TM

SoCal Prep & High School Preview

Yet One More Perspective on
the Recruiting Process--(November 12, 1997)

Today's Oakland Tribune article on recruiting was about much more than just Ray Young and how he got the system to work for him. It was about the entire process, and featured a pretty objective view of the benefits and the pitfalls of the current recruiting "system" such as it is.

College coaches now do their serious recruiting four months after the high-school season ends, from July 8-31 --the period when they are allowed unlimited viewing of players. And they get to see the players at several "shoe" camps and at tournaments which follow those camps.

The highest stakes events are held in July and are run by Nike and adidas. The events are so rich in young basketball talent that college recruiters can't afford to stay away.

The Nike and adidas camps are by invitation only. These are followed by other "AAU" tournaments, capped by the prestigious Slam-N-Jam Finale in Las Vegas in late July. Players come hoping to attract the attention of college coaches, and the coaches come hoping to see the best talent.

Most of the top 'traveling club teams'-- groups of individuals of the same age group, who play together in tournaments either locally, regionally, and sometimes nationally,-- come to the summer tournaments.

Ray Young's team, EBO Slam N Jam, is just one of those teams. Many of the teams competing will have as many as eight D-I prospects on their rosters. The level of play may even be better than what awaits many of these players on their eventual college squads, which are limited in the number of good players they can attact by scholarship and roster limits. And, as has been no secret for years, the top players are "compensated" for travel costs by tournament promoters. These promoters in turn hype their events by dropping the names of players to college recruiters and other players. Want to play with Ray Young? Come to our event.

But for those players not on the same level, or not receiving the same attention as, say Ray Young, Doug Wrenn and other top prospects, they've got to pay their own way. The Oakland Tribune article noted that sometimes players who aren't sponsored, will have to pay as much as $400 to $500 to cover their costs for "open" events in Las Vegas.

But "July Madness" really opens with the invitation-only Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis and the adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey. These two camps draw the nation's top-ranked 100 to 200 players and hundreds of college coaches. They set the mood for the rest of the summer for the kids who participate. Players who are considered top prospects become virtually assured of being pursued by college recruiters. And now the internet is creeping into the process, spreading the word of some of these players faster, and farther and wider than ever before. Where once a prospect might only be seen by regional or local college coaches, now he's an instant sensation, and simply by uploading a file to a website, a prospect can become instantly recognizable.

For Ray Young, the Oakland Tribune noted that he was "rated as the No. 1 shooting guard at the ABCD Camp." Thus, he became an instant prospect.

Following the Nike and adidas camps, the other July events take place. AAU teams, including Young's EBO Slam N Jam squad, play at other tournaments, including the massive Las Vegas tournament, which this year attracted 182 teams.

Spectators had to buy tickets. A College Coach could buy a program with the players' phone number for $50.

Games started at 8:30 a.m. and continued until midnight.

Players, many of whom played three games a day, were exhausted. Young told the Tribune that he was. "We played a game at 1 p.m., and we had to come back at the gym at 8 p.m. to play another game," he said. "It takes 30 minutes to an hour to go through The Strip, and all that stuff. We go back to the hotel and walk a long ways. Then you got something to eat, and by the time you go to sleep, we only had two hours before we had to go back and play another game. That was too much after that."

The process was exhausting for the coaches too.

Stan Morrison, now coach of San Jose and former USC coach, told the Tribune that estimated that at least 70 players of Division I caliber played in Las Vegas. But, he said that because games were held at four different sites, evaluating everyone was virtually impossible.

"In Las Vegas, I used a tank of gas in 1[1/2] days running back and forth to gyms. It drives you crazy. Each gym has an auxiliary gym. Games are going on at the same time. You get so paranoid. That's why you have an assistant coach with you," Morrison told the Tribune.

But Morrison still thinks that the system is flawed for most players, and they really aren't getting what they came there for, i.e., exposure to college coaches. "Coaches are paying $50 for a program at these events, and many times they don't have rosters of players or proper numbers of the kids, so you are now running down courtside to get numbers."

The Tribune article notes that the current recruiting "system" came about in large part because it would arguably allow college coaches to more efficiently observe prospects during the summer. But if Morrison and others are correct, it's hardly efficient for anyone.

While there is still a 40-day evaluation period during the high school season, that's become all but irrelevant to the coaches and players. "I think that summer is the time the head coaches have an opportunity to go out and see these kids in person," Stanford forward Mark Madsen told the Tribune. "Once the college season starts, he is involved in his own team and lets his assistants go."

The Tribune article attempted to get the perspectives from various participants, including high school coaches, players, and college coaches and recruiters. All seemed to be fairly dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. But all seemed convinced that there really is no answer either, and that change might be pretty hard in coming.

The High School Perspective:

The Tribune interviewed Amador Valley High School's coach Don Underwood, Bishop O'Dowd's coach Mike Phelps and Alameda Washington'scoach Guin Boggs. They were uniformly "troubled" by the message these events send to student athletes.

Boggs called them "Meat markets."

Phelps told the Tribune that athletes and parents are unrealistic about the camps, tournaments, and what they can really do for an athlete.

"There's so much out there that's totally unreal," said Phelps. "(Players) don't work on things that will make them better. We didn't used to have all this (summer all-star) stuff. Colleges know where the players are."

The College Perspective:

The Tribune also interviewed college basketball coaches and recruiters, including Ben Braun of Cal, Lute Olsen of Arizona, Mike Montgomery of Stanford, and Stan Morrison of San Jose. They too are concerned and troubled by what they see taking place.

"It's a major source of concern for college basketball coaches," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, who recruited Young, told the Tribune. Told of Boggs' "meat market" comment, Montgomery said "That's a pretty rough way to put it, but it's as accurate as anything. They (club people) have unlimited access to these kids. They fly them here, give them money -- there are really no rules governing these things."

Montgomery further stated, "There has been a lot of discussion as to what the best approach is to this thing. The recruitment of kids has changed drastically because people are now getting to kids so much earlier, and the high-school coaches are being taken out of the loop. A lot of influence comes as result of summer basketball traveling teams."

San Jose State coach Stan Morrison told the Tribune that he thinks most AAU club coaches are "well-intentioned," but that not all of them are familiar with NCAA rules. As such, they become like "true middle men -- pseudo agents, if you will," by offering shoe company products, clothing, food, travel and accomodations to the players.

Lute Olsen was also critical. "I think all of us in Division I are concerned with the direction this has been taking the last couple, three years," said Olson. "There are a lot of good people involved in summer-league basketball, but you've got some other people who aren't so good. The problem is there isn't any control like there would be, say, with high school coaches," he told the Tribune.

Olson said the all-star camps are far from a perfect setting at which to evaluate talent.

"A lot of times you go to the all-star camps, and all that's happening is guards think they're the only ones who are important, and you don't see a lot of team play," Olson said. "You see a lot of frustration on the part of front-liners because all they're there for is to rebound and outlet the ball.

"My personal feeling is I'd rather see a kid with his high-school team because then you get a chance to see how he performs in a team setting. With some of the AAU teams it's fine, because they've played a lot together as a team."

But he concluded that "Something needs to be done." Commenting on the NABC proposal for USA Basketball-run camps (as opposed to the shoe company camps), Olsen was unsure. "Whether this is the solution or not, I think we have to try to reverse what's been happening."

Cal coach Ben Braun told the Tribune that he doesn't believe a blanket indictment of all AAU coaches is fair either. And he told the Tribune that doesn't blame the shoe companies for trying to sell their products through the most high-profile members of their consumer audience.

"But," Braun said, "Sometimes it sends a message to players, especially early, that they are more significant than they are. They haven't even played a college game, and all of a sudden they're important."

As we've reported here at SoCalHoops before, it is these concerns about the recruiting process, which has led to calls for sweeping reforms. As noted last month, the NCAA's Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, acting on a proposal by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has come up with what it hopes is a new, and improved model for recruiting.

The NABC proposal, which likely won't be impletmented until at least 1999, will have USA Basketball (the official arm of amateur basketball in the US, and the organizers of the USA Olympic Basketball teams and tryouts) running a series of regional scouting camps for the coaches during regular period over the summer.

While the shoe companies and other groups could still stage their own event, and many will simply because there is too much money already committed and some people actually depend upon the camps and scouting to make their living, college coaches would not be permitted to attend thos events under the NABC proposal. They could only attend the USA Basketball-sanctioned camps, "thereby minimizing the role of the AAU coaches and events, and perhaps restoring the status of high-school coaches," according to the Oakland Tribune.

The Athletes Perspective:

While there are never any guarantees to a player until he signs a national letter of intent, some player think the current system is not all that bad. Just ask Ray Young, and he'll tell you that even though he was tired, the summer games will have saved him four years of college tuition at one of the country's top academic institutions, he'll get the chance to play in the Pac-10 for a major program, and most likely, if all goes according to plan, will one day sign for millions in the NBA. Not a bad deal.

Bishop O'Dowd point guard Derek Lambeth, a teammate of Young on the EBO squad told the Tribune that he thinks highly of his club experience with Slam N Jam. He related how it had given him more confidence, and also the chance to compare his skills to other players.

"To me, my whole world opened up when I started playing with Slam N Jam," Lambeth told the Tribune. "Coaches started calling me. Calvin (Andrews, who heads Slam N Jam) has a lot of pull. He gets them (college scouts) to come out every time we play. I have been to one all-star camp and got one letter. I plan on getting more."

But Phelps, Lambeth's coach at O'Dowd, believes kids can be misled, and disappointed, "It's frustrating," Phelps said. "Kids come back, and you ask how they did. 'Oh, I did fine.' Then they don't get one call."

The AAU Coach's Perspective:

Lastly, the Tribune focused on the AAU coach, but only sparingly. Art Dye, founder and director of the powerhouse Arizona Stars, told the Tribune that AAU coaches such as he, are performing a service that is more than self-serving.

"'A lot of high-school coaches don't have time for that," he told the Tribune about the summer tournaments. "They can't be away from their families. This is a three-month ordeal. Most of them know the good programs from the slime-bucket programs."

©Copyright SoCalHoops 1997
All rights reserved
Questions? Comments? Need Information?
Contact: jegesq@SoCalHoops.com