Thoughts on basketball

[Itsamystery]

 

 

We discuss football recruiting here quite a bit and I started to wonder what are the differences between football versus basketball recruiting? Smaller staff for basketball, but also fewer offers as well. I never really hear about the basketball coaching staff on the road, though I am sure they are. 

 

I would think recruiting for basketball that the coaching staff has shifted from a winter focus of getting out to a recruit or prospects game to a Summer AAU tournament or shoe company sponsored event. Is this correct?

 

Finally on the current situation at Texas, given the current roster and the lack of returning talent, it would seem the coaching situation needs to be resolved quickly. The transfer portal opens March 24 and closing April 25, a staff has to be in place quickly to beat take advantage of the talent acquisition from the portal. 

 

Thoughts?

[bierce]

Basketball recruiting is now way more about the portal than about getting guys from high school.

[Itsamystery]

10 minutes ago, bierce said:

Basketball recruiting is now way more about the portal than about getting guys from high school.

Thank you. 

[bierce]

Basketball recruiting out of hs was for many years all about college coaches chasing guys for years and going to AAU tournaments throughout the summer to watch players before the fall signing period.  That's still a thing, but it isn't nearly the thing it used to be.

Smart tracked Coleman from when he was a middle-schooler.  He wasn't the only one doing things like that back in the day.

But it's a different game now.  There are a few splash recruits who can expect to get starting minutes right away, but everyone else coming out of hs has to worry about the team that signs them in November getting the guy in the following April in the portal who will take all the minutes.  Then does the 60-150 type recruit stick around to develop and get minutes or go to the highest bidder the next season?  And does any school have a lot of confidence it will wind up the beneficiary of its recruits best years?  Hunter's best year is this one, and he's at his third school.  Tennessee's leading scorer is a transfer from No. Florida, and its starting center was at Ohio State last year.  Only two of Alabama's top 7 players in minutes played started their careers at Alabama.

There are still 10 guys in the 247sports composite top 150 recruits for 2025 who haven't committed.  That is the sign of the times. 

[Fan of the Game]

This is why it’s important to search for the diamonds in the rough and never let them leave campus. We’ve seen Auburn and other teams do it. The player is recruited to campus, develops, and helps them win basketball games when they are ready for more minutes. Portal recruiting is different, you’re buying a Free Agent. That will never replace the success of player development even in the NIL era. You will need both player profiles to win.

Edited 2 hours ago by Fan of the Game

[bierce]

1 hour ago, Fan of the Game said:

This is why it’s important to search for the diamonds in the rough and never let them leave campus. We’ve seen Auburn and other teams do it. The player is recruited to campus, develops, and helps them win basketball games when they are ready for more minutes. Portal recruiting is different, you’re buying a Free Agent. That will never replace the success of player development even in the NIL era. You will need both player profiles to win.

The top 4 guys in minutes played for Auburn this year are guys who started elsewhere and transferred to Auburn.