The New Media Business of College Basketball Recruiting

Make no mistake about it, college basketball is big business.

Recently I was discussing the quest for 2010 big men on the campuses of Kentucky and North Carolina with some fans from both schools.

The reason both schools are working so hard to line up big men for the 2010 year isn’t because they can’t find players. These two schools are so nationally recognized that they have thousands of big men who would bolt to their program if given the opportunity.

In addition to being on a national power, the teams play nearly all of their games on national television, with massive fan bases. Both schools’ basketball programs have a deep reach into pro basketball, which means that players that attend those schools will make connections with coaches, players, scouts and ex-players who can help them land a big paycheck in the future, even if it’s not playing on a roster.

But both schools can’t take just any post player. They need power players, players who are good enough to help them maintain their status as a national force. This is because for big time college basketball, it’s not just about winning, it’s about money.

As a result, college basketball recruiting is a huge piece of the business of college basketball, and has been a cottage industry for some time. There are scouting services and websites that have proliferated over the past few years.

Traditional media and scouting services hate, absolutely hate, the sudden infusion of new people into what used to be their own domain. They sneer at the concept of ‘fan’ websites following high school recruiting and claim that it’s all amateur. This, despite the fact that many new services are run by coaches, journalists or ex-players.

On one hand, the criticism is correct. There is an issue already in high school basketball recruiting where independent people can inject themselves into the recruiting process where college coaches can’t. Traditional newspapers will complain that anyone can start a website, obtain media credentials and get right next to highly sought after recruits. This is a straw man argument, however, because ‘anyone’ can start a newspaper, ‘anyone’ can start a newsletter, and there is no difference between a media outlet which is a printed paper circulating to 10,000 people and a website with 10,000 unique readers.

The only difference between any of these media outlets is management and integrity. Claiming that somehow printed scouting services or newspapers are any more legitimate just because of the method of distribution is a hollow argument. I would point to examples such as the New York Post and other methods of yellow journalism that pervade printed, established media to illustrate that the legitimacy of a media outlet is completely dependent on the ethics of the publisher, and nothing else.

It’s quite easy today to pick up any newspaper and find a story with poor or non-existent source attribution, laden with opinionated bias represented as fact, and in many cases, outright interpretation of the facts. Irresponsible journalism is rampant across printed media, television media and the radio airwaves, so the idea that these legacy media outlet have any credibility in pointing out who is a legitimate news source is a farce.

Are there people injecting themselves irresponsibly into the world of college basketball recruiting? Absolutely. But it’s not limited to online publishing.

One specific item is how there is so much focus on ‘ranking’ players in a particular class. I must preface the following by mentioning that many colleagues who I respect and who have contributed at one time or another to our sites run ranking services and publications. They work hard to produce accurate representations of the talent levels in a given class.

But I have always maintained that our site’s focus was on actual scouting and following the players. Ranking a player as number 10 in his class is not the same as discussing how a specific player will fit in at a certain program or what that player’s specific abilities are.

Rankings are fun for the fans, and they have their place. But for us, we are more focused on strategy, contribution and long term prospects. The perfect example is a 6’8″ post player who can rebound like mad but doesn’t score much. He’s incredibly valuable to a team with scorers on the wings, but in a ranking system he’s likely a dud.

This is not to take rankings to task. I mention the concept of rankings merely to point out that rankings were created by established, printed media, decades ago, in almost all cases by people who had never coached or played basketball at any level.

In other words, exactly the way that those same media outlets complain about the ‘new media’ today.

The difference is now there is far more scrutiny. For us, our sites have contributions from journalists, players, ex-players and coaches. Some of our contributors have worked for or played for NBA teams, some for Division I programs. So while we constantly hear the ‘old media’ complaining about our new media, we can’t help but wonder who decided they were the experts.

Kadeem Jack Dunks

Kadeem Jack, the 6’9″ post player from the class of 2010 has gone from being a player who was sort of off the radar to being front in center over the past few weeks, as chronicled here.

Thanks again to ScoutsFocus, who provided a nice interview a few days ago with Jack and his thoughts regarding UNC, Kentucky, Miami and Arizona and where he might end up.

Now ScoutsFocus has an updated post with new Kadeem Jack video, and this time he’s sneaking in and dunking over McDonald’s All American Jayvaughn Pinkston:

While the clip is short, it shows the one thing that I love when I watch a big man play at any level: timing. Timing can’t be taught, and timing is the basis for so many important skills: rebounding, shot blocking, putbacks and catches on the run. Now, this small clip doesn’t automatically put Jack into Dennis Rodman territory, but it’s a nice little slice of what I’ve seen from him before.

Kadeem Jack Talks Recruiting, UNC, Kentucky & Miami

A shout out to ScoutsFocus.com for sending us this interview with Kadeem Jack, the 6’9″ post player that has suddenly shown up on several teams’ radar due to the lack of post players still remaining in the 2010 class.

Most notably, Kadeem talks about UNC and his recent options there. He mentions the specific coaches that he’s talked to at UNC and Kentucky, as well as his feelings regarding the schools that were recruiting him previously, which include Miami and Arizona:

Kadeem Jack update

Kadeem certainly is giving the fans of the schools he’s considering a lot of great reasons to like him. He talks about trying to do intangible things like working hard, putting full effort on the court, and getting better. With so many top schools interested in him, it’s great to see that he’s grounded and comes across as a young man who understands how to put his best foot forward at all times.

Wake Forest Lands First Recruit of Bzdelik Era

Wake Forest’s new head coach, Jeff Bzdelik, found his first order of business to secure the existing recruits with the help of his assistant coaches.

His second need was to get out on the recruiting trail and keep bringing in talent so he can compete in the ACC.

His first recruit is Chase Fischer (SG, 6’3″, 2011), a player who averaged 32.1 ppg last season, had originally committed to Marshall, but later de-committed after a coaching change.

A visit to Wake Forest convinced Fischer to head to Winston-Salem for his college career.

Two Top Recruits May Not Play at UNC

It’s no secret that the North Carolina Tar Heels need post players.

Given the scramble for remaining 2010 post players that has erupted over the past few weeks, any option of a viable big man will be something the UNC staff will consider. While names like Kadeem Jack (C, 6’9″, 2010) have suddenly become common to UNC fans, two players that UNC wanted to consider will not be available.

Bill Cole of the Winston-Salem Journal reports that Marcus Thornton, a 6’7″ power forward who originally committed to Clemson, and Kevin Noreen, a 6’11’ PF/C who committed to Boston College, both signed national letters of intent Last November with their original ACC commitments. In both cases, coaching changes are the reason the players were granted a release. The ACC has compliance issues with players who transfer from or are committed to ACC schools, going to another ACC school.

UNC has contacted the high school coaches of both players.

The rule is that transfers from one ACC school to another will lose a full year of eligibility. That means that if either player chose to play at UNC, they’d have to sit out a year, but going to any non-ACC school would mean they could play right away and keep their four years of eligibility.

This also affects Georgia Tech and Virginia, both of whom have extended scholarship offers to Thornton.

ACC schools can appeal the ruling, but in recent cases, the ACC hasn’t allowed a deviation regardless of whether the player has actually played for the school or not.

Maryland Signs JUCO Big Man

Maryland is working hard to bring in a recruiting class that will help them continue to compete.

Yesterday, news broke that they have added another big man to their roster for next season with Berend Weijs (C, 6’10”, 2010), a Dutch player who this season played for junior college Harcum College.

According to this report on the Harcum website:

“Harcum College sophomore center Berend Weijs has signed a national letter of intent to play to at the University of Maryland in the ACC. Weijs becomes the fifth Harcum sophomore to sign with an NCAA Division I program this year, joining teammates Antonio Bumpus (Utah St.), Wilbur O’Neal (Robert Morris), Diyaaldin Kelley (Maryland-Eastern Shore), and Jeremiah Bowman (Longwood). The 6’10” Weijs set school record by blocking 119 shots this season.”

This means that Maryland is bringing in a total of six new players for next season, where Weijs will join Mychal Parker, Terrell Stoglin, Pe’Shon Howard, Ashton Pankey and Haukur Palsson from the 2010 class.

Read more about the incoming big man here.

Austin Rivers Loves Duke, But…

So Austin Rivers (PG, 6’4″, 2011), who has officially opened his recruitment back up and immediately mentioned Duke as a possible destination, has now visited Duke. No, that’s not so much news, but what is novel in the age of Twitter and blogging is that Austin has blogged about his visit to Duke on DimeMag.com:

That was really cool to see everything there. It was a major event! Just the history and the campus and seeing all my boys down there was really fun. I was actually feeling a little under the weather that night of the banquet, but there was so much going on that it didn’t stop me from having a good time.

What’s even more interesting is that Dime Magazine chose to give this story the headline “AUSTIN RIVERS H.S. HOOP DIARY: VISITING (AND LOVING) DUKE”. The meme that’s been repeated is that Austin loves Duke so much that he’s already a lock for Coach K, but nothing in the story indicates that. In fact, Austin states that his visit to Duke was extremely brief, and a more accurate representation of his visit would seem that he will need more information.

Austin goes on to give a timetable for his final decision:

My goal is to have a decision around August. I want to have it done before my high school season for sure, but I’m shooting for August. That looks doable right now.

This entire process could mirror the C.J. Leslie saga, where the hometown player commits to the local team early, then de-commits, then finally, after considering other options, goes with his first choice.

The reasons for Austin, or any player to go somewhere other than their original choice is either that they did not realize all of the options they might have or something could have changed with the original choice. For example, a coaching change. However, in many cases, the reasons that a player committed early are the same reasons available later.

Austin also states he will visit North Carolina soon.

C.J. Leslie Commits to the Wolfpack

C.J. Leslie (PF, 6’9″, 2010), originally committed to coach Sidney Lowe and the Wolfpack in 2007. It was a big recruiting deal for coach Lowe to grab the hometown player, where the Wolfpack recently watched fellow Raleigh phenom John Wall bolt for Kentucky and one-and-done accolades.

Leslie then reconsidered, and opened his recruitment up last year, which isn’t as common in basketball as football. However, Leslie had committed so early that it’s not unthinkable that he would have second thoughts.

Leslie considered several schools, including Kentucky, but in the end and after several visits, he returned to the Wolfpack and decided that his original choice was the right one. Now, Leslie’s accomplished much more by playing in the McDonald’s All Star game and Jordan Brand Classic, and the Wolfpack can breathe easily that after looking at his available options, Leslie decided to stick with the Pack.

Now, they just have to wonder if he’ll stay longer than one season.

Leslie adds clout to the Pack’s recruiting class, which already boasts Ryan Harrow (PG, 5’11”, 2010), a lightning quick guard who will add flash and scoring to the NC State team, so Sidney Lowe has some depth and talent on his roster, and if Tracy Smith, who declared for the NBA draft but may pull out, returns, the Pack could be serious contenders in the ACC next season. It will be interesting to see if the Pack players engage in any summer Pro-Am play to get a sense of how far along they will be.

With Leslie, the Wolfpack is getting a long, athletic forward with ability to finish above the rim. He can beat players off of the dribble and scores well, but he will need to work on his post defense to play in the paint in the ACC.

Coach Bzdelik Keeps Wake Recruiting Class Intact

The first job of most new head coaches is to assess the current roster, and immediately attempt to keep any committed recruits from jumping ship. While some coaches don’t pay as much attention to this as others, in the case of new Wake Forest head coach Doug Bzdelik, keeping a top ten recruiting class intact was the top priority.

The class, comprised of Tony Chennault, J.T. Terrell, Carson Desrosiers, Melvin Tabb and Travis McKie, have all signed letters of intent and are bound to play for Wake next season, but could have asked for their release with the recent firing of former head coach Dino Gaudio.

Assistant coaches Jeff Battle and Rusty Larue, both of whom remained as assistants following Gaudio’s departure, worked quickly to ensure that all five recruits still intended to play for the Demon Deacons. Joining Bzdelik on an impromptu tour of all five players over two days, the three coaches were able to reassure the recruits that the situation in Winson-Salem would still be the one they expected when they originally committed.

This was no doubt helped by the consistency of keeping Battle and Larue on as assistants. Both Battle and Larue have ties to the local community, and Larue played for Wake Forest in both basketball and football before playing with Micheal Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Eventually, once his playing career was over, he returned to Winston-Salem to coach both college and then high school before taking the assistant job at Wake.

As the coaches were able to complete the quick tour to keep their solid recruiting class intact, they also have to look to how they are going to create a competitive team after losing their mainstay senior point guard in Ish Smith and their top scorer in Al-Farouq Aminu, who declared for the draft and is likely gone. The coaches will need to find a way to win with the dominance of youthful talent on their roster, which is no small feat in the ACC.

ASU Hires Jason Capel as New Head Coach

Just a few days after Buzz Peterson bolted from Appalachian State and headed to greener financial pastures at UNC Wilmington, the Mountaineers found their new head coach in former UNC forward Jason Capel. Capel was an assistant coach under Peterson at App State, arriving on campus last June. Capel’s older brother Jeff is the current head coach at Oklahoma, while his father continues to work as an assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats.

It’s not a pick without some head scratching.

Capel’s entire coaching experience is the work he’s done at ASU since last June. Prior to that, he was a broadcast announcer for two seasons.

Jason Capel’s experience as a player includes four years at UNC, including a Final Four appearance in 2000, then playing professionally in Serbia, Japan, Italy and the NBDL.

One thing is certain: Capel’s family coaching tree is nothing to take lightly. His father was a solid college coach in his own right before deciding to move to the NBA, and his brother Jeff, probably more famous in the ACC for his nearly half court shot in 1995 against UNC, has proven his merit at Oklahoma. Appalachian may be hoping to find the next Brad Stevens before someone else does, but it’s a gamble nonetheless. Capel was outspoken and a leader as a player, playing on a Final Four team and then only two years later landing on the worst team in UNC history, a team that only won eight games. Jason returned the next season to encourage the newly arriving players, which included Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, to bring the UNC program back to it’s former heights.

Perhaps Appalachian has spotted Capel’s abilities after less than a year, or perhaps they are banking on the coaching success his brother and father have had, but it’s interesting that this time the school decided not to draw the process out. Last season’s long process to bring Buzz Peterson back to Boone has had an effect that they did not want repeated, and now Capel can get in a few days of recruiting in a window of time that is quickly closing.