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 March 17 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.

[Gerry Hamilton]

On 3/15/2025 at 7:40 PM, Itsamystery said:

 

 

 

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?

The coaching situation is very difficult. The staff knows how hot the seat is, but kids are jumping in the portal left and right currently. 

Texas is turning over 7-8 spots on the roster... but they had nine new faces this season. It's a nearly every year thing to have 6-9 new faces. 

[Hashtag]

1 hour ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

The coaching situation is very difficult. The staff knows how hot the seat is, but kids are jumping in the portal left and right currently. 

Texas is turning over 7-8 spots on the roster... but they had nine new faces this season. It's a nearly every year thing to have 6-9 new faces. 

Would you say an X's and O's coach is more important than ever in this era of transfer portal and NIL? 

[Jordan91]

On 3/15/2025 at 8:27 PM, bierce said:

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. 

There are not many left in high school, that haven’t signed, and can help right away next year. 

[Jordan91]

2 hours ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

The coaching situation is very difficult. The staff knows how hot the seat is, but kids are jumping in the portal left and right currently. 

Texas is turning over 7-8 spots on the roster... but they had nine new faces this season. It's a nearly every year thing to have 6-9 new faces. 

That’s why the change needs to be made quickly. Of course there will be better players available as those who go deep into the tournament lose. Of course that can apply to coaching hires as well. 

[CoachBobbyFinstock]

You need a mix. You need guys you can develop and not be co-dependent on the portal like Texas is.

You can point to whoever but I don’t feel like it’s a sustainable move to turnover the roster year after year.

[Gerry Hamilton]

1 hour ago, Hashtag said:

Would you say an X's and O's coach is more important than ever in this era of transfer portal and NIL? 

Offensively ... absolutely

[tylerlindsey2111]

1 hour ago, Hashtag said:

Would you say an X's and O's coach is more important than ever in this era of transfer portal and NIL? 

Offensive  x&o’s are of the utmost importance because the college game has become NBA lite. You need someone who can seamlessly create advantage situations for their best guys throughout the year, while also having the ability to adjust in game and on short rest (tourney situations). The old days of systems will go out the window because system programs improved as their players got older and more experienced. Nowadays, guys can play in three totally different systems in four years, so the reads and targeted skill development will not be as present as has been there in the past. Makes it harder to replicate the success of the Nova’s, UVA’s, etc.