You can study film and talk X's and O's all day long, but if you don't have the players that can get it done on the court, it doesn't matter. The best slogan I heard when evaluating high-level talent is, "Does he take you to a Final Four?" If it isn't an immediate "yes," then you keep looking for your best potential players.
One of the most important things I learned in college basketball was the importance of recruiting, which can't be stressed enough. Also, it's not only who you recruit, but how. I have seen some really good recruiting styles and I have seen some that can make you cringe because you know there's not a connection between a player and a coach. I've seen a player and his family feel honored to be in the same room as a coach and I've also seen the complete opposite where a player has the coach in the palm of his hand. The latter usually doesn't turn out well for the team - it's usually catching a game, a free meal, and trying to hook up that night while on campus.
Recruiting has essentially turned into a 3-ring circus. It is no longer about visiting a kid at his home, enjoying a home cooked meal, and speaking to the mother and father about turning that young man into a grown man with maturity and a degree. Rather, for the most part, it's about being the shortest route from high school to the NBA with college as a crash course. Coaches have to try to cram four years of development, strength, maturity, skills, and game experience into a season. The worst part? If they don't recruit this way, they automatically miss out on the top players in the country. Furthermore, with the pressure to make the NCAA tournament every season, coaches cannot miss out on the best players and chalk a season up to "rebuilding" while the school 200 miles away is on a roll.
Most often the person the coaches are recruiting is not the player, but instead it's the person who is in "charge" of the kid's recruiting. I've heard, "Ok, what's his number" way too many times because there's always someone else that you have to talk to. Also, where a coach is from originally and what connections they have already established can be some of the biggest factors in being hired or not and signing a recruit or not. Why? Because of the large number of people involved now with recruiting elite players. AD's and head coaches realize that the ability to get players is fundamental in hiring a coach, and will hire weaker X & O coaches in lieu of "recruiting" coaches who are connected in the recruiting world.
It's a cut-throat world of recruiting. It's constantly making calls, visits, and appearances at games. News flash: coaches don't have to see a kid play 37 times in a summer to evaluate, they know in about 2 minutes if a kid can play or not. It is to constantly be in front of the kid and his family. College basketball is about 80% recruiting and 20% coaching. Coaches have to get players but only have to have the ability to coach their system enough to make it through the season. If you don't believe the 80-20 ratio, think about this - Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone and John Calipari's dribble drive offense are brain surgery and they seem to be doing great.
Gotta go, this kid's uncle's friend is calling.
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