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SoCalHoops Tournament & Recruiting Report

More On Summer Recruiting: San Diego U-T
At The Nike Championships--(Aug. 8, 1998)

We just came across the following article, which was originally published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday, August 2, 1998. It's not often that we see anything about prep basktball, much less recruiting in the U-T. The article seems to us a bit flawed factually, but it does at least give the views of Reid Gettys, a recruiter for the University of Houston, and a former Phi Slamma Jamma player who was persuaded by new Houston coach Clyde Drexler to give up his law practice to become a recruiter. The article also presents some quotes from Rick Majerus on the summer tourney circuit and a couple of parents' and players' views as well. We think though, that by and large, the article sorta kinda. . . well, exaggerates, what the "problems" with summer basketball. Sure, by the time August 2 rolls around many coaches, players and recruiters are dog-tired, and some kids are playing with injuries. Hey, basketball is a contact sport, played without body armor or any sort of protective gear (well, unless you've already broken your nose like Jason Kapono, and then you get to wear that really cool Bill Lambier-style face mask).

But is it really true that the summer period is the problem? Or is it true that some players lack the good sense to, so to speak, come in out of the rain, and not play when they are injured or too tired to carry on. Must the "system" be changed or "controlled" by the NCAA so that the opportunities for more players to be evaluated is diminished? We don't think so. The NABC and NCAA seem intent on changing the evaluation period, at least partially shortening it , or entirely replacing it if more radical suggestions are approved. Well, you already know our views that: We think it's a bad idea. Let the kids play, let the college coaches and recruiters watch.

Anyway, here's the article from the San Diego Union Tribune. This was written on the last day of the Nike National Championships which took place at USIU in San Diego last weekend, with the game between the Illinois Warriors and Belmont Shore. Again, we don't necessarily agree with the article's perspective, but the views expressed are important. Here it is:

August 2, 1998

Reid Gettys couldn't watch any longer. No more, he told himself. Get out of here. Now. Fresh off five years as a trial attorney, Gettys was in his first month as an assistant coach at the University of Houston, scouting high school players at one of those interminable summer basketball tournaments in Dallas or Indy or ... well, whatever it said on Gettys' crumpled airline itinerary for that day. Seldom in the court of law had he seen anything so gut-wrenching as that scene on the court of dreams: At an hour approaching midnight, two teams were still playing, and one of the players wouldn't come out despite a leg injury. "It was a kid we were recruiting," says Gettys, recalling that AAU tourney earlier this month. "It was so late that I was just about the last coach left in the gym. The kid shouldn't have been out on the floor. He was obviously hurting bad, limping up and down, tired and frustrated. I wanted to yell 'Stop! Get off the floor!' But I couldn't. So I left, walked out of the place, just so the kid would let himself come out of the game. I felt like I was contributing to his pain. I felt like a part of the problem."

The problem was still evident -- if Gettys and other college coaches were not-- in yesterday's [August 1] session of the Nike National Summer Basketball Championships at U.S. International University. College coaches had to clear out of the USIU SportCenter after Friday, lest they break the NCAA rule that ends the so-called "evaluation period" on Aug. 1, which at least relieved the pressure on young men who've been playing for the recruiters and potential scholarships almost daily since July 8.

In their desire to become college players, the prep seniors-and juniors-to-be have been subjected to travel and playing schedules more grueling even than those found in the NBA, let alone Division I basketball. Virtually all of the teams in San Diego have played a minimum of 25 games over 23 days, dashing back and forth to air-conditioned rooms to avoid the blast-furnace heat of places such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta and Orlando.

"They're ready for this to be over and go home," says Tom Borgman, father of a player with the Bloomington (Ind.) Red, a perennial national Amateur Athletic Union powerhouse that's played 60 games since May. "You spend all your days in the gym and never see the sun; you don't know where you are or what day it is."

It ends here. To some extent.

Today's championship game marks the summer-season finale. Judging from the energy level and facial expressions of the players in the Nike tourney, they won't be hurrying back to their playgrounds or high school gyms. Not for a few days, anyway. "I just came from Phoenix, and the kids I saw there had had enough," says Gettys, a former Phi Slamma Jamma player who was talked back into basketball by Houston head coach Clyde Drexler. "They were down, drained, short-tempered. Their coaches were short-tempered. Their parents were short-tempered. This is a good event, but the players have no legs left. They're pressing. Funny thing is, we (recruiters) have got to be here to let them know that even when you play bad, we're still here for you."

Attempting to cut recruits some slack -- and cut back on the ever-increasing influence of summer-ball coaches and the shoe-company sponsors that sink millions into certain teams and AAU-level tournaments -- the NCAA plans to curtail the evaluation period to 14 days by next year.

"These kids are playing too many games," says Utah coach Rick Majerus. "When I was a kid -- and I was a bad player -- my fondest memories are going to the playground, holding court in shirts and skins. Here, it's organized, with lots of coaching. With all these uniforms and refs, you lose what playing and enjoyment are all about. Listen, there are good aspects to this, too. There are many benefits to be had. I just hope they're playing for the right reasons."

Invariably, the players will say they're here to make a lasting impression on the colleges, giving coaches a good head start on next year's recruiting season. To help in that regard, but also to keep their product's name as visible as possible, the shoe companies with more money than Switzerland are flying players all over the country to enter as many tourneys as possible. Consequently, the thrill is soon gone for teen-agers who'd been so excited by that first plane ride -- just a matter of weeks ago. "One brat is not too bad for you, but I always eat two double-brats," says Majerus, finding an analogy in his girth. "If you went to one or two of these (tournaments), it's a treat, but these kids go to all of them, so it's not that special to them."

The teams at USIU are the cream of the crop, and by all accounts this weekend's tournament is much less intense than all those leading up to it. By this point, college coaches have had ample time to form their appraisals of players. Truth be told, they're almost as tired of watching basketball from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. as players are playing the game.

By no means is Gettys condemning all of summer ball. A former Athletes in Action player who then resided in Rancho Bernardo, he says the concept of the Nike tourney is "perfect," allowing coaches to watch 100 of the country's best players play four games over a two-day period. Logistically, having every game played in the same huge facility is a major plus. Most tournaments are scattered all over the host city, playing havoc with schedules and the coaches' ability to see all the players on their lists. San Diego State head coach Fred Trenkle said he put several hundred miles on his car in just four days at the Las Vegas tourney. The last thing any of these players need at this point, to be sure, is more time bouncing around from game to game. As it is, the law of diminishing returns is in full effect, with players and entire teams so exhausted that they've hardly been at the top of their games in San Diego. Good luck finding a kid who doesn't have a finger taped or an ankle under ice.

"It's such a grind that I worry about their health," says Mike Haupt, the St. Augustine coach who has a player (Andre Porter) on the host High Five America club. "There's such a burnout factor, and if you survive July without injuries, you're fortunate."

But you play on.

"You've got to," says Jon Holmes, a Bloomington Red guard. "It gets to be mental. You're out here getting evaluated. You don't want them to think you can't play when you're not feeling well." Were they to start shooting "Hoosiers II" today at USIU, Holmes would have to be cast in a leading role, given his blond crew-cut, all-Indiana looks and skills. If there's a weariness in his legs, it never quite makes it up to Holmes' eyes, still childlike and enthusiastic. Now he can tell the folks back home -- if he ever gets there -- how he swam in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday and the Pacific Ocean on Friday of the same week. But also that he was seen by Duke, North Carolina, Georgetown, Utah, Stanford, Kentucky, Utah ... Darn near everybody, in fact, including Point Loma Nazarene.

"We're given a lot of things, but we're here to do a job that comes with the shoes and the hotels," Holmes says. "They're trying to help us, but we've got to do the job ourselves."

That's some summer job.

"I should call it an opportunity, not a job," he adds. "A lot of kids don't get to travel all over the country to show what you can do. A lot of people take it as a real job and that's wrong.

"Basketball's never been a burden or a hassle to me. Basketball's fun. This is fun."