From Jeff Goodman:
"Mark Emmert said that Board of Directors passed rule today that allows leagues to pay up to $2,000 for full cost of attendance scholarship"This won't be a recruiting factor for the well-heeled programs but how do the WAC teams react? Same for the Big West and even the Mountain West Conference. Is this affordable? If not, how will that effect getting kids to sign a LOI?
Apparently, it a matter of degree when dialing up potential signees:
Calls can be costly, but it's not all black and whiteGo here for the remainder.
Gary Parrish
September. 13, 2010
Kelvin Sampson famously lost the Indiana job because of them, Jim Calhoun's staff at Connecticut suffered casualties because of them and now Tennessee basketball is the subject of an NCAA investigation that has uncovered an untold amount of them, too. Impermissible phone calls are all the rage in this era of college basketball, but why?
That's the question I attempted to answer after Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton held a press conference Friday to announce that his men's basketball program has received an NCAA letter of inquiry thanks, at least in part, to impermissible calls. I reached out to 10 coaches from eight different conferences and offered complete anonymity in exchange for total honesty.
My first question was simple: Have you made impermissible calls?
"Yes," answered the first coach on my list. "Any coach who tells you he hasn't is lying. We've all done it. You don't need to interview coaches to get that answer."
Turns out, that's true. All 10 coaches I spoke with acknowledged making impermissible phone calls. Some said they had done it a few times, others often. But nobody claimed innocence, and every one of them said they didn't know anybody who could. The only debate was whether the illegal calls are more often a sign of confusion or intentional cheating. One coach said the number of them typically tells the story...
We all get excited when 'our' team lands this or that recruit and that's only natural. This uplift takes place even though we have no idea or capability of truly determining the future and thus how a certain player will turn out.
Never was this better exemplified than in the following (we're using this to prove our point -- not to knock USU recruiitng as this happens at every school, even the Duke and North Carolina's).
Men's Basketball Announces Fall Signing ClassThese particular realities broke down thusly:
Deremy Geiger, Rich Sirju, Jordan Stone and Bryce Webster have all signed NLI's to play at USU
Dec. 12, 2007
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State head men's basketball coach Stew Morrill announced Wednesday four players who have signed National Letters of Intent to compete for the Aggies. Among the group are two junior college transfers in Rich Sirju and Bryce Webster, and two high school standouts in Deremy Geiger and Jordan Stone.
Geiger, Sirju and Webster will all enroll at USU for the Fall 2008 semester, while Stone plans to serve a two-year LDS Church Mission following high school and will not compete for the Aggies until the 2010-11 season.
"This group meets the needs that our program has coming up next season with the graduation of three seniors," said Morrill. "Deremy and Rich give us two quality guards that can shoot the ball to go along with our returning nucleus. Bryce gives us another quality post player with Division I experience, and we are excited about the progress Jordan has made in high school and we have no doubt he will be a tremendous asset to Utah State after returning from his mission."
"All of these student-athletes are very strong academically and all possess the high character that we demand from our players. We as a coaching staff are very excited about the potential of this group and are confident they will be positive influences both on and off the court during their Aggie careers."
Geiger, a 5-10, 165-pound point guard, is currently a senior at Canyon Springs High School in Las Vegas, Nev., and is averaging 18.6 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals through five games this year, while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 83.0 percent from the free throw line. As a prep junior, Geiger averaged 15.6 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and earned first-team all-division and second-team all-region honors, as he helped Canyon Springs to a 32-3 record and a trip to the semifinals of the 4A state tournament.
"He's a tremendous basketball player who is very smart and understands the game," said Canyon Springs head coach Daryl Branham. Deremy is a gym rat who works hard every day in practice and is becoming more and more of a leader for our team. He is a person of high character and I think he will do very well at Utah State."
"During the recruiting process, Jordan was excited about the opportunity to play for one of the top coaches in the country in Stew Morrill and for one of the best programs in America with the success the Aggies have had over the years, and felt like there was only one choice for him and it was Utah State."
Webster, a 6-9, 240-pound center, is currently a sophomore at Irvine Valley Community College in Irvine, Calif., and is averaging 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 60.3 percent from the field. As a college freshman, Webster started seven games and played in 28 at the University of Minnesota and averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds.
As a prep senior at St. Thomas Academy in Minneapolis, Webster earned first-team all-state honors as both a junior and senior and was named the Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Player of the year in 2006 as he averaged 21.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game en route to being ranked the 18th-best center in the country by scout.com, and the 83rd-best player in the country by prepstars.com.
"Bryce is a humble and hard-working individual who wants to get better," said Irvine Valley head coach Jerry Hernandez. "He is a big, strong and active player who is mobile and a very good defender. I think he is a great fit for Utah State because he possesses the character and commitment to academics that Coach Stew Morrill and his staff look for."
LA TECH and Coach Kerry Rupp have garnered a verbal commitment from a frontcourter as 6-8 Kadeem Coleby has said yes to coming to Ruston. He's described as athletic but raw. The Bulldogs are pretty well set in the frontcourt for a season or two so there won't be a need for the young man to have to produce right away -- a good situation for him.
Here's a decription of Coleby per ESPN:
Hometown: Humble, TX
Christian Life Center Academy (TX)
Position rank: Power Forward # 46
Ht: 6'8" Wt: 215
Evaluation:
2007: Coleby, originally from the Bahamas, is extremely raw on the offensive end but his upside cannot be denied. He possesses a great frame with broad shoulders, long arms and overall solid length for the four spot at the next level. His forte is rebounding and with his aforementioned physical attributes not to mention some significant bounce, he should only get better at it. In addition to his rebounding prowess, he is also a very stout shot blocker with exceptional timing. His offensive game is quite raw at this stage (gets most of his points off of offensive rebounds and follow-dunks), but he has excellent hands and should develop those skills and fundamentals with some coaching.
Always, always, always keep in mind that college recruiting is FLUID. What was yesterday is not today but could be again tomorrow.
With such in mind, Rivals' Justin Young is reporting that Kadeem Green has Louisiana Tech as one of his top schools, along with Pitt and Minnesota.
He's 6-8, 210 four out of the Montverde (FL) Academy and plays for the Ontario Magic club team but also in listed as a member of the Grassroots Canada squad.
Can the Canadian pipeline keeping flowing to Ruston?
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