Last weekend, there were a couple of interesting discussions in the mornings on ESPN Radio which focused on the the changes in the state of college basketball and its effect on recruiting. The participants were coaches, former players, and sports analysts. Much of what was discussed has been mentioned in this forum, but there were a couple of takeaways that I hadn't read here before.
They felt that the money may be affecting (or soon will) the number of players transferring. Not only recruits will be hiring agents, but so will players who want to transfer. They said this is not going to affect only the outstanding players who will be in great demand, but also the players who are borderline NBA, or not likely to make the NBA. For example, a good player, not a star, but an integral player on a top team, say a conference champion, or sweet 16 and above, but who is not likely going to make a lot of money playing overseas, and probably may never play in the NBA, that player may well realize that his only chance to make money from playing his sport will be in college, and he may well transfer to a school where he can make the most money in his last year or two. This is perhaps already happening, as some schools are already losing 6 or 8 players this year to the transfer portal or route. That could be devastating to any program.
The second point that was interesting to me, was that several of the coaches said that when they are out on the recruiting trail, they are usually talking to the player's agent or his lawyers, and seldom, if ever, are they talking to the kid's parents. It must be very different for a coach trying to make his case in front of agents and lawyers, those parasites who are mostly looking out for how much money they can make, as opposed the coach making his case to a kid's parents, who have strong emotional ties to their child, and may want to consider other aspects of the college he might choose to attend. The extreme case might have been Jaylen Brown's mother taking an apartment in Berkeley to be a closer part of his life, than to remain 3000 miles away in Georgia. With his solid NBA prospects, she might not have been as concerned about the money he might make in college. For the lesser players, it will be different. For an older coach like Mark Fox, who is perhaps more used to talking with parents than with agents and lawyers, he will have to learn new skills if he is going to stay in this profession at this level, and he is already having declining success recruiting, as we know. I'm pretty sure Montgomery saw the writing on the wall, and got out. If he didn't like recruiting 5 or 10 years ago, he would surely not like what it is going to become. Coaches now will also have to convince donors of the value of their potential recruit, to get them to pay for those players, with the strong probability that the recruit will likely transfer and not finish his career at the school which first signed him. 10 years ago, without the ability to transfer and not sit out a year, and without money being involved, 40% of players were transferring before they graduated. Now that percentage will likely be considerably higher. It could work out OK, or it could also be a death knell for college basketball.
They felt that the money may be affecting (or soon will) the number of players transferring. Not only recruits will be hiring agents, but so will players who want to transfer. They said this is not going to affect only the outstanding players who will be in great demand, but also the players who are borderline NBA, or not likely to make the NBA. For example, a good player, not a star, but an integral player on a top team, say a conference champion, or sweet 16 and above, but who is not likely going to make a lot of money playing overseas, and probably may never play in the NBA, that player may well realize that his only chance to make money from playing his sport will be in college, and he may well transfer to a school where he can make the most money in his last year or two. This is perhaps already happening, as some schools are already losing 6 or 8 players this year to the transfer portal or route. That could be devastating to any program.
The second point that was interesting to me, was that several of the coaches said that when they are out on the recruiting trail, they are usually talking to the player's agent or his lawyers, and seldom, if ever, are they talking to the kid's parents. It must be very different for a coach trying to make his case in front of agents and lawyers, those parasites who are mostly looking out for how much money they can make, as opposed the coach making his case to a kid's parents, who have strong emotional ties to their child, and may want to consider other aspects of the college he might choose to attend. The extreme case might have been Jaylen Brown's mother taking an apartment in Berkeley to be a closer part of his life, than to remain 3000 miles away in Georgia. With his solid NBA prospects, she might not have been as concerned about the money he might make in college. For the lesser players, it will be different. For an older coach like Mark Fox, who is perhaps more used to talking with parents than with agents and lawyers, he will have to learn new skills if he is going to stay in this profession at this level, and he is already having declining success recruiting, as we know. I'm pretty sure Montgomery saw the writing on the wall, and got out. If he didn't like recruiting 5 or 10 years ago, he would surely not like what it is going to become. Coaches now will also have to convince donors of the value of their potential recruit, to get them to pay for those players, with the strong probability that the recruit will likely transfer and not finish his career at the school which first signed him. 10 years ago, without the ability to transfer and not sit out a year, and without money being involved, 40% of players were transferring before they graduated. Now that percentage will likely be considerably higher. It could work out OK, or it could also be a death knell for college basketball.
SFCityBear
