggers, reporters and so on in the basketball recruiting world:

Please vow to never again type the words "(so-and-so) enjoyed his recruiting visit"

Really? Wow, stop the interwebs, I'm posting this is ALL CAPS!

After a visit, has a prospect EVAH come out and said "The steak at my dinner could be better described as gristle and bone although there was plenty of it, my hotel room was infested with bed bugs, the basketball team's locker room had an indescribable smell, the cheerleaders looked closer to 40 than 20* and the head coach kept calling me by someone else's name..."

Now, that would be news.

* via the Seinfeldian chorus: not that there is anything wrong with that, having personally passed that marker many moons ago

It's a recruiting weekend

It's been pretty much a given but an article this weekend confirm that southern California frotncourter Damiene Cain is deciding among three schools: Boston College, San Diego State and Colorado.

Hawaii made a run at him and offered but Cain has decided to either head south, way back east or go Rocky Mountain high.

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MiniStew is reporting at the Utah State Scout basketball message board that one Josh Monroy, all 7-foot-2 of him, was in for a visit to Logan recently. He's a 2011 prospect and a likely redshirt candidate with whatever college coach and program he chooses. Mooney is out of South Dakota. We don't know what to make of his high school squad's 2-18 record last season but we are also unsure how many games Mooney played in 2009-2010..

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From seldomseensmith, per Jay Drew's Salt Lake City Tribune prep blog, USU is doing an in-home with 6-foot-8 in-stater David Collette. Go here.

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Per the Rivals Texas basketball site, San Jose State has received a verbal from 6-foot-7 Stephon Smith, a Lone Statr State basketballer doing a prep season at a school in New Jersey. Damon Sayles has an article here, (a Rivals sub is required).

Since we are entering recruiting season...heck, it's always recruiting season

We have no WAC news, links, etc for you today so far so we figured it was time to roll out another 'beware' post regarding recruiting and the various on-line services and rankings of players.

PTW has nothing against any of these sites, in fact, we subscribe to one of them. The information they provide can be very useful and, more importantly, accurate. It can also be woefully outdated and once in a while presented with a thumb of the scale so to speak. What also needs to be kept in mind that some evaluations may be based on a one-time viewing and the player in mind could have had the best/worst showing ever in that particular setting.

College coaches do not utilize these services. Actually, let's amend that previous statement: some college coaches may become aware of a certain player due to an article being posted but none put faith into any sort of descriptions within the piece. They may become intrigued enough to want to learn more and possibly take a look themselves but that's about the extent.

What is important to be aware of is the list of schools of interest/interested in Player X -- interest is defined by the beholder as it could be a questionnaire sent out, a letter expressing interest, a call to a club team or high school coach, an unpaid-for or paid-for recruiting trip to the college, all the way to an actual offer being extended.

That's because the problem is once an article appears, any schools that are mentioned in conjunction with someone are then entered into that player's site profile. Sometimes forever.

It doesn't matter if a player has narrowed/expanded his list or a school has moved on -- changes are rare, at least on site profiles.

So 'your' school may have been interested in Player X in June of 2009 or January 2010 but one or both parties decided to pursue other options. However, nothing will change in the profile until another article is done with a more current listing of the priorities of Player X or School Y -- and even then it's not necessarily a guarantee the player profile/school's preferred recruiting targets will be system updated. It seems those profiles of major recruits are updated much more so than those of mid or low major level players.

Plus, any ranking (say #89) assigned to a recruit is at the very least questionable but especially so for the mid and low major prospects. They are seen much less and usually evaluated by someone other than the Dave Telep's, the Eric Bossi's and the like..

Additionally, we are aware of rankings affected and articles written by those closely connected to certain players and. well, objectivity has been cast aside in order to falsely pump up a prospect's ceiling.This may not be practiced a great deal but it unfortunately still occurs.

The bottomline is enjoy whatever you come across in the recruiting realm but remain aware that some gold is the real thing while the other tarnishes quickly.

Another negative recruiting article

Alluding to the preceding post, there are also many respectable club team coaches who take advising their players with the best interests of the kids in mind as well as parents who perform admirably in that role.

The dark side will always be there and it's important to document such but it's just as necessary to offer features on parents/coaches, advisers, et al who selflessly give of themselves throughout the coaching and recruiting processes.

Actions of Third Parties Can Muddy Basketball Recruiting Waters
Steve Yanda and Eric Prisbell
Washington Post
August 18, 2009

In wooing high school prospects to join their programs, college basketball coaches seek to convince players that they can provide the best place to continue their athletic and academic development. Doing so requires building relationships and trust with players, their parents and often a high school or summer league coach.

Increasingly over the past two decades, however, college coaches have lamented the proliferation of additional participants in the recruiting process. These third parties -- who collectively fall under such labels as "handlers," "middlemen" or "advisers" -- latch on to prospects at young ages and then attempt to broker access to the players in exchange for benefits from college coaches or their schools.

Previously a factor for only the most elite high school prospects, third-party recruiting is becoming much more widespread. LuAnn Humphrey, the NCAA's associate director of enforcement who oversees the organization's basketball focus group, said one of her sector's biggest concerns is that the presence of third-party handlers is trickling down to less-heralded recruits.

Several prominent figures in the summer basketball circuit noted a rise in the population of small-time handlers in recent years...

Go here for the remainder.

Boise State recruiting

How in the world does Greg Graham do it? Boise State men's basketball has been very competitive of late yet minus any 'heralded' recruits. That may sound like a backhanded compliment but it's not meant to be taken that way.

We don't see those even creeping towards blue-chip status consideration ever considering Boise, a situation that also applies to most of the WAC membership. The highly skilled who also display solid if not top level athleticism just aren't available. So what does Graham do?

He builds a team -- in all the positive senses. Graham typically nabs high IQ players, those willing to work hard and play unselfishly as a unit.

For example, consider the buzz -- or lack thereof -- when Kurt Cunningham signed? Did anyone forsee him leading the WAC in shooting? The same with Mark Sanchez? Where were the experts who noted he would achieve All-WAC Second Team status as a senior? Were the expectations that Ike Okoye and Anthony Thomas would earn berths on the WAC All-Defensive squad? Matt Nelson transferred in from Eastern Washington and became nearly unstoppable down low. Tyler Tiedeman's claim to fame was as a baseballer until he hurt his arm. Reggie Larry was known for his quickness and jumping but many -- if not most - simply considered him an undersized junior college power forward. Heck, Matt Baucher and Coby Karl were walk-ons.

Graham is a molder, one of the best compliments a coach can be given.

As for Graham's 2009 class, let's look at Mason Sawyer, Westley Perryman, Sam Hicks and Daequon Montreal. Sawyer is a 5-foot-9 point out of the Utah high school ranks who is heading out on his two-year LDS mission. Perryman is an athletic junior college transfer, signed with the expectations he will fill a role in the backcourt as a points producer. Hicks played against very little same-sized and not nearly as talented competition in league play at a northern California high school but exposure with a name club team got the 6-foot-9 freshman-to-be a WAC scholarship. He's a good athlete who will need to bulk up a bit. It was expected that the 6-foot-8 Montreal would head elsewhere after leaving powerhouse College of Southern Idaho -- Gonzaga was one school attached to him in recruiting circles, at least for a time.

Montreal is the most heralded of the quartet and he'll immediately move right on to the Bronco frontline as will Perryman in Boise's backcourt. Hicks will need time and the depth Graham has on the frontline will afford that.

The most curious signing was Sawyer. Anthony Thomas will be a senior in the 2009-2010 season, La'Shard Anderson a junior and both will have departed prior to Sawyer arriving.

So Graham needs to land a point in his 2010 recruiting class, one definitely ready to contribute after at most a season of adjustment. Will a high schooler be able to do so or does Graham go the junior college route?

Considering the current makeup of his roster, we view Graham's 2010 recruiting class as critical. He's going to need some talent that can step forward quickly as WAC-competitive. That may concern some in Boise but let's leave it right now with the fact that he has done it before.

New Mexico State basketball recruiting

With the other WAC team recruiting profiles, we generally re-wrote our earlier take that was posted at SilverandBlueSports.com. But not here, at least not very much.

Why?

Because the following is still spot-on.

Way, way back when, Dustin Hoffman was advised to enter the business of plastics in "The Graduate' so our unsolicited advice to Coach Marvin Menzies is don't stock your roster with an overabundance of players who high schools have the word academy or prep in their titles or descriptions. Not that he needs such counsel but it fits with our look at New Mexico State men's basketball recruiting.

Now it's true that Jarmar Young (Laurinberg Prep) will be in competition for the WAC Player of the Year although he had an early blip with the law. Jonathan Gibson (Calvary Christian Prep) is a solid talent but his missing of practices last season usurped any chance of his playing a leadership role on the team. One key question: will he earn back his teammates respect during his senior go-around?

While a wondrous talent and still with time to turn things around, Troy Gillenwater (Stoneridge Prep) proved to be a handful for Menzies in 2008-2009. It was a continuance of prior behavior and something Gillenwater must shed. His inadequate academic emphasis must also do a 180. Let's hope he has seen the proverbial light and acted upon it.

Terrance Joyner (Genesis One Christian) committed collegiate basketball suicide with his antics at the El Paso Airport last season.

Herb Pope considered transferring from his Pennsylvania high school to various prep schools prior to his junior and senior seasons -- once it went so far as being announced -- and was at a prep school as a freshman.

Granted, not all of these players were Menzies signings but they are indicative of some of the difficulties in recruiting danger-free WAC-competitive talent to come to Las Cruces.

Yes, Menzies is in a tough spot. The Land of Enchantment doesn't produce D-1 calibre players with any regularity. Therefore, he has to bring in kids from outside the state. He also followed Reggie Theus' successful run which calibrated the pressure to succeed even higher than that which generally faces a new head coach.

As for this season's signings, Justin Standley and Da'Shawn Gomez are from traditional high schools and all indications are this pair are both solid young men.

Now we have to be careful with this -- that being B.J. West, the third Menzies signing -- is out of God's Academy although he attended a regular high school prior to that. We know nothing about him personally although it's interesting that the NCAA ruled in 2007 that courses and grades from God's Academy would not be accepted for the purposes of eligibility determination. But academic improvements have apparently been made since then and there's no qualms about God's Academy being loaded with talented players.

Plus with Wendell McKines' academic struggles and the possibility he may be sidelined for part or all of the upcoming season, it's important to note that continuity is the lifeblood of success in most any endeavor. This isn't news to Menzies or any other coach. He is faced with putting out a successful product on the floor but also of maintaining a group of 13 young men who produce in the classroom and in their public/private lives. It's often a delicate balance.

We see the program from Las Cruces as one that has the potential to win the WAC but also the possibility to implode. It will take time but such a highwire act has to end and the only way of doing so is by landing good talent that produces off the court behaviorally and academically as well. Consider this: how well might the Aggies perform -- especially the current set -- if all behavioral and academic distractions disappeared?

Let's just say that the other WAC coaches and teams are glad that such a scenario is still a make believe one.

A Boise State mention connected to a prospect

Bob Gottlieb (the father of ESPN's Doug Gottlieb) runs a number of club teams in southern California under the title of Branch West. He recently wrote about one of his players and added that Boise State -- among many others -- is taking a look at the young man.

Maverick Ahanmisi 6'1" unsigned senior guard who will likely attend prep school and sign in November, hit 4 three pointers in the last 4 minutes to lead Branch West to a come from behind win over well regarded Rockfish in a Best of the Summer Super Pool game yesterday at Loyola Marymount.

Branch West finished 2-1 in pool play, losing to a superb Dallas team by 2, then beating an excellent Memphis team by 2 and then Rockfish.

Dallas lost only to Memphis so they also finsihed 2-1, with Rockfish and Memphis finishing 1-2.

All four teams will go into the big tournament since they were in a super pool. Dallas won the pool by virtue of beating Branch West in head to head.

Highly respected Dave Benezra, founder and Director of the Rockfish program, has moved up to a GM role and has one of the up and coming outstanding young high school coaches, Jeff Berekoff handling the reins.

Ironicaly BG was instrumental in Jeff getting a full NCAA D1 scholarship to Northwestern, coming out of high school. That was prior to the formation of the Branch West recruiting Assistance Service. In those days, I coached and helped kids in recruiting, strictly as an avocation.

Another irony is that after several successful years as the Head Coach at Pomona H.S., Jeff is the new Head Coach at El Modena H.S., where two of my kids attended high school. El Modena H.S basketball is in good hands.

Maverick Ahanmisi has had a spectacular summer, highlighted by a 37 pt explosion vs. Joe Ward All Stars of Phoenix, arguably the most talented team we saw or played against this summer. It included an incredible 7 three pointers in the 2nd half.

He is a major scoring guard.

Schools such as Weber State, Boise St., SMU, Pacific, Wash. State, Colorado State, St. Marys, Centenary and a multitude of others are showing serious interest.

Ben Vozzola looking at a pair of WAC schools

Ben Vozzola is a 6-foot-5 2010 guard/wing out of Nevada who has been receiving a lot of mentions in the last six months and the audience for his services appears to be growing. San Diego has been mentioned numerous times as a leader for him (he's headed there this weekend fo a camp) but numerous schools are seemingly in the running.

Nevada is one and so is Fresno State. A July 29 Rivals features listed both schools as having offered. Vozzola always mentions early playing time as a foremost consideration and it seems the only conference where that would be a problem in the PAC-10.

Let's see what happens as Vozzola indicated an end-of-summer decision is more than likely.

Here's an ESPN evaluation of him.

We love you Roberto Nelson

Yes, we get more 'junk' than useful snail mail (the proportion is even worse with email) but we have to take a back seat to Roberto Nelson. His recruiting love-fest -- or at least the mail portion of it -- is detailed in the following.

You've Got (too Much) Mail
In the age of Facebook, Twitter and texting, top prospect Roberto Nelson was still courted through thousands of postal deliveries from college coaches. Is the annual flood of letters effective—or a waste of paper?
George Dohrmann
August 3, 2009

During his sophomore year at Santa Barbara (Calif.) High, Roberto Nelson placed a cardboard box behind a green recliner in the family room of his home. It was a decent-sized container—it once had been used to ship a microwave—and a sufficient catchall. If he tossed something behind the recliner, it almost always fell safely into the box.

Mail arrived at the apartment complex where Nelson lived at around 2 p.m. each day. Larger envelopes didn't fit through the slot in the front door, so the mail carrier often dumped the delivery on the doormat. Nelson would leaf through the stack when he got home from school and then toss everything over the green recliner. Sometimes he would mimic a jump shot as he cast that day's bundle into the box...

Go here for the remainder.

Another recruiting roundup

The only thing we ask is that readers not go off the deep end if their school is 'attached' to a certain player. Such a connection can mean both something or nothing.

Hawaii is in the mix for Iowa prep Jordan Dykstra, a 6-foot-9 190 pound, forward out of Rock Valley High (Iowa). He had verbally commited to Iowa State as an eighth-grader but then backed away from doing so.

Here's a November 2006 article about Dykstra aligning himself with the Cyclones.

Here's a very dated ESPN evaluation of him.

We have a hard time swallowing the following but CalHiSports is reporting that San Leandro High 2009 graduate Demetrius Owens played well in a recent tournament and then made mention of "possibilities with CSU Northridge, Toledo and Utah State..." He's a 6-foot-5 banger who averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game respectively last season. Owens was a first-team selection in the Hayward Area Athletic League. Maybe it's in a walk-on capacity.

CalHiSports also made mention of 6-foot-1 Crenshaw backcourter Reynaul Baker receiving interest from Nevada, among other schools. Wolf Pack fans will just love that their school is idnetifed as Nevada-Reno in the report. He was the co-MVP of the Coliseum League this past season. Again, this connection seems more along the lines of walking on but we could be wrong.

The vagaries of college recruiting

It's difficult to judge how a high school prospect will play out anywhere from the next one to four years even when the player in question is a so-called nationally-ranked blue-chipper. But the coaches at the crème de la crème colleges truly have it much easier not only in measuring potential but with the volume of 'reachable' prospects in comparison to their mid and lower level coaching brethren.

At the WAC level, there are a greater number of gambles that have to be taken. Can player X handle the jump to college-level academics? Will he put in the work necessary to get better or assume he has already made it after securing an athletic scholarship? Will accepting the likelihood of a different role from high school be a smooth or rocky road? If he succeeds quickly, will a transfer be forthcoming or will some sense of loyalty prevail? It goes on (and yes, some of these also apply to top prospects).

With all this in mind, here's a few 2010 prospect names with WAC mentions. Do keep in mind the context of the above.

Richard Solomon, 6-foot-9, Price High (Los Angeles) -- This young man has PAC-10 potential and various members of that conference are eyeing him. So are a few WAC schools, hoping that he might somehow fall. His athleticism is superb but he weighs about 190 and is extremely raw offensively. There's little chance that Solomon would play much his freshman season at a high major level, with possibly the same scenario for his sophomore year.

Our intuitive sense -- not based on anything we've read or have been told -- is that he and his family see Solomon as a major prospect and that he will more than likely choose just such a school.

But we also imagine that he could likely be a candidate for a transfer after riding the bench for a period of time. The PAC-10 schools are much more likely than say those in the WAC to recruit 'over' a player with the next and then the next class of newcomers. So schools such as those in the WAC aren't hurting themselves by staying in the 'race' as one may possibly be the recipient of Solomon as a bounceback.

Remember this kid because his name may just pop up in conjunction with the WAC down the road, if not this recruiting go-around.

Matt Korcheck, 6-foot-9, Sabino High (Tucson) -- Utah State is the WAC school mentioned most with this young man. In one report we saw, Korcheck said he had an offer from the Aggies. He's still a tad raw offensively but plays with passion and decent athleticism. One recent Rivals article lamented that only three schools were taking him in recently in Vegas -- NAU, Northern Colorado and Weber State. A SCOUT report stated he was a mid-major prospect with the chance to go higher.

So Korcheck is being presented at the very least as a WAC level prospect. So where are the other WAC schools? And Utah State? Did they watch him earlier and decided to feign falling interest? Or has he fallen off the Aggie radar? Another item had Korcheck with a 2.0 grade point average so is that a concern for possible suitors and a reason for him not having a greater following?

Follow this kid.

Jordan Burris, 6-foot-6, Stockdale High (Bakersfiueld, CA) -- Simply put, where's the love, or even the like, for this kid? He appears to be a prototype college wing -- athletic, three-point shooting range, a willingness to mix it up. Burris averaged 23 points per game as a junior, shooting 58% overall and 38% from three-point range. We haven't seen his name connected to ant WAC team and that is puzzling.

A recruiting roundup

Here's another collection of names and schools but no 'marriages; as yet.

Javarez Willis is a 5-foot-11, 170 pound prep backcourter out of Texas who was offered by Fresno State (and a few more schools). He apparently is headed to a prep school for the coming year. We've been unable to determine if this is due to academic issues or simply seeking an opportunity for greater exposure and hopefully additional offers.

Fresno State has also made contact with this 6-foot-7, 220 pound Arizona prepster:

Jon Perryman
ArizonaVarsity.com Publisher
July 13, 2009

Scottsdale Christian Academy (Ariz.) rising senior wing/post player Hayden Johnson is starting to turn some heads after his Arizona Premier team finished up as tournament champs at the recent Mullens event in Oklahoma, downing the Nebraska Bison team 49-47 in the finals...

Go here for the remainder and a Rivals sub is required.

St. Francis High (Mountain View CA - near San Jose) senior-to-be Tyler Johnson is a 6-foot-2 high-jumping backcourter. He's reporting that Fresno State and Boise State (among others) are contacting him.

6-foot-5 high schooler Andre Hatchett, Santa Rita High (Tucson), is hearing from Boise State. He is described as very athletic.

More WAC recruiting items

July is the ground zero month for college basketball recruiting so many more 'items' than usual are being splashed across the 'net.

Let's begin with Jordan Railey.

everydayezag
The Slipper Still Fits
July 12, 2009

If, and it's a big if, Gonzaga decides to recruit a big for the 2010 class, it wouldn't surprise me if Jordan Railey becomes one of the main targets. The 6'10 Railey has a slowly developing offensive game, but could be an immediate impact player on the defensive end. Railey reminds me a little bit of Sam Dower at this point of his recruitment, as it appears that Railey is hearing mostly from mid-majors right now, but after a big July, he could be hearing from every school on the West Coast. "Colleges coaches that I've talked to say they really like my hands and my feet- those are the two main things they tell me," Railey said of the feedback he heard from coaches during the contact period. "The only thing they said I really need to improve on is my physical strength, but that's a given since I'm still growing into my body."

Railey currently boasts offers from Portland and Utah State, while also noting interest from Cal, Cal Poly, Gonzaga, San Francisco, Santa Clara, St. Mary's and Washington State. If Railey can continue to dominate on the defensive end, and show the potential to improve offensively, I could see the staff making a run at either him or Yannick Atanga. However, I'm just not sure how many scholarship will be used for 2010, with so much talent and apparent early interest from highly rated prospects in 2011."

Here's a kid with a Fresno State interest mention:

Jon Perryman
ArizonaVarsity.com
July 13, 2009

Scottsdale Christian Academy (Ariz.) rising senior wing/post player Hayden Johnson is starting to turn some heads after his Arizona Premier team finished up as tournament champs at the recent Mullens event in Oklahoma, downing the Nebraska Bison team 49-47 in the finals.

Johnson averaged 10 points per game and had a game high 10 rebounds against the Tulsa Bulldogs (their only loss), and a game high 14 points against Waco while holding their top player in check...

Go here for the remainder and a Rivals sub is required.

Nevada, Fresno State -- each WAC school actually -- plus many others are eyeing this young man:

A.W. Prince
BearTerritory.net Senior Writer
July 14, 2009

He might be the most talked about point guard prospect on the west coast right now, and yet, few have heard his name or seen him play. After a summer spent blowing up on the AAU summer schedule for Belmont Shore, that's about to change. LaBradford Franklin is more than legit, and Cal fans are about to see why.

Why was Franklin so hidden?

He didn't play his junior year. The California Interscholastic Federation's San Diego Section ruled that Franklin, a junior from Temecula (Calif.), plus two incoming transfers from the state of Oklahoma, were all ineligible at San Diego high...

Go here for the remainder and a Rivals sub is required.

A Hawaii youngster has decided to attend Chaminade over walk-on possibilities at Hawaii and Idaho.

Minns to join Silverswords
Jason Kaneshiro
Honolulu Star Bulletin
July 14, 2009

Kamehameha graduate Pi'i Minns, the Star-Bulletin boys basketball Player of the Year, will continue his career at Chaminade.

Minns, a 6-foot-3 guard, led Kamehameha to the state championship last season. He averaged 12 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Warriors...

Go here for the remainder.

July is evaluating and recruiting time

Thanks to mslacat, a Montana recruiting fan-atic, for this recruiting calendar update. July is a big-time month for basketball exposure -- head to Las Vegas towards the end of the month and you will bump into Billy and Roy (not that we are on a first-name basis with either or they with us, LOL) and many others at various high school gyms across the city.

Prime Time Basketball Recruiting Period
mslacat
July 1, 2009

This is one of those “more information than you wanted to know” posts.

One of the most important periods in the recruiting D-1 basketball recruiting process starts next Monday, July 6th. This is when college coaches can get off campus, and actually watch the prospects in action for the first time since last spring. It is a time to reacquaint yourself with prospects you were watching last winter, and to try to identify the new up and coming players. What makes this year even more important, is that starting this past spring the NCAA barred college coaches from scouting and attending the spring AAU events, which used to be common place. A lot of development has happened since last spring, and the coaches have been only able to hear or read about it. So you know they are chomping at the bit to get out...

Go here for the remainder.

Is rain forecast on some recruiting parades?

This post is actually not about the two young men featured in it -- it's focus is the element of recruiting we as fans conveniently like to ignore. That being, recruits are simply possibilities -- the possibilities of future payoffs. Nothing more, nothing less.

Academic issues, behavioral problems, adjusting to college itself, accepting not being the featured player, playing time concerns are among the hurdles to jump or sometimes climb over. Some kids make it, some don't.

Does anyone remember David Burgess? He was Rivals' 14th-ranked prep center in the nation in 2004 as prep in southern California and signed a letter-of-intent with BYU. Ankle injuries limited his court time and he transferred to Gonzaga after one semester in Provo. He also played but a short time in Spokane and left there.

Burgess' next destination was Azuza Pacific (near Los Angeles). He has been moderately successful at that level, playing against the likes of Warner Pacific, Westmont, San Diego Christian and California Baptist.

Hopefully, he's is happy and satisfied at his present address and station in life.

How about Brayden Bell? A heralded Utah high schooler, he signed with Ohio State but played little in his freshman season. He departed from Columbus and decided upon Utah State as his best option. After sitting out the requisite season per NCAA transfer rules, he played 44 minutes in seven games before deciding to also leave USU. Azuza Pacific was also his next stop.

He appears to have found his niche. Here's an article about a recent Azuza Pacific game where Bell led his team in scoring. AP is currently 2-2 on the season.

Again, this post is not meant to throw anyone under the proverbial bus, least of all the young men featured here.

It is meant to offer some caution about the recently compiled recruiting classes, regardless of awards and rankings of the players. You see, nobody really knows how any recruit is going to turn out. We are all speculating, which is fun to do but the basis for such is about as solid as a termite-ridden foundation. Many a great recruiting class has resulted in the eventual firing of the college basketball coach garnering the signatures.

'Everything' you wanted to know about Rivals and Scout...

Here is what we call the perfect example and an opportunity to 'explain' how the Rivals and Scout networks generally operate.

Hassan Whiteside, a 6-11, 200 prepster out of a school in North Carolina, just announced his commitment to Marshall.

Besides the uniqueness of a 'big' with a very solid upside choosing Marshall, there are some important points to make.

Numero uno: Marshall wasn't listed as one of his schools of interest prior to his selecting to go with Donnie Jones and The Thundering Herd.

Here's the latest list of Whiteside suitors per Rivals:

COLLEGE CHOICES
Auburn
Florida State
Kentucky
Louisville
Memphis
Mississippi State
N.C. State
Seton Hall
South Carolina
South Florida
St. John's
Charlotte
West Virginia
Xavier
Nevada

But this is an unusual situation as, more often than not, a youngster does pick a school among those listed.

Nevada may have still been interested (an offer was extended at some point) but the likelihood of getting this kid out of the East was next to nil. Still, a Nevada fan seeing this would probably or possibly get his or her hopes up.

#2: Schools of interest at both Rivals and Scout aren't updated on a timely basis -- those schools that either fall or choose to fall by the wayside don't get dropped from the list of suitors and new suitors don't get added unless a new article is written somewhere on the network with a more up-to-date school listing and who among those are the so-called favorites.

But don't take this to mean that subscriptions to either network aren't worth the money -- this is just a heads-up on how the systems work and how to 'interpret' the data.