Recruiting Concerns by UKfan215

Looking at how college basketball and more specifically....college basketball recruiting and how it's changed in recent years leaves me feeling a bit sick to my stomach. Can any true, purist college basketball fan take a look at the situation and not feel the same way? It just seems that the much greater attention given to college basketball recruiting has elevated many kids who are still high school sophomores and juniors into national celebrities, whom college coaches and fans alike drool over. Add in some AAU coaches who are frequently thought to be "middle men" in the recruiting process, the shoe companies and the more dishonest college coaches in the business and suddenly you have something that looks as sleezy and dishonest as (gulp) politics or the used car sales!

How has the sport we so greatly love been reduced to this point? To find the answer, you have to go back a number of years as this didn't all start overnight, though the effects have become greatly magnified over the past 10 years. In 1978, the AAU went through a change that took it from being mainly an organization that trained and prepared hopeful Olympians to what it has become today. The AAU does do some good things. They give these talented kids the chance to play against lots of other equally talented kids from around the nation. Thus, they develop from very good players into outstanding players at a much quicker rate than they would do otherwise. Without the AAU, kids who are now making major contributions as freshmen or sophomores might not reach their full potential until they are juniors or seniors. But with this good comes an even greater amount of bad. It's no great secret that some of the AAU coaches are looked upon as dishonest....guys who steer players toward certain programs, probably for compensation. Some of these coaches are so well known for their tactics that even fans of college programs cringe when they hear their schools are recruiting players associated with them. Kentucky fans who frequent the various message boards were upset about a certain player UK was rumored to be recruiting in the 2006 class, simply because he was associated with a certain AAU coach who I will leave nameless.

But this is just scratching the surface. What other negative things can we readily identify about the world of recruiting and college basketball in general that have drastically changed over the course of the last 10 years?

How about shoe companies? I remember not too many years ago to a time when you had to be Michael Jordan to have your own line of shoes. Now the shoe companies are going after high school kids who are demonstrating the potential to be future NBA stars! Look at all the shoe camps. And look at all the talk by some high school kids who base their list of schools on what brand of shoe the teams wear! It has become ridiculous. And the way shoe companies target what is essentially kids is sickening.

Now the recruiting business has also spawned for profit ventures that follow recruiting in-depth. Fifteen years ago, most fans of college basketball had no idea who their recruits were until they laced up their shoes and took the court as freshmen. Now, these same fans are treated to a daily diet of reports about recruits who are often still high school juniors. They know who all the recruits are that even have a remore interest in attending their respective schools. And they know based upon rankings where each kid stacks up in relation to another, provided you believe this numerical ranking system really provides a realistic measure of how kids will perform. While such services are fun for fans and bring them into the mix, it also serves to elevate the celebrity status of these kids. What would have been only known to the inner circles of college programs just little more than a decade ago is now common knowledge among hundreds of thousands of fans around the nation. Having lots of high school games and the McDonald's All American game now airing on ESPN each year only makes matters worse. So instead of having these kids, even the good ones, show up on campus as freshmen who are relatively unknowns, they are now arriving on campus as super stars before they ever even play a single college game. Doesn't that just seem wrong?

As if this isn't already enough to make one vomit, look at what this increased exposure and attention has done to the mindset of the recruits themselves. How many times do we see these top rated, 5 star caliber recruits who have been elevated to celebrity status by the internet, ESPN, Nike, Adidas, etc behave as prima donnas? All too often I am afraid. Now, I can't really blame these kids for this. Afterall, they are just kids. This is how one would expect most 16 year olds to act when suddenly elevated to celebrity status. But I do blame the adults who create these situations in the first place. That includes us all to some degree. It includes talking heads at ESPN. It includes radio. It includes internet recruiting services. It includes shoe companies who are "robbing the cradle" in an attempt to find the next big star. It includes college coaches who are forced to stoop to new lows in order to secure verbal committments from these young hotshots to keep their programs at a high level in an age of greater parity and less patient fans. It includes the NBA who's seeking new blood and until the past year had begun plucking many of these top kids straight out of high school. And sadly, it even includes many of us, ordinary college basketball fans. Today fans are connected to the business of recruiting in ways previously impossible before the explosion of the internet. Fans of top schools expect their coaches to land some of these top notch recruits (the 5 star Mickey D's types) each and every year. If they fail to do so, these fans take to the airwaves and internet, calling for the heads of the coaches. It puts even greater pressure on the coaches to succeed and no doubt contributes to the cheating that seems to be taking place on a fairly regular basis. Just look at the number of programs who have been on probation over the last ten years or who are being investigated for possible violations. And look at the number of coaches who are widely viewed as dishonest and sleezy who haven't yet been caught....or have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar but are still coaching. It's mind boggling. And of course, the NCAA in it's infinite wisdom seeks to punish only the program while these coaches are free to walk away from the mess they have created and take a new job elsewhere, while the fans, the team and the university take the real punishment. This hardly seems fair, does it?

After looking at all of this, I am sure you are thinking it can't get worse. But can it? I am afraid so. Just look at how the attitudes of many top recruits have changed lately. Fifteen years ago, most of these kids chose programs based on their history of excellence, their ability to win championships, because of their coaches, etc. They wanted to be a part of that excellence. They knew they would have to work hard. They knew it was a team effort. And in many cases, kids in the past would beg coaches for a chance to play for them. Now, it's often just the opposite. Coaches have to get down on their knees and beg these kids to come play for them. They have to promise many starting jobs as freshmen to get them to jump on board. And rather than many being interested in the program and asking how they can help it, they are now asking what the program can do for them. Rather than asking, can I come in and help win a title here, many are asking if they can come in, play one year then be a lottery pick. Kids often choose their schools not based on that school's tradition, the quality of the program, the quality of the coach or the things that would have been important 20 years ago. Now, many sadly want to go to whatever school will give them the best chance to get maximum minutes early on and allow them to shine so they can get to the NBA as quick as possible. Rather than a "team effort", many are more interested in a "me effort". We see it countless times each year. And it truely is sickening. And to some degree, we are all a bit responsible for taking this sport we love and making it into this sleezy, dishonest, big business that it has become.

Is it possible to change this? Probably not fully. Things have just travelled too far down this path already to regain full control over. But conditions could be improved. Get the shoe companies out of these camps and away from 15 and 16 year old kids. Clean up the AAU. Punish college coaches who cheat instead of the schools. Get the NBA to change it's policies for entrance to resemble that which the NFL uses, ensuring these kids stay in school until they are at least juniors, rather than allowing them to turn pro after just one year. If a kid has immense talent but not the brain to be a student, then leave them another option such as the NBDL in which to develop and refine their skills. But for goodness sake, lets stop college basketball from simply being a year long barrier between these kids and the NBA. To many, that's how they seem to view it, a necessary hassle they must endure for a year before they can get a multi-million dollar contract in the NBA. Such a situation is really hurting college basketball. And it's not helping these kids any either. Sure, some of them get a chance to be millionaires earlier as a result. But many don't have the maturity to handle such fame and fortune at so young an age. Many attempt to make the jump to the NBA before they are ready....thinking they are the next Jordan based on the amount of hype they have recieved dating back to their high school days. But how many have we seen end up not being 1st round draft picks who just disappear within a couple of years? How many of these kids simply flame out because they don't have the level of maturity or experience that 3 or 4 years of college basketball would give them? We may never know. But until something is done, I expect college basketball recruiting to become even more cut-throat, dishonest and shamful than it already is. You can expect the "posse" effect of unsavory characters surrounding top recruits and guiding their decision making, often for personal gain at the expense of these kids to continue. And it's sad. It's sad that a sport I love so dearly is being reduced to a sleezy business consumed by greed....greedy coaches, greedy shoe companies, the greedy NBA, greedy young recruits who are tempted by millions of dollars and even greedy fans who only want their programs to win and will simply turn a blind eye to the unsavory behind the scenes stuff that often takes place to reach that outcome.

I suppose in light of all of this, we should all as fans be really proud whenever we end up getting classes such as Derrick Jasper, Michael Porter, Jodie Meeks and Perry Stevenson....all quality kids, though who may be slightly below Mickey D's AA status. These are all kids who chose UK because this is where they want to be. They all love UK. They like our coach. They like us as fans. They didn't come here with the intent of all being starters from game one and simply being here for a year getting their ticket punched to the NBA. They all came here with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. They came because they love UK's rich tradition and because they want to be a part of it. They didn't come because our coach was the high bidder who promised them max PT to get their stats in order to be 1st round draft picks after one season. I am proud we have kids like that. Those are the kids who will stay 3 or 4 years. Those are the kids who will play as a team. Those are the kids who will listen to their coach. And those are the kids who won't pout if they don't all start the first game. And those are the kids who will help us win another national title. I am so proud we have kids like this. And I am proud that we have a coach who is honest and doesn't stoop to the levels of some coaches just to get a kid at any cost. And I am proud I have never heard Tubby piling it on thick, such as taking a kid's hand in his and telling him how he has "angelic eyes" or promise him he'll be in the NBA the next year. If we must resort to using the tactics that I see some coaches use in order to land the hotshot 5 star recruits who are NBA bound within a year, then I don't want them. Because the whole process is gross. And unlike some people, I am unwilling to stoop to any level just to win.


What do you think? Doesn't looking at what this process has become make you feel ill at times?