Just the other day a report came out regarding the happening of the University of Minnesota and their athletic department over the past several years. It was hoping to find more sexual harassment issues and overspending by the previous leadership. It didn't find any sexual harassment issues but it did find that the several staff members spent money on things they "shouldn't have" according to the report.
Most people will look at the numbers that the athletic department has spent and say those numbers ridiculous and they didn't have to spend that much. I just want to put some things into perspective and let everyone know how much spending is done at the high major D1 level.
First thing I'll talk about is working with boosters. The idea behind fundraising for college athletics is that you have to spend money to make money. Athletic department staff CAN NOT go to Chipotle to meet with a perspective booster. They have to a go to a nice restaurant or steak house. Why? That is where the boosters normally eat. You HAVE to get a $100 bottle of wine because that is what the booster drinks. The hope is that those staff members can seal the deal at some point in order for that specific person to donate a significant amount of money to the department. Imagine if the development department has five dinners with the same booster in order to "seal the deal." That might cost the athletic department well over a $1,000. It's not like the staff member is going to say, "Sorry, we can't pay for your alcohol, it's against school policy." That's bad business.
While I worked at West Virginia there are many instances of overspending by the athletic department. During the Big East Tournament in New York City, the program stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel for four days. On top of the players, coaches, and support staff were taken care of, many people in the athletic department came as well. Essentially as a paid vacation. All of their meals and accommodations were taken care of. We were eating breakfast one morning, at the hotel, and they didn't have something that was pretty common for breakfast and this is what was said, "We are paying $40 per person for breakfast, you better go find it...and quickly." There was about 40 people eating that morning. And that was the norm for the three mornings we ate breakfast there. Yep...that's $4800 in three days, just for breakfast.
I'll take another example during my second year at West Virginia. The team played in the Sweet 16 in Phoenix, AZ vs. Xavier. The athletic department got a charter flight for the trip. The team, coaches, support staff as well as their families (kids included) made the trip. The band, the cheerleaders, and just about half of the athletic staff (and their spouses) that weren't associated with a specific team. We basically took over a hotel and had two or three charter buses for the whole crew. The NCAA only pays for the players and coaches. Again, a paid vacation for many of the people on the trip.
Now onto the football bowl system. I could easily write a whole blog on this but I'll try to be short. Teams will usually travel to the game a week in advance in order to get acclimated to the weather they are playing in. Just think about that a second. The whole football and support staff get a charter flight to a specific destination and then stay in a hotel for a week. The team and the support staff is around 150 people (that might be low). The really nice hotel they stay in costs $150 per night. Let's say that's 75 rooms for six nights at $150 for a total of roughly $67,500 just for the football team. If the game is in a nice location more members of the athletic department will come along with their spouses. The coaching staffs' spouses and kids will travel as well as the cheerleaders and the band. That's another charter flight and another set of hotel rooms at the same cost. That's a total of $135,000 in hotel costs for the week.
At Minnesota the athletes and staff get $40 per day for meals on away trips. Imagine if everyone got that amount. Each person gets $240 and you have roughly 250 people on the trip. That's another $60,000 right there. We can even lower that to $50,000. Can't forget about the charter flights for all those people too. That's probably close to $300,000, $150,000 of it completely unnecessary.
Last thing I'll talk about in regards to the bowl game is how it's set up as far as tickets go. Each school is required to sell a certain amount of tickets for the game. If the school doesn't sell ALL of those tickets they are "forced" to buy them and give them back to the bowl. The bowl then says the tickets will go to "local charities." When I was at WVU, the football team made the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. The school sold around 10,000 tickets of their 17,500 allotment. They were forced to pay for those extra 7,500 tickets. Those extra tickets cost around $80-$100 each. Another unnecessary and significant expense for the athletic department.
I could probably go on and on about this stuff. Most people don't know about this stuff. Last thing, when I was in college we got $17 per day from the athletic department for meals for the whole day. We generally didn't stay at hotels that had a free breakfast. It wasn't ideal but we were fortunate enough to have a coach that did a lot of fundraising to help us get good meals whenever we were on the road. And that is one of the big differences between big time D1 and D3.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Travel Basketball at the Highest Level and Perks of it
Here is a link to a great article regarding to travel basketball (mostly known as AAU). Has some great quotes from some prominent people in the travel basketball circuit.
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Sunday Special: AAU basketball a necessary step
They mention one particular player in the article and the amount of gear he has gotten from participating in a few of these events. Naturally, I took a look and here are some photos. He played at a few Nike events and one adidas event.
Before taking a look at the photos, people will ask how is all this free gear not a NCAA violation. The kids all get the gear, wear it, and then buy it. How much does "used" gear cost? The shoe companies determine that they probably cost anywhere from $25 to $50. The kids wear them, "give the gear back," and then "pay" for it. My guess is their AAU team probably "pays" for the gear and nothing actually comes out of the kid and his family's pocket.
The reason I know this because a few years ago a friend of mine coached at a high school tournament sponsored by one of the shoe companies. When the kids got to their hotel room there was a huge duffel bag full of stuff for each kid. The package included sneakers, socks, a backpack, and a jacket. One of the players posted on social media what they got. The news spread the state association. The state association said the kids had to "give the items back." The kids then "gave" the items back then paid $25 for the "used" items.
Without further waiting, here are links to the photos:
Nike Global Games
Nike Skills Academy
Adidas Gauntlet
Monday, June 29, 2015
Making the Adjustment to College Hoops
I've talked about transfers before and now I'm going to talk about some of the best ways to fit in once you get on campus at your respective college or university. I think this is the toughest part of adjusting from being a high school star to generally playing no role or a complimentary role on your new team.
At the high major level you'll see most recruits arrive on campus not too long after they graduate from high school. Summer school has different sessions and it depends on when you graduate when you can get on campus. The longer you are there, the more comfortable you will be with how things work.
It's a different world and the coaches that were extremely nice to you during the recruiting process don't seem to be the same person that recruited you. Why? Coaches are trying to push your buttons and see what exactly pushes you to get better. It isn't all fun and games. The strength coach will test your physical and mental limits and force you to become a better athlete. Be honest with coaches and trainers. You'll deal with soreness and being uncomfortable more than you've ever experienced. You'll have to get through things mentally that you never imagined that you'd have to.
There are some mid-major schools that get their guys on campus during the summer but it isn't quite as prominent as it is at the high major level. The mid-major level all the the way to D3, players are arriving once school starts. There are different rules at each level that I'll talk about what players need to do.
D1 and D2 programs are all allowed to have workouts with their players during the fall. The workouts can consist of eight total hours (two on floor and six in weight room) during each "preseason" week. During this time, players HAVE to soak in a lot of information. Each program is different but some will "babysit" you in those first couple of months and others will let you figure it out.
The biggest thing for everyone is to listen to your coaches. They might be doing a bunch of things completely different than you did in high school. The language will be different and you'll have to get use to it quickly if you want to contribute right away. Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander from Kansas saw this firsthand this year. Bill Self said they weren't ready to contribute because they didn't understand what it took to play at that level.
Another thing to keep in mind at the D1 and D2 level is that coaches can only work with their players for a total of 20 hours per week during the season. That is supposed to include practice, games, weight training, and film sessions. Games are supposed to count as three hours (that was the rule when I was at WVU). Shoot-a-arounds also counted as an hour, regardless of how long they actually were. Athletes are also forced to take one day off during the week. So, coaches are supposed to figure out how to get 20 hours of work into six days. Not easy considering all the things that the athletes need to do in order to reach their potential.
At the D3 level, coaches can't be in the gym with the players until October 15. What that means, you are on your own until practice officially starts. Yes, coaches will set up times to have open gym but they can't watch (although most figure out ways to watch a little bit here or there). Coaches then have one month to "mold" freshmen or newcomers to get what they are looking for before games begin. Most programs will have "voluntary" workouts in the weight room as well. There is nothing voluntary about them. Especially as a freshman, if you aren't in the weight room, you will lag behind.
At the D3 level, there are no rules as far as time used during the week. So, coaches could have you for 30-40 hours a week if they really wanted to. Athletes at D3 are also mandated to have a day off during the week but there is no limitation on how many hours coaches can work with players.
Regardless of how many hours coaches can work with you, you have to being willing to work on your game on your own. Most colleges will give their athletes a little preference to getting into the gym at weird hours, so make sure you get in the gym or the weight room on your own. Many colleges have a shooting gun as well. The shooting machine should become your boyfriend or girlfriend. If there is one thing that can get you on the floor, shooting is definitely one of them.
Last thing to keep in mind when getting onto a college campus is that you are a freshman. What that means is that you are on the lowest part of the totem pole. Things will not come easy like they did in high school or AAU. Playing time is determined by a lot of things and none of those include your accolades from high school.
Freshmen don't play unless they are better than upperclassmen. Freshmen have a steep learning curve. Freshmen are 18 or 19 years old, upperclassmen are 21 or 22 years old. There is a big physical difference. One thing players and parents don't want to hear is this. How many incoming freshmen started and/or played significant varsity minutes as a freshman in high school? Not many, so what makes people think a freshmen can come in right away to compete and thrive against guys or girls four or fives years older than them?
Things aren't always fun for people that don't play. Most incoming freshmen have played significant minutes since they can remember, so when they don't play they decide to transfer to decide to quit. Playing college basketball mirrors life. There will be ups and downs. Hopefully, the downs make you appreciate the ups way more.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Fixing HS Basketball
Yesterday I went on a rant in regards to AAU basketball and how to fix it. Today, it's fixing the high school game. There are so many issues in regards to high school basketball, the biggest of which is making the rules universal for ALL states. Having different rules in different states is beyond ridiculous. The reason there are different rules is because a certain coach stretched the rules that they did have and now the state association didn't want to deal with it, so they made a rule.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
First thing first, either have a shot clock or don't. I love the shot clock and would prefer that the high school level should have it. It forces players and coaches to make quick decisions. Detractors will talk about how athletes will take over. Well, basketball is an athletic game. It will also force coaches to get more creative to find ways to get great shots. It'll be a bunch of bad basketball with a bunch of bad shots. And there isn't this now? Bad basketball is being played regardless if there is a shot clock or not. Last thing is, it makes the game universal globally. We might not go with a :24 shot clock but getting it to a :30 or :35 makes the game more universal and I think that should be the ultimate goal.
I believe Minnesota is the only state that has halves instead of quarters. I love the idea. Every other state has four eight minute quarters. Minnesota has 18 minutes halves. It also gives players four more game minutes by moving to 18 minute halves. It would definitely change the way many coaches coach. Although, I wouldn't mind going to four 10 minute quarters. It is how the game is played internationally and I again would love to have the game universal.
Something that I would like to see is giving program more time to practice BEFORE games start during the season. I'll use my Dad as an example. He has over a month before he plays his first game and fills in some gaps with some scrimmages. In Minnesota, we could potentially have less than ten days to have tryouts and then practice in anticipation of their first game. That's just terrible for the kids and as we know, adults always put the kids first.
The last thing I want to talk about is universal rules when it comes to having contact with the athletes. Certain states allow full access to the players ALL THE TIME and others have major restrictions. I have a friend who coaches in Virginia and he started workouts with his players a week and a half after his season ended. My Dad is a coach in New York and he has access to his players all the time with the exception of the two weeks before tryouts/practice starts. Here in Minnesota, we can only work with our players in June and July.
Again, I want the rules universal. I think it would be great to have full access to your kids in both June and July. I also think that coaches should be able to use a week in both April and October to potentially coach/install different things for their players.
I am sure there are other things that we can fix in high school basketball. Making the game similar in all states and then hopefully following all the FIBA rules would make the game better.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The Fix Is In: How To Fix AAU
Let it be known, I had a great experience playing AAU basketball and loved every minute of it. I'm sure there are lot of kids who feel the same way as I did. With that being said, there needs to be some reform and some type of control to get the non-sense out. There is just too many people trying to take advantage of the system and the kids are the ones that get the wrong of the stick. And as we know, adults ALWAYS make it about themselv...the kids.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
Don't let kids play AAU until after they have completed middle school. I understand there is a market for it and some coaches do a great job with kids BUT they should be playing another sport during the spring and potentially the summer. If you have want to have a team consisting of kids that just completed middle school and they are playing in a few tournaments for the summer, that works. It becomes overload for the kids and a lot of times it becomes too much for the family to be traveling all over the place to play games. The kids' bodies are still developing and for them to play as many games as NBA players do from the winter to the summer, can't be good for their bodies.
How many AAU programs actually charge the bare minimum for a kid to participate? I know there are quite a few expenses to play including gym time, uniforms, and tournament entry fees but that doesn't add up to $1000. By charging more, the programs are making money thus not making it about the kids. By doing this, the system becomes a business model not a service model. When adults have a business model, they tend to screw it up for the kids.
Create a model of consistency with each tournament. Kids should be playing with their age group or above it. There shouldn't be kids who have already graduated high school playing during the spring and summer. They've had their time to shine, now let others take advantage of that opportunity. If they created more 18U and 19U tournaments, I'd be fine with it. Just don't allow a 2015 kid play against a bunch of 2016/2017's all spring and summer.
Rosters must be sent in a three weeks in advance. If roster has anything wrong with it then the team AND coach are banned from that particular tournament. If it happens again, it is reported to the NCAA and that coach's certification is taken away for 12 months. I know it potentially takes away opportunity from kids but the coaches have to get this right. It also takes away from the potential "free agent market" that we see at the MN AAU State Tournament every year (I know it happens elsewhere as well).
To go along with get the rosters correct, give the kids an opportunity to only play on two different teams throughout the spring and summer. I understand that there are times when there is an off weekend and you have the opportunity to play with some high school teammates but there shouldn't be any jumping from team to team EVERY weekend.
AAU directors need to make a stand. If one of their coaches gets ejected from a game, they are done for that particular tournament. If it happens again, they will not be coaching in that program for the rest of the year. How many high school coaches get ejected from games? Not very many because they understand how much it hurts their team. It happens a lot more in AAU and can potentially cost the kids a chance to play more games because the coach has made it all about themselves. I don't think AAU directors want to be coaching 30 games a weekend.
Stop charging high school coaches to get into tournaments. They are there watching their kids play. They are making an investment into their program. The least a tournament could do is let them in for free.
Do not charge college coaches for "recruiting packets." The college coaches are the reason why the kids are playing in the first place (for 95% of the kids). Get as many as you can into the door and give the kids as many opportunities as you can for them to be seen. It's not that big of an expense for a tournament director to print off a bunch. Make it simple, each college program gets one packet per tournament.
To go along with recruiting packets, give college coaches their own section to sit in EVERY tournament. Coaches shouldn't be having conversations with kids and their families during tournament play. I witnessed two different D3 coaches talking to kids directly in front of me this weekend while the kids were still in the tournament. That's a clear violation and shouldn't happen. They can talk AFTER the kid's tournament is over.
The NCAA needs to make a limit on how many events are certified during the open period. There are just too many events and it ends up costing many kids an opportunity to be seen by college coaches. Limit the number to 75 (or less) tournaments throughout the country. Then have an NCAA representative at each. That rep will then have an all access pass to the tournament to roam free and see what college coaches are doing to gain an advantage.
In the past the NCAA has brought a few of their reps to tournaments that I have been at. The two (both female) that came to a tournament in Vegas a few years ago essentially flirted with the college coaches the whole time and didn't do anything that I saw. Now, they could be doing something behind the scenes to scope out some issues but it clearly wasn't enough.
The NCAA would say that it costs too much for their organization to have that many reps as well as fly them all over the country to evaluate what is going on at each tournament. We all know that is not true with the money they make from the Final Four. They don't have to be full time employees, they just have to be able to work during the April and July recruiting periods. College coaches shouldn't know who the people are and won't be able to manipulate them in any way.
Like with so many things there are few people that are screwing it up for everyone else. 90-95% of the people are doing things the right way but we tend to focus on the people that aren't.
I'm sure there is more things to put out there but I believe this is a start.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Recruiting Rules
Most HS athletes and parents have no idea what the rules are as far as when and how Division One college coaches can contact their son or daughter. I am talking strictly in regards to basketball and their recruiting rules. The rules are a little bit different for every sport, so I'll be specific to just basketball. I'll go down the list of what is allowed for each year an athlete is in school.
Athletes can take unofficial visits at any point of time in high school. Athletes can take as many unofficial visits as they want or need to take (aka unlimited). An unofficial visit is when the athlete and their family provide the arrangements for the athlete to visit the school, aka the family pays for everything including travel expenses, food, etc.
Athletes are also allowed to contact coaches as much as they want. They can call or text a coach or coaches as much as they want. A coach can not return the call or text at any point (in their freshmen or sophomore year) or it's a violation.
As a freshmen, athletes can only receive a questionnaire and a camp brochure. So, if you hear that a freshman was invited to a school's camp then it usually means that the athlete received a camp brochure in the mail. Coaches are NOT allowed to a make a phone call or text message the athlete directly.
As a sophomore, the same rules apply as a freshmen. There are two legitimate differences is that once June 15th hits, coaches can have unlimited contact (calls and texts) with the athlete. Coaches can also send recruiting material in the mail once the June 15th date is hit. For most athletes, it's June 15th AFTER their sophomore year but some states haven't completed school by that date but it could be during their sophomore year if school is still in session.
If a college coach REALLY wants to talk to an athlete during their freshmen or sophomore year there are ways around this rule. The way to get around it is to contact the high school or AAU coach on the phone. The athlete just happens to "be around" when the call happens and is allowed to talk to the coaches because the call is not directly with the athlete.
As a junior, contact with coaches is unlimited. Once January 1 hits of this year, athletes are allowed to take official visits to a university. It is not always the case, but that option is available if the athlete AND the university want it. An official visit is when the university pays for all the expenses for a visit.
As a senior, this is usually the time that athletes take their official visits (after Jan. 1 of junior year is an option but most, if not all, are done during senior year). You only get FIVE official visits before choosing a school. If an athlete's school list is at seven schools, they can only make five official visits and the other two visits have to be unofficial.
Coaches are now allowed to make home visits with athletes and their families starting in the spring of their junior year (after January 1). They can meet with the athlete at school or at their home. This is considered a contact. Coaches are only allowed to have a total of seven contacts and evaluations (just watching the player play but no talking) anyway they want.
Freshmen - 7 Evaluations
Sophomore - 7 Evaluations
Junior - 7 Total with both Contacts and Evaluations (Contacts can start Jan. 1)
Senior - 7 Total between Contacts and Evaluations (any combination of the two)
Division One college coaches only get 130 "days" per academic year to go out and recruit. That means they have less than 20 recruits they are recruiting in ALL classes in order for all players to get seven contacts and evaluations. If a coaching staff comes and sees you seven times in one calendar year then they REALLY want you. Even if they see you and/or meet with you more than twice, you have to think you are considered a priority for that particular program. Not all schools can be as selective in their recruiting as Kentucky or Duke.
In closing, know the rules regarding coaches contacting athletes. You don't want to be a part of a NCAA investigation and you don't want to put your eligibility in jeopardy.
Athletes can take unofficial visits at any point of time in high school. Athletes can take as many unofficial visits as they want or need to take (aka unlimited). An unofficial visit is when the athlete and their family provide the arrangements for the athlete to visit the school, aka the family pays for everything including travel expenses, food, etc.
Athletes are also allowed to contact coaches as much as they want. They can call or text a coach or coaches as much as they want. A coach can not return the call or text at any point (in their freshmen or sophomore year) or it's a violation.
As a freshmen, athletes can only receive a questionnaire and a camp brochure. So, if you hear that a freshman was invited to a school's camp then it usually means that the athlete received a camp brochure in the mail. Coaches are NOT allowed to a make a phone call or text message the athlete directly.
As a sophomore, the same rules apply as a freshmen. There are two legitimate differences is that once June 15th hits, coaches can have unlimited contact (calls and texts) with the athlete. Coaches can also send recruiting material in the mail once the June 15th date is hit. For most athletes, it's June 15th AFTER their sophomore year but some states haven't completed school by that date but it could be during their sophomore year if school is still in session.
If a college coach REALLY wants to talk to an athlete during their freshmen or sophomore year there are ways around this rule. The way to get around it is to contact the high school or AAU coach on the phone. The athlete just happens to "be around" when the call happens and is allowed to talk to the coaches because the call is not directly with the athlete.
As a junior, contact with coaches is unlimited. Once January 1 hits of this year, athletes are allowed to take official visits to a university. It is not always the case, but that option is available if the athlete AND the university want it. An official visit is when the university pays for all the expenses for a visit.
As a senior, this is usually the time that athletes take their official visits (after Jan. 1 of junior year is an option but most, if not all, are done during senior year). You only get FIVE official visits before choosing a school. If an athlete's school list is at seven schools, they can only make five official visits and the other two visits have to be unofficial.
Coaches are now allowed to make home visits with athletes and their families starting in the spring of their junior year (after January 1). They can meet with the athlete at school or at their home. This is considered a contact. Coaches are only allowed to have a total of seven contacts and evaluations (just watching the player play but no talking) anyway they want.
Freshmen - 7 Evaluations
Sophomore - 7 Evaluations
Junior - 7 Total with both Contacts and Evaluations (Contacts can start Jan. 1)
Senior - 7 Total between Contacts and Evaluations (any combination of the two)
Division One college coaches only get 130 "days" per academic year to go out and recruit. That means they have less than 20 recruits they are recruiting in ALL classes in order for all players to get seven contacts and evaluations. If a coaching staff comes and sees you seven times in one calendar year then they REALLY want you. Even if they see you and/or meet with you more than twice, you have to think you are considered a priority for that particular program. Not all schools can be as selective in their recruiting as Kentucky or Duke.
In closing, know the rules regarding coaches contacting athletes. You don't want to be a part of a NCAA investigation and you don't want to put your eligibility in jeopardy.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Bad Scheduling Leads to Bad Basketball at HS/AAU levels
Most states have different restrictions when it comes to practice starting, when games start, how many games you can play, etc. Every place is a little different and I want to look into how some states do it completely wrong. I say they do it wrong and they'll say everyone is in the same situation so there is no advantage. It's not advantageous for the coaches AND the kids.
In Minnesota, we have approximately two weeks (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more) of practice before our first game. Puts coaches and players at a huge disadvantage if the coach was hired after July. Coaches only have access to coach in June and July for the offseason. They can have open gym throughout the offseason but can't specifically work the kids during those open gyms.
Minnesota is actually somewhat similar to the AAU season. Two weeks of limited practice and then play games. It rarely gives the coaches and the kids an opportunity to learn about each other and to install some sort of offense and defense in order for everyone to be on the same page.
The third week is generally the live period. So college coaches are seeing coaches and players still trying to figure each other out. It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be great for the college coaches to see the the kids and their teams at their best or close to it? Wouldn't it be great if the live period for college coaches got moved to the end of April and the beginning of May? More times for teams to practice together and get on the same page. Those first couple of weekends of play are usually nothing but bad basketball. In bad basketball, how exactly do college coaches evaluate properly?
One top of bad basketball, kids generally don't get a break that their body needs. All basketball players should take a week off between their high school and AAU seasons. Their body AND mind need it.
So what do we need to do to fix these issues?
In high school, I think it's a simple solution. Give the teams more times to practice before playing their first game, which would mean taking away a few games. Imagine if all coaches had three to four weeks to practice before their first game. The games would be better and the kids would be more prepared. Two weeks isn't enough time to install man offense, zone offense, man defense, zone defense, press, how to handle different presses, and everything else. Another option is to give schools two different scrimmage dates where schools can scrimmage each other and go through a bunch of different situations that they'll see over the first couple of weeks of the season.
In AAU, give each player a complete week off after the high school season. All teams have to have at least 8-10 practices before playing in their first tournament. An idea that would be good for all is to have teams play single games against each other at a neutral site. It's basically essentially scrimmaging against each other but also forces teams to play against other teams as work on the same things HS teams have to work on. Wouldn't it be fun if the sneaker company teams would play each other as well as other teams?
All in all, two weeks isn't enough time for high school and AAU to have the kids be where they should be. It's a huge disservice to the kids and isn't all of this "all about the kids?"
In Minnesota, we have approximately two weeks (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more) of practice before our first game. Puts coaches and players at a huge disadvantage if the coach was hired after July. Coaches only have access to coach in June and July for the offseason. They can have open gym throughout the offseason but can't specifically work the kids during those open gyms.
Minnesota is actually somewhat similar to the AAU season. Two weeks of limited practice and then play games. It rarely gives the coaches and the kids an opportunity to learn about each other and to install some sort of offense and defense in order for everyone to be on the same page.
The third week is generally the live period. So college coaches are seeing coaches and players still trying to figure each other out. It just doesn't make sense. Wouldn't it be great for the college coaches to see the the kids and their teams at their best or close to it? Wouldn't it be great if the live period for college coaches got moved to the end of April and the beginning of May? More times for teams to practice together and get on the same page. Those first couple of weekends of play are usually nothing but bad basketball. In bad basketball, how exactly do college coaches evaluate properly?
One top of bad basketball, kids generally don't get a break that their body needs. All basketball players should take a week off between their high school and AAU seasons. Their body AND mind need it.
So what do we need to do to fix these issues?
In high school, I think it's a simple solution. Give the teams more times to practice before playing their first game, which would mean taking away a few games. Imagine if all coaches had three to four weeks to practice before their first game. The games would be better and the kids would be more prepared. Two weeks isn't enough time to install man offense, zone offense, man defense, zone defense, press, how to handle different presses, and everything else. Another option is to give schools two different scrimmage dates where schools can scrimmage each other and go through a bunch of different situations that they'll see over the first couple of weeks of the season.
In AAU, give each player a complete week off after the high school season. All teams have to have at least 8-10 practices before playing in their first tournament. An idea that would be good for all is to have teams play single games against each other at a neutral site. It's basically essentially scrimmaging against each other but also forces teams to play against other teams as work on the same things HS teams have to work on. Wouldn't it be fun if the sneaker company teams would play each other as well as other teams?
All in all, two weeks isn't enough time for high school and AAU to have the kids be where they should be. It's a huge disservice to the kids and isn't all of this "all about the kids?"
Friday, April 3, 2015
Why we can't score????
There has been a ton of talk lately in regards to scoring or the lack thereof in college basketball. There are a ton of problems but there are very simple solutions to these problems. The solutions are simple but they aren't easy to implement because huge changes have to occur at all levels.
There is very little emphasis on shooting at the lower levels. With the limited practice times these travel teams and school ball teams have there coaches are most concerned about putting in sets and defense rather than fixing or refining shooting mechanics. Every player at the lower levels should should get at least 200 shots in a practice. It's such an important part of the game that many youth coaches neglect. What happens when someone is just as athletic as you and you can't get to the rim? Have to be able to make an open jump shot.
There is very little emphasis on shooting at the lower levels. With the limited practice times these travel teams and school ball teams have there coaches are most concerned about putting in sets and defense rather than fixing or refining shooting mechanics. Every player at the lower levels should should get at least 200 shots in a practice. It's such an important part of the game that many youth coaches neglect. What happens when someone is just as athletic as you and you can't get to the rim? Have to be able to make an open jump shot.
Offenses aren't creative enough. In some instances this is the case. As the US' scoring doctor Jay Bilas says that teams like Virginia are killing scoring. I think Virginia's offense is very creative and quite a few teams run similar stuff including Notre Dame and Ohio State. I wouldn't say that either of those teams are killing scoring. Virginia is probably a little more deliberate with the action they run.
The biggest issue when it comes to scoring with different offenses is that teams tend to get directly into isolation plays for their best players. I really like isolation basketball, but not the way most people see it. I think isolation is the key to good basketball. You have to be able to find ways to put your best players into isolation positions to score. What I mean by this is, run action to get a player some type of isolation. Basically, what every set is meant to do. I just think players and coaches want to get to the isolation play right away and I don't think that's good basketball. You have to have moving parts that could potentially lead to scores with the idea that the final action is what you are looking for.
More players are taking harder shots and that's why field goal percentages are down and why scoring is down. Players are taking pull-up jump shots off of no passes, threes that aren't inside-out, and off balance shots when they aren't necessary. Basically, players are taking shots that can get anytime they want and forcing them early in the shot clock (if there is one) rather than waiting for a great shot. Why do players take these shots? They see the best players in the world take these shots in NBA games. The difference is, the NBA players that are taking these shots actually practice them while non-NBA players jokingly take them in their spare time.
I think that pull-up jumps shots can be a good shot. I just don't like them early in a possession. Usually by the end of a possession the defense has shifted enough to get an uncontested pull-up rather than a contest shot early in a possession. A lot of it depends on who is shooting as well. Some players you never want them to take a pull-up, others more because they've consistently knocked down the shot during practice.
Over the last several years we've looked at inside-out stats for the team I coach. We shoot a little over 60% from the floor when we get the ball in the paint at some point in the possession. We have shot under 30% each of the last years when we didn't. Simple solution would be to make sure more shots are inside-out, percentages would go up. On top of that, most teams practice shooting while passing from near the hoop. It's what you practice, and it would make more sense to shoot that way during games.
Defenses have adjusted to all the new dribble drive type offenses by going to the pack line defense in hopes of keeping players out of the paint. This might be where Virginia decreases scoring. What they do is, force the offense to really work and take early and easy shots away. Thus forcing more shots later in the shot clock. A simple fix to the pack line is skip passes. The skip passes forces the defense into having longer close-outs which makes it easier for the offense to get in the lane.
One of the last reasons why scoring is down is because of officiating. There are uniform rules in the US without uniform interpretation of those rules. Some games are wrestling matches while others every time down the floor there is a whistle. If you want scoring to go up, referees will have to make foul calls consistently. And by consistently, I don't mean just at the beginning of the year. Last season all referees called a hand check every time a defender put both of their hands on the dribbler. By the end of the year, it wasn't called anymore. If it was consistently called for a whole year, the players would have to adjust, thus making the game more free flowing, which usually leads to higher scoring games. Players will adjust as long as the referees are consistent EVERY time they go on the floor. Players and coaches don't know what a foul or what a travel truly are because those violations are interpreted differently every game and by every official.
More players are taking harder shots and that's why field goal percentages are down and why scoring is down. Players are taking pull-up jump shots off of no passes, threes that aren't inside-out, and off balance shots when they aren't necessary. Basically, players are taking shots that can get anytime they want and forcing them early in the shot clock (if there is one) rather than waiting for a great shot. Why do players take these shots? They see the best players in the world take these shots in NBA games. The difference is, the NBA players that are taking these shots actually practice them while non-NBA players jokingly take them in their spare time.
I think that pull-up jumps shots can be a good shot. I just don't like them early in a possession. Usually by the end of a possession the defense has shifted enough to get an uncontested pull-up rather than a contest shot early in a possession. A lot of it depends on who is shooting as well. Some players you never want them to take a pull-up, others more because they've consistently knocked down the shot during practice.
Over the last several years we've looked at inside-out stats for the team I coach. We shoot a little over 60% from the floor when we get the ball in the paint at some point in the possession. We have shot under 30% each of the last years when we didn't. Simple solution would be to make sure more shots are inside-out, percentages would go up. On top of that, most teams practice shooting while passing from near the hoop. It's what you practice, and it would make more sense to shoot that way during games.
Defenses have adjusted to all the new dribble drive type offenses by going to the pack line defense in hopes of keeping players out of the paint. This might be where Virginia decreases scoring. What they do is, force the offense to really work and take early and easy shots away. Thus forcing more shots later in the shot clock. A simple fix to the pack line is skip passes. The skip passes forces the defense into having longer close-outs which makes it easier for the offense to get in the lane.
One of the last reasons why scoring is down is because of officiating. There are uniform rules in the US without uniform interpretation of those rules. Some games are wrestling matches while others every time down the floor there is a whistle. If you want scoring to go up, referees will have to make foul calls consistently. And by consistently, I don't mean just at the beginning of the year. Last season all referees called a hand check every time a defender put both of their hands on the dribbler. By the end of the year, it wasn't called anymore. If it was consistently called for a whole year, the players would have to adjust, thus making the game more free flowing, which usually leads to higher scoring games. Players will adjust as long as the referees are consistent EVERY time they go on the floor. Players and coaches don't know what a foul or what a travel truly are because those violations are interpreted differently every game and by every official.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The Coaching Carousel and How it Affects Recruiting
We live in a world where everyone wants things to happen right away. Players transfer when things don't go their way instead of toughing it out. Athletic directors don't give coaches enough time to legitimately build their program. To add to the instability, many coaches are looking to move jobs in order to win more and/or make more money.
Coaches like any human want to better themselves and their families. When an opportunity arises after being really good at what they currently do, they would be doing themselves a disservice by not at least looking into another position at another school that would be willing to give the coach more resources to recruit and win. This potential new position usually offers more money as well. You as a recruit or a recruit's parent, have to understand that this is part of the business and it happens EVERY year.
From a recruiting standpoint you have to look at a lot of things. When a coaching staff is young and has been successful they are prime candidates to move on to "the next level." That is definitely something to think about before making your college decision. And it happens at all levels as well.
Another thing to look at is the changing of assistant coaches. Assistants are much more likely to be on the move than the head coach. Head coaches' contracts are generally long term (more than three years) while most assistants are on a year to year contract. So, the (assistant) coach that you developed the best relationship with could easily be at another place by the time you make it to campus.
You'll see this type of movement a little more in football where coaches won't leave for another opportunity until after the signing period. It makes it really tough for the recruits because they've spent a ton of time communicating with that assistant and by them leaving, the comfort isn't there as much.
All of these different scenarios are some of the reasons why I believe it is the best for a recruit to decide later in the process. I understand if a "dream school" offers you a spot and you have to take it immediately but I don't think that happens as often as people believe. As a recruit, you have to protect yourself and put yourself in the best situation possible.
To go along with all of this I'll tell a story. My first staff meeting while working at WVU. Coach Beilein told all of us that we should be looking for new jobs every year. His contract was the only one that was guaranteed. If he was to get fired, he would get the remaining amount of his contract (or most of it) and we would be out of luck. If he was to leave, there were no guarantees that he would take all of us with him. And then he didn't when he left for Michigan. Pretty eye opening for a young assistant that thought he knew it all.
Coaches like any human want to better themselves and their families. When an opportunity arises after being really good at what they currently do, they would be doing themselves a disservice by not at least looking into another position at another school that would be willing to give the coach more resources to recruit and win. This potential new position usually offers more money as well. You as a recruit or a recruit's parent, have to understand that this is part of the business and it happens EVERY year.
From a recruiting standpoint you have to look at a lot of things. When a coaching staff is young and has been successful they are prime candidates to move on to "the next level." That is definitely something to think about before making your college decision. And it happens at all levels as well.
Another thing to look at is the changing of assistant coaches. Assistants are much more likely to be on the move than the head coach. Head coaches' contracts are generally long term (more than three years) while most assistants are on a year to year contract. So, the (assistant) coach that you developed the best relationship with could easily be at another place by the time you make it to campus.
You'll see this type of movement a little more in football where coaches won't leave for another opportunity until after the signing period. It makes it really tough for the recruits because they've spent a ton of time communicating with that assistant and by them leaving, the comfort isn't there as much.
All of these different scenarios are some of the reasons why I believe it is the best for a recruit to decide later in the process. I understand if a "dream school" offers you a spot and you have to take it immediately but I don't think that happens as often as people believe. As a recruit, you have to protect yourself and put yourself in the best situation possible.
To go along with all of this I'll tell a story. My first staff meeting while working at WVU. Coach Beilein told all of us that we should be looking for new jobs every year. His contract was the only one that was guaranteed. If he was to get fired, he would get the remaining amount of his contract (or most of it) and we would be out of luck. If he was to leave, there were no guarantees that he would take all of us with him. And then he didn't when he left for Michigan. Pretty eye opening for a young assistant that thought he knew it all.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Code Word "Exposure"
Name a spring and summer team that doesn't talk about "exposure" and I'd call you a liar. The word exposure is a be all, end all by players and parents that want to feel important. Parents believe that you get exposure by going to a tournament out of state when the players are 12 or 13 years old. Smaller AAU programs will sell the exposure in order to get players but none of those players will never play in college or leave the state to play in college.
It can be really frustrating for people in the know when programs sell "exposure." Exposure means you play in front of college coaches and if you think that college coaches are going to go out of their way to see 12 or 13 year olds you are completely out of your mind. Are there times when they sit down and watch a game? Yes. That's because the game they are supposed to watch is starting late.
The out of town trip for any AAU team is always an adventure. It can be a lot of fun and you get to spend a lot of time together. Definitely a good time. While I was coaching AAU, we went on a trip to Iowa during the "live period." There was one college coach that stayed for less than a half of one of our games. Even one of my players, who had hopes of playing college ball, tweeted out some of his frustration. Not exactly a great way to get "exposure."
There are a lot of AAU programs that decide that it's a good idea to have half of their tournaments be out of the state where they are located. Some of these programs have a whole team of guys/girls that will basketball out of state in college. It makes sense for them to travel and I don't blame these programs at all.
Then there are the other teams. The other teams "sell" that going out of state gets their kids "exposure." Exposure to what? Exposure to another program that does the same thing. They end up getting put in the same pool and or play in the first round of the silver "championship" division. On top of that, none of the kids on the team will ever leave the state to play college ball. What sense does it make to have families spend a boatload of money on travel, food, and lodging for no other reason than to play someplace different?
But keep selling "exposure." Great marketing.
It can be really frustrating for people in the know when programs sell "exposure." Exposure means you play in front of college coaches and if you think that college coaches are going to go out of their way to see 12 or 13 year olds you are completely out of your mind. Are there times when they sit down and watch a game? Yes. That's because the game they are supposed to watch is starting late.
The out of town trip for any AAU team is always an adventure. It can be a lot of fun and you get to spend a lot of time together. Definitely a good time. While I was coaching AAU, we went on a trip to Iowa during the "live period." There was one college coach that stayed for less than a half of one of our games. Even one of my players, who had hopes of playing college ball, tweeted out some of his frustration. Not exactly a great way to get "exposure."
There are a lot of AAU programs that decide that it's a good idea to have half of their tournaments be out of the state where they are located. Some of these programs have a whole team of guys/girls that will basketball out of state in college. It makes sense for them to travel and I don't blame these programs at all.
Then there are the other teams. The other teams "sell" that going out of state gets their kids "exposure." Exposure to what? Exposure to another program that does the same thing. They end up getting put in the same pool and or play in the first round of the silver "championship" division. On top of that, none of the kids on the team will ever leave the state to play college ball. What sense does it make to have families spend a boatload of money on travel, food, and lodging for no other reason than to play someplace different?
But keep selling "exposure." Great marketing.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
College Decision Days Ahead
Right about now is when a lot of kids will be making their decisions to attend a (one, hopefully) college or university for the next four or five years. There are many things that go into the decision making process. There is a list of things that should be priorities for you and your family before making a decision.
1) The top priority for most families is cost. How many money can the family afford per year and/or over the course of four years? What kind of financial aid can the school provided? It's good to find out how much each school's endowment is, because that usually translates to better (high endowment) or worse (low endowment) financial aid packages. Basically, does the school meet 100% of need or is the percentage much lower.
Some schools do a pretty good job of getting out academic scholarship packages after the application process. Others schools wait until they've gathered all of their applicants and then send out financial aid packages all at the same time. Knowing what the timeline looks like is very important. Sometimes, the school that you want to go to the most will make you wait the most.
There are also other times that money isn't an issue. If that's the case, the admission process is a bit different. Why? The family doesn't have to worry about comparing financial aid packages from different schools. What also could happen is the admission department knows the applicant is a "full pay" applicant and they will get into school even if their grades/test scores aren't what they need to normally get into school. That's called "private school economics." More on this in a bit.
While I was coaching in college there was a prominent "recruiting guru" that came and spoke. He had some really useful information and some really interesting ideas. One thing he said that if the financial aid package came out $4,000 on the wrong end (another school had a better package) and the recruit didn't come then the coach didn't sell the school hard enough. I laughed out loud when he said that. $4,000 is a lot money over the course of four years. That's a mid-size car or $16,000. When families are making decisions based off $1,000-$2,000 then $4,000 is going to be a big deal (for most families).
1) The top priority for most families is cost. How many money can the family afford per year and/or over the course of four years? What kind of financial aid can the school provided? It's good to find out how much each school's endowment is, because that usually translates to better (high endowment) or worse (low endowment) financial aid packages. Basically, does the school meet 100% of need or is the percentage much lower.
Some schools do a pretty good job of getting out academic scholarship packages after the application process. Others schools wait until they've gathered all of their applicants and then send out financial aid packages all at the same time. Knowing what the timeline looks like is very important. Sometimes, the school that you want to go to the most will make you wait the most.
There are also other times that money isn't an issue. If that's the case, the admission process is a bit different. Why? The family doesn't have to worry about comparing financial aid packages from different schools. What also could happen is the admission department knows the applicant is a "full pay" applicant and they will get into school even if their grades/test scores aren't what they need to normally get into school. That's called "private school economics." More on this in a bit.
While I was coaching in college there was a prominent "recruiting guru" that came and spoke. He had some really useful information and some really interesting ideas. One thing he said that if the financial aid package came out $4,000 on the wrong end (another school had a better package) and the recruit didn't come then the coach didn't sell the school hard enough. I laughed out loud when he said that. $4,000 is a lot money over the course of four years. That's a mid-size car or $16,000. When families are making decisions based off $1,000-$2,000 then $4,000 is going to be a big deal (for most families).
2) You are going to college to get an education, why would you go to a college that doesn't have your preferred major? When kids transfer and say "they didn't have my major," didn't the kid know that going in? The education is the reason why you are going to school, even though athletics are a big reason why you are interested in a certain school. 18-22 year olds change their minds on a daily basis, it would be a good idea to go somewhere that has a lot of options as far as majors, if your original thoughts on the major you want isn't what you thought it would be.
There are some schools that give you the option to "major" in multiple things. Not exactly a double major but the school gives you opportunities in multiple disciplines to figure out what you are truly looking for. Some schools will have "interdisciplinary studies" as a major, which is code word for having three minors that you emphasize in because the full major doesn't make a ton of sense in what you want to do.
3) If a coach tells you that they play fast, look at the team's box scores. There aren't many players in high school that want to go to college and play in a grind it out type offense and defense. Coaches will say, "we want to play fast," and then call out plays every time down the floor. Majority of the coaches don't play fast and don't want to play fast because they don't have control.
Teams that play fast have the tendency to turn the ball over (on offense) a good amount and they also score a lot. If you watch West Virginia play, they play fast but they generally don't score a ton. If you can't watch a team that is recruiting you in person, watch them on a webcast since most schools have that capability now.
4) A head or assistant coach tells you they play a lot of players and in reality they only play seven or eight players. Please look at the team's box scores in their perceived rivalry games and/or postseason games (if they've made it) to see if they play that many players. Playing five players 30+ minutes and then having one player play 15 minutes and two more guys play between 5 and 8 minutes means they don't play a lot of players. If they have 9 or 10 guys average above 12 minutes a game, that means the coach plays a lot of players.
Coaches tend to shorten their bench toward the end of the year because they want to win and they'll only play the players they trust. If you look at stats at the beginning of the year, more players will play. Why? The coaching staff is trying to figure out who fits where, who plays better with other players, and who does better with the lights on.
5) Know the recruiting philosophy of the school and the program. There are certain schools that want coaches to recruit and get as many players as they can. This is another example of "private school economics." The more bodies the better the bottom line is for the school. So they'll have a lot of players on their roster but very few play, even with a JV team.
There are many schools that have the ability to give out good financial aid packages to a lot of kids. It will give the coaches the ability to "load up" in consecutive years in order to make a run at a championship. What happens ends up being a disservice to the kids. Why? There are a lot of very good players that could probably start or play significant minutes at other schools, get stuck on the bench of the school those chose. Basically, it's buyer beware when you are choosing a school.
When push comes to shove, cost and academics should be the number 1 and 1a when it comes to picking a school. The athletic side is super important but shouldn't be the priority because what happens when the "ball stops bouncing?" You and your family have to make the correct decision for life.
There are some schools that give you the option to "major" in multiple things. Not exactly a double major but the school gives you opportunities in multiple disciplines to figure out what you are truly looking for. Some schools will have "interdisciplinary studies" as a major, which is code word for having three minors that you emphasize in because the full major doesn't make a ton of sense in what you want to do.
3) If a coach tells you that they play fast, look at the team's box scores. There aren't many players in high school that want to go to college and play in a grind it out type offense and defense. Coaches will say, "we want to play fast," and then call out plays every time down the floor. Majority of the coaches don't play fast and don't want to play fast because they don't have control.
Teams that play fast have the tendency to turn the ball over (on offense) a good amount and they also score a lot. If you watch West Virginia play, they play fast but they generally don't score a ton. If you can't watch a team that is recruiting you in person, watch them on a webcast since most schools have that capability now.
4) A head or assistant coach tells you they play a lot of players and in reality they only play seven or eight players. Please look at the team's box scores in their perceived rivalry games and/or postseason games (if they've made it) to see if they play that many players. Playing five players 30+ minutes and then having one player play 15 minutes and two more guys play between 5 and 8 minutes means they don't play a lot of players. If they have 9 or 10 guys average above 12 minutes a game, that means the coach plays a lot of players.
Coaches tend to shorten their bench toward the end of the year because they want to win and they'll only play the players they trust. If you look at stats at the beginning of the year, more players will play. Why? The coaching staff is trying to figure out who fits where, who plays better with other players, and who does better with the lights on.
5) Know the recruiting philosophy of the school and the program. There are certain schools that want coaches to recruit and get as many players as they can. This is another example of "private school economics." The more bodies the better the bottom line is for the school. So they'll have a lot of players on their roster but very few play, even with a JV team.
There are many schools that have the ability to give out good financial aid packages to a lot of kids. It will give the coaches the ability to "load up" in consecutive years in order to make a run at a championship. What happens ends up being a disservice to the kids. Why? There are a lot of very good players that could probably start or play significant minutes at other schools, get stuck on the bench of the school those chose. Basically, it's buyer beware when you are choosing a school.
When push comes to shove, cost and academics should be the number 1 and 1a when it comes to picking a school. The athletic side is super important but shouldn't be the priority because what happens when the "ball stops bouncing?" You and your family have to make the correct decision for life.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Exploited Student-Athlete, I Think Not
As I am sitting here watching the NCAA Tourney I am thinking about all the student-athletes on all these teams and how hard it is to juggle being a student and being an athlete with all the time that these guys are away from campus. These networks (particularly CBS) are paying an absurd amount of money to the NCAA to televise these games.
For many of the players at the high major level they are traveling all the time and it takes it's toll. Let's take a look at the Big 12 and their conference tournament. Iowa State and Kansas both played in the championship game on Saturday, March 14 after playing on the 12th and the 13th. They probably arrived on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for the tournament. Unless they were on spring break they've missed class Wednesday through Friday. All because their games need to be on TV.
The above is typical for most high major teams. If they make the NCAA tourney then there is more missed classes because the NCAA mandates that teams arrive two days before games start. An example is that teams that play in the Thursday/Saturday set have to arrive on Tuesday all for the TV and media. Friday/Sunday games will miss Thursday and Friday class but will have another dilemma because they'll probably miss class on Monday depending on where they travel to/from.
With all of that being said, these student-athletes don't have a lot of opportunities to be students and whose fault is it? I will go with TV and college presidents. TV does what they want because all the college presidents want more money. The more the games are on tv, the bottom line looks A LOT better for college presidents. That is why you'll see football games on all throughout the week during the fall.
Hang with me here:
I've sent out some feelers to a bunch of different college coaches at a bunch of different levels and this is what I've gathered. Student-athletes that are on a full scholarship will get various levels of scholarships based off of what level school each coach is at.
High Major Mid Major
*Roughly $1200 check every month *$840 check every month
Unlimited meals meals/snacks 30 meals per semester in dining hall + snacks
Free Tutoring Free Tutoring
Potential free iPads Postseason gifts (budget won't allow $500, but get something)
Postseason gifts (up to $500)
Free printing for papers, etc
*If student-athletes live off campus they'll get that amount. Not sure what the amount they are given if they live on campus.
A Pell Grant is available for all students if their family qualifies financially. A full Pell Grant for the year is $5,500. If the athlete is on full scholarship they'll get a $5,500 every year without having to pay it back. Yes, that's potentially $22,000 over the course of four years. That number could be a lot less or nothing at all depending on the finances of the family.
On top of all of that the student-athletes get major exposure through TV and everything that potentially goes with it. Looking at a high major "non-revenue" sport the school spent roughly $32,000 per year per athlete (walk-ons included) on top of any athletic scholarship. This money includes athletic training, medical costs, sport psychologists, tutoring/advising, massage/chiropractic, travel, gear, meals, and coaching. If you want to look at some "revenue" sports, that number is WAY higher because of charter flights, nicer hotels, more (and nicer) gear, and more meals.
If you look in the closets of these same student-athletes you'll see about two weeks of wardrobes given to them EVERY year through the contract the school has with an apparel company. Let's take a look at Oregon (I know they are different than everyone else but it's fun). Every one of their players have received four pairs of Kevin Durant's signature shoes (retail $150, customized $195) in different colors. Here is a link showing their different jersey combos as well as some of the shoes that are available to them. I could show you a bunch of pictures from all the gear my wife's team gets but I don't want to be a creeper through their Twitter and Instagram.
Did I mention that these same student-athletes get their education paid for as well? Tuition at these schools range anywhere from $6,000 to $50,000 (just tuition, not tuition & room and board). With that being said, athletic department probably are spending over $100,000 per athlete per year in certain sports.
I'll ask this question to my four regular readers, Would you be willing to "be exploited" by the NCAA and college presidents to get all the things that you get by being a student-athlete? I would say an extreme majority would say, "Where do I sign?"
For many of the players at the high major level they are traveling all the time and it takes it's toll. Let's take a look at the Big 12 and their conference tournament. Iowa State and Kansas both played in the championship game on Saturday, March 14 after playing on the 12th and the 13th. They probably arrived on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for the tournament. Unless they were on spring break they've missed class Wednesday through Friday. All because their games need to be on TV.
The above is typical for most high major teams. If they make the NCAA tourney then there is more missed classes because the NCAA mandates that teams arrive two days before games start. An example is that teams that play in the Thursday/Saturday set have to arrive on Tuesday all for the TV and media. Friday/Sunday games will miss Thursday and Friday class but will have another dilemma because they'll probably miss class on Monday depending on where they travel to/from.
With all of that being said, these student-athletes don't have a lot of opportunities to be students and whose fault is it? I will go with TV and college presidents. TV does what they want because all the college presidents want more money. The more the games are on tv, the bottom line looks A LOT better for college presidents. That is why you'll see football games on all throughout the week during the fall.
Hang with me here:
I've sent out some feelers to a bunch of different college coaches at a bunch of different levels and this is what I've gathered. Student-athletes that are on a full scholarship will get various levels of scholarships based off of what level school each coach is at.
High Major Mid Major
*Roughly $1200 check every month *$840 check every month
Unlimited meals meals/snacks 30 meals per semester in dining hall + snacks
Free Tutoring Free Tutoring
Potential free iPads Postseason gifts (budget won't allow $500, but get something)
Postseason gifts (up to $500)
Free printing for papers, etc
*If student-athletes live off campus they'll get that amount. Not sure what the amount they are given if they live on campus.
A Pell Grant is available for all students if their family qualifies financially. A full Pell Grant for the year is $5,500. If the athlete is on full scholarship they'll get a $5,500 every year without having to pay it back. Yes, that's potentially $22,000 over the course of four years. That number could be a lot less or nothing at all depending on the finances of the family.
On top of all of that the student-athletes get major exposure through TV and everything that potentially goes with it. Looking at a high major "non-revenue" sport the school spent roughly $32,000 per year per athlete (walk-ons included) on top of any athletic scholarship. This money includes athletic training, medical costs, sport psychologists, tutoring/advising, massage/chiropractic, travel, gear, meals, and coaching. If you want to look at some "revenue" sports, that number is WAY higher because of charter flights, nicer hotels, more (and nicer) gear, and more meals.
If you look in the closets of these same student-athletes you'll see about two weeks of wardrobes given to them EVERY year through the contract the school has with an apparel company. Let's take a look at Oregon (I know they are different than everyone else but it's fun). Every one of their players have received four pairs of Kevin Durant's signature shoes (retail $150, customized $195) in different colors. Here is a link showing their different jersey combos as well as some of the shoes that are available to them. I could show you a bunch of pictures from all the gear my wife's team gets but I don't want to be a creeper through their Twitter and Instagram.
Did I mention that these same student-athletes get their education paid for as well? Tuition at these schools range anywhere from $6,000 to $50,000 (just tuition, not tuition & room and board). With that being said, athletic department probably are spending over $100,000 per athlete per year in certain sports.
I'll ask this question to my four regular readers, Would you be willing to "be exploited" by the NCAA and college presidents to get all the things that you get by being a student-athlete? I would say an extreme majority would say, "Where do I sign?"
How to Fix the NCAA Tournament
As I've watched the NCAA Tournament over the past three days I've noticed some things that I think would make the tournament better.
Step 1: Change it back to 64 teams.
It makes ZERO sense to have the four added teams. Why? These play-in games are for the lowered seeded teams. Why not give them all a chance to shine on the weekend. They are at a huge disadvantage and at times go from playing a night game on Tuesday to an afternoon game on Thursday with a decent amount of travel in between. 64 is also a perfect number for a tournament, 68 just doesn't make sense.
Step 2: East Coast Games that start after 9PM need to stop
I understand if a game is being played in Seattle or Los Angeles and it has a late start. If a game is being played in Pittsburgh there is absolutely no reason to have a game start after 9PM eastern time. Some of the games this year have started past 10PM eastern time. That's a huge disservice to the kids and their families (for those that travel).
Step 3: Each side of the bracket play on the same days
An example for this year would be the West and Midwest both play on Thursday and Saturday while the East and the South both play on Friday and Sunday. It doesn't make sense to have teams in the same bracket have more or less rest. Makes it more of a level playing field for all.
Step 4: Get rid of teams playing close to home
Games should all be neutral site and one team shouldn't have a huge crowd advantage unless they are Kentucky (they always travel). They should lower the ticket prices and get more fans in the seats rather than playing in half empty arenas. Families should be able to go to games and not have to take out a loan for tickets, parking, and snacks. Remember, we are watching amateurs play. Examples of this would be don't allow Duke, North Carolina, or NC State state play in the state of North Carolina. Syracuse should never play in Albany. Many more examples can be made.
Step 5: CBS Please Pay Attention
Thursday and Friday are like heaven for a lot of hoops fans. The Saturday and Sunday should be the same way. There is no need to showcase two games each day. Get the day moving and then teams wouldn't have games starting past 9PM eastern time. Take Grant Hill off the main broadcast. Two man booth is all that is needed. Give me Verne Lundquist and Bill Rafferty or Ian Eagle and Jim Spinarkel and I'll be happy.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Fast or Slow
Over the last month or so, a lot of talk has been how scoring in college basketball has gone down and how basketball is more like a football game. That it's bad for the game and less people want to watch. Scoring is definitely down for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include lack of shooting, defensive schemes, control by the coaches, more teams playing zone, and officiating.
Lets talk about shooting. If you look at the three point shooting leaders this year (HERE) you'll see that only 35 players throughout Division One shoot over 40% from the three point line (there is probably more but you need a certain amount of attempts to be on the list). That's not a very high number considering there is about 340 Division One teams. Heck, there are only 22 in the NBA that are shooting 40% and above this year. Although, there are certain players that shoot higher percentages from the corners, which is big in the NBA game. The lack of shooting allows defenses to collapse more (more on this below).
As you watch games by teams like Virginia and Wisconsin you'll notice that they like to "muck it up." What I mean by this is, they get physical and do not make anything easy for the offense. The idea behind how they play is to not allow penetration into the paint. Why? Teams shoot a much higher percentage when they get a paint touch through penetration, cutting, or post catches. By playing this way, the offense tends to score a lot less and are also forced to take tough shots later in the shot clock. Forcing teams to take shots near the end of the shot clock also forces their offense to get less possessions, which leads to less scoring for both teams. Examples are HERE, HERE, and HERE.
This defense is also known as the "pack-line defense." What this means is that there is rarely extended ball pressure. So, the offense doesn't have as much space to operate, especially when they need it, late in the shot clock. Also, you'll rarely see the players off the ball try to deny their man the ball. What this does is make the reversal pass easy but the potential drive doesn't look like it is there because that is where the help is positioned.
There are very few teams at the Division One level that really try to extend their defense and have ball pressure at all times. What the ball pressure does is put the defensive player on a island and if they get beat then the rest of the defense is at a huge disadvantage. In closing, why would coaches want to put their players at a huge disadvantage by pressuring the ball at half court?
Many of the basketball "experts" are saying that all coaches feel the need to have control and that is why offenses aren't scoring at all. I believe it's harder to get in the paint early in a shot clock and that is forcing offenses to needle their way into the paint near the end of the shot clock. So, most possessions are taking 20-30 seconds off the clock trying to get the defense to make a mistake. When teams settle for shots and make them, it looks like great offense but in reality it's not very good. Coaches definitely want control but their idea of control is getting great shots and not settling for bad or average shots.
Much like college football when it was very run oriented, basketball has become a physical mess and scoring has gone down. Now, coaches need to figure out ways to adjust to defenses like the pack-line and it's taking them a while. What is the best way to get their best players the ball in space? That's the magic question and every coach and team is different.
You'll see more teams playing zone now knowing that teams don't shoot the ball very well. Playing zone almost always slows the game down. The offense usually takes a bit longer to get shots especially when the zone has a lot of length. Yes, there are times when teams can get good looks early in a possession but much like pack-line the offense is waiting for the defense to make a mistake.
The last thing I will talk about is the officiating. Games have become physical messes because the officials allow it. Perfect example is last year when it was made a rule that officials HAD to call a foul when the defender would put two hands on the offensive player. That was called very early in the year and scoring went up. By the time conference play started, the physical play was back. If a rule is made, it needs to be enforced. With that being said, if play is consistently called a certain way for an extended period of time, players will adjust and the game will automatically become faster. Until then, scoring will continue to decrease.
Yes, everyone wants to see a lot of scoring but many coaches realize that they want to slow it down in hopes of giving them a better chance of winning the game by giving the other team less possessions. And as we've seen since many teams seasons have ended, coaches want to have a job.
Lets talk about shooting. If you look at the three point shooting leaders this year (HERE) you'll see that only 35 players throughout Division One shoot over 40% from the three point line (there is probably more but you need a certain amount of attempts to be on the list). That's not a very high number considering there is about 340 Division One teams. Heck, there are only 22 in the NBA that are shooting 40% and above this year. Although, there are certain players that shoot higher percentages from the corners, which is big in the NBA game. The lack of shooting allows defenses to collapse more (more on this below).
As you watch games by teams like Virginia and Wisconsin you'll notice that they like to "muck it up." What I mean by this is, they get physical and do not make anything easy for the offense. The idea behind how they play is to not allow penetration into the paint. Why? Teams shoot a much higher percentage when they get a paint touch through penetration, cutting, or post catches. By playing this way, the offense tends to score a lot less and are also forced to take tough shots later in the shot clock. Forcing teams to take shots near the end of the shot clock also forces their offense to get less possessions, which leads to less scoring for both teams. Examples are HERE, HERE, and HERE.
This defense is also known as the "pack-line defense." What this means is that there is rarely extended ball pressure. So, the offense doesn't have as much space to operate, especially when they need it, late in the shot clock. Also, you'll rarely see the players off the ball try to deny their man the ball. What this does is make the reversal pass easy but the potential drive doesn't look like it is there because that is where the help is positioned.
There are very few teams at the Division One level that really try to extend their defense and have ball pressure at all times. What the ball pressure does is put the defensive player on a island and if they get beat then the rest of the defense is at a huge disadvantage. In closing, why would coaches want to put their players at a huge disadvantage by pressuring the ball at half court?
Many of the basketball "experts" are saying that all coaches feel the need to have control and that is why offenses aren't scoring at all. I believe it's harder to get in the paint early in a shot clock and that is forcing offenses to needle their way into the paint near the end of the shot clock. So, most possessions are taking 20-30 seconds off the clock trying to get the defense to make a mistake. When teams settle for shots and make them, it looks like great offense but in reality it's not very good. Coaches definitely want control but their idea of control is getting great shots and not settling for bad or average shots.
Much like college football when it was very run oriented, basketball has become a physical mess and scoring has gone down. Now, coaches need to figure out ways to adjust to defenses like the pack-line and it's taking them a while. What is the best way to get their best players the ball in space? That's the magic question and every coach and team is different.
You'll see more teams playing zone now knowing that teams don't shoot the ball very well. Playing zone almost always slows the game down. The offense usually takes a bit longer to get shots especially when the zone has a lot of length. Yes, there are times when teams can get good looks early in a possession but much like pack-line the offense is waiting for the defense to make a mistake.
The last thing I will talk about is the officiating. Games have become physical messes because the officials allow it. Perfect example is last year when it was made a rule that officials HAD to call a foul when the defender would put two hands on the offensive player. That was called very early in the year and scoring went up. By the time conference play started, the physical play was back. If a rule is made, it needs to be enforced. With that being said, if play is consistently called a certain way for an extended period of time, players will adjust and the game will automatically become faster. Until then, scoring will continue to decrease.
Yes, everyone wants to see a lot of scoring but many coaches realize that they want to slow it down in hopes of giving them a better chance of winning the game by giving the other team less possessions. And as we've seen since many teams seasons have ended, coaches want to have a job.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Weight Training
As we get into the "offseason" a lot of high school coaches will stress to their players about getting in the weight room this spring, summer, and fall. Players that get into the weight room generally play with more confidence and can play harder for longer compared to players that don't.
The one thing for the weight room is that many coaches don't have a plan for their players. Basketball coaches generally aren't certified strength coaches and don't truly know how their guys have to approach hitting the weights. A lot of the time there really isn't a plan and they'll say "get to the weight room." Getting stronger doesn't just come by osmosis (look it up for those that don't know what it is).
I'm not a strength coach and don't pretend to be but I do know some things when it comes to getting stronger. You don't have to gain weight in order to get stronger. You can do a bunch of exercises that will get you stronger and make you a better player. You can do these exercises anywhere so there is no excuse for not doing them. Here are a bunch of exercises that will guarantee to make you stronger if you push yourself while doing them;
Push-ups
Pull-ups
Dips
Lunges
Squats
The only exercise that can be difficult to do are pull-ups. There aren't pull-up bars all over the place but you could easily find a tree branch or a jungle gym that you can get a couple of sets in every day if you can't make it to a gym. All the other exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home or at a hotel. You can do a bunch before you go to school, a bunch when you get home, and a bunch before you head to bed.
Here is an example of a simple workout for the day:
50 pull-ups
250 push-ups
100 dips
3 sets of 20 on each leg for lunges
200 squats
After you get good at these you can start to get creative (to help keep the exercises from getting boring). Try push-ups and pull-ups with different grip widths. Lunges and squats can be done with your body turned or your arms in different directions (having both arms straight up are good).
Imagine if you did that workout every day for the spring and summer. Not only will you get stronger but your confidence will go up and everyone will notice. After a while those numbers from above won't be that hard anymore and you'll push yourself to do more of each exercise.
Again, these exercises aren't going to make you huge but they will get you stronger and that's ultimately the goal. Ultimately the decision to get stronger is up to you just like working on your game.
The one thing for the weight room is that many coaches don't have a plan for their players. Basketball coaches generally aren't certified strength coaches and don't truly know how their guys have to approach hitting the weights. A lot of the time there really isn't a plan and they'll say "get to the weight room." Getting stronger doesn't just come by osmosis (look it up for those that don't know what it is).
I'm not a strength coach and don't pretend to be but I do know some things when it comes to getting stronger. You don't have to gain weight in order to get stronger. You can do a bunch of exercises that will get you stronger and make you a better player. You can do these exercises anywhere so there is no excuse for not doing them. Here are a bunch of exercises that will guarantee to make you stronger if you push yourself while doing them;
Push-ups
Pull-ups
Dips
Lunges
Squats
The only exercise that can be difficult to do are pull-ups. There aren't pull-up bars all over the place but you could easily find a tree branch or a jungle gym that you can get a couple of sets in every day if you can't make it to a gym. All the other exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home or at a hotel. You can do a bunch before you go to school, a bunch when you get home, and a bunch before you head to bed.
Here is an example of a simple workout for the day:
50 pull-ups
250 push-ups
100 dips
3 sets of 20 on each leg for lunges
200 squats
After you get good at these you can start to get creative (to help keep the exercises from getting boring). Try push-ups and pull-ups with different grip widths. Lunges and squats can be done with your body turned or your arms in different directions (having both arms straight up are good).
Imagine if you did that workout every day for the spring and summer. Not only will you get stronger but your confidence will go up and everyone will notice. After a while those numbers from above won't be that hard anymore and you'll push yourself to do more of each exercise.
Again, these exercises aren't going to make you huge but they will get you stronger and that's ultimately the goal. Ultimately the decision to get stronger is up to you just like working on your game.
Selection Sunday - My Story
Tonight we'll see some teams feel great about themselves and others that won't. If you ask any college player, one of their goals is to play in the NCAA tournament. I was fortunate enough to play in three (or be on the roster for two of them). It's such a cool thing to see your name on the big screen and now that you "finally" made it.
Here is a story from ESPN regarding what it's like when you are on the bubble.
Very rarely, do high school players have any idea what's it's like to sit on pins and needles to see if they made the playoffs of any type. Yes, there are some places that only allow teams above .500 to make the postseason but for the most part it's everybody gets in and everybody is happy. You might not be happy where you are seeded but you still get to go to the postseason.
College is a whole different story. Only 68 teams (should be 64) make the NCAA tourney that we watch on tv. It's actually about a 20% of a team making the tourney every year. D3 has the lowest percentage and it's really hard to get an at large bid to the the D3 national tourney. There are 43 conferences and each of their champions get automatic bids there are only 19 at large bids for about 400 teams.
My first two years in college we were fortunate enough to win our conference tournament and get automatic bids to the NCAA tourney. During my senior year had a average start to the year and then finished the year on a 15 game winning streak. We ended up losing in the conference championship game. We were crushed. We didn't think there was anyway we were getting a bid to the tournament. It wasn't exactly the way any of us seniors wanted to end our careers.
That Sunday night, I was on the computer chatting up with a bunch of (chicks) people preparing for student teaching in the morning. I didn't even bother going to the d3hoops website. I got a phone call from a teammate saying that we were in. I told him to not mess with me and probably a bunch of expletives and hung up. I then got a call from my college coach, Nelson Whitmore, and he told me we were in. I couldn't believe it. On top of getting in, we actually got a bye because we had the 5th toughest schedule in the country that year (our only home games were conference games).
So...we got to fulfill our dream and made it to the Sweet 16 once again. While there we got smacked by defending national champion Williams (coached by now Bucknell coach, Dave Paulsen) to finish our career. It was a great run and lots of fun.
Anybody else have a Selection Sunday story???
Here is a story from ESPN regarding what it's like when you are on the bubble.
Very rarely, do high school players have any idea what's it's like to sit on pins and needles to see if they made the playoffs of any type. Yes, there are some places that only allow teams above .500 to make the postseason but for the most part it's everybody gets in and everybody is happy. You might not be happy where you are seeded but you still get to go to the postseason.
College is a whole different story. Only 68 teams (should be 64) make the NCAA tourney that we watch on tv. It's actually about a 20% of a team making the tourney every year. D3 has the lowest percentage and it's really hard to get an at large bid to the the D3 national tourney. There are 43 conferences and each of their champions get automatic bids there are only 19 at large bids for about 400 teams.
My first two years in college we were fortunate enough to win our conference tournament and get automatic bids to the NCAA tourney. During my senior year had a average start to the year and then finished the year on a 15 game winning streak. We ended up losing in the conference championship game. We were crushed. We didn't think there was anyway we were getting a bid to the tournament. It wasn't exactly the way any of us seniors wanted to end our careers.
That Sunday night, I was on the computer chatting up with a bunch of (chicks) people preparing for student teaching in the morning. I didn't even bother going to the d3hoops website. I got a phone call from a teammate saying that we were in. I told him to not mess with me and probably a bunch of expletives and hung up. I then got a call from my college coach, Nelson Whitmore, and he told me we were in. I couldn't believe it. On top of getting in, we actually got a bye because we had the 5th toughest schedule in the country that year (our only home games were conference games).
So...we got to fulfill our dream and made it to the Sweet 16 once again. While there we got smacked by defending national champion Williams (coached by now Bucknell coach, Dave Paulsen) to finish our career. It was a great run and lots of fun.
Anybody else have a Selection Sunday story???
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Getting Better During AAU
As everyone knows, AAU has a completely different format than the high school season. It actually mimics youth travel basketball a lot. Not a ton of practice but more games. Any way you look at it, as a player, you should get better.
Let's talk about getting better during games first. The idea behind playing AAU is that you will play with and against better players consistently throughout the spring and summer. Any time you can play against better players, it's beneficial to your game. You will probably have to play at a faster pace and speed than you are accustomed to. That alone will force you to make adjustments to your game in order to succeed.
With practices only being a few days a week, it's difficult to get better from practice. I don't mean this in a bad way. You can get better by learning to practice at game speed. You can get better by practicing against better players (generally speaking). Just like games, you have the opportunity to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Hopefully, your coaches put you into positions that you aren't use to by challenging you athletically and most importantly mentally.
This last part is the most important. Working out on your own. This is where you will see the biggest gains. YOU must find time to get better on your own. YOU must find a gym or court to get better. YOU have to figure out a way to get hundreds of game shots at game speed on a weekly basis. YOU have to figure out what works best for you to reach your potential.
Obviously, working out with someone else is ideal. They can rebound for you and vice versa. Giving you a chance to take a ton of inside out game shots, which is a much higher percentage shot. You can sprint around getting rebounds, thus forcing you to be fatigued while shooting. Hopefully, while fatigued you can be consistent with everything involved in your shot, which will help from being fatigued during games. You can play one on one to work on individual moves. You can defend each other and force each other to work on each person's weaknesses.
What it all boils down to is that YOU have to work to get better. There is no one else that can truly force you to get better. Regardless of what your HS or AAU coach says, YOU have to want it.
Let's talk about getting better during games first. The idea behind playing AAU is that you will play with and against better players consistently throughout the spring and summer. Any time you can play against better players, it's beneficial to your game. You will probably have to play at a faster pace and speed than you are accustomed to. That alone will force you to make adjustments to your game in order to succeed.
With practices only being a few days a week, it's difficult to get better from practice. I don't mean this in a bad way. You can get better by learning to practice at game speed. You can get better by practicing against better players (generally speaking). Just like games, you have the opportunity to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Hopefully, your coaches put you into positions that you aren't use to by challenging you athletically and most importantly mentally.
This last part is the most important. Working out on your own. This is where you will see the biggest gains. YOU must find time to get better on your own. YOU must find a gym or court to get better. YOU have to figure out a way to get hundreds of game shots at game speed on a weekly basis. YOU have to figure out what works best for you to reach your potential.
Obviously, working out with someone else is ideal. They can rebound for you and vice versa. Giving you a chance to take a ton of inside out game shots, which is a much higher percentage shot. You can sprint around getting rebounds, thus forcing you to be fatigued while shooting. Hopefully, while fatigued you can be consistent with everything involved in your shot, which will help from being fatigued during games. You can play one on one to work on individual moves. You can defend each other and force each other to work on each person's weaknesses.
What it all boils down to is that YOU have to work to get better. There is no one else that can truly force you to get better. Regardless of what your HS or AAU coach says, YOU have to want it.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Elite Camps
Right about now is when parents and players are looking at their spring and summer plans besides playing AAU. One of those plans should be to attend a college or university's "Elite Camp." These camps are generally where the college or university will bring in their recruits or potential recruits to campus and have them compete with each other. It's a way for the coaches to have complete access to potential recruits for a couple of days.
According to NCAA rules, programs are not allowed to limit the participants to just their recruits. They are allowed to limit numbers but if a kid wants to come and pay, then they have to let that athlete participate. Programs also have to charge money for the camp. Some camps will charge the bare minimum because they want their best kids to come to camp and make sure the expenses aren't very high, especially when many are flying in for the weekend. For other programs, it's a way to see their potential recruits as well as a way to make money. Camp fees will range from $50-$400.
One of the best parts of having an elite camp for a college coach is to have full access to the potential recruits. They get to see them work in drills, they get to watch them play, they get to see how they treat teammates, and they get to see the recruits compete. Coaches also get to coach them and potentially get to see them play with their guys to see how they fit. One thing that is overlooked is that coaches get to see how the recruits treat managers, support staff, the servers at the dining hall, or anyone else that doesn't seem to help the recruit. This is a huge character thing that could be a make or break opportunity for a recruit without them really knowing.
For players, the elite camp is a great tool to gain information. It's good to see how the coaches treat the players, it's good to see how the players interact with each other, and it's good to see how the coaches coach you. It's essentially a "day in the life" of a college basketball player minus the classes. Even if it doesn't go well, it should give an idea of what you need to work on because you will play against some pretty good players.
At a few of the Ivy League school elite camps, coaches from lower levels (D2 and D3) will actually be instructors or will be there evaluating recruits. So, if you don't impress the D1 coaches, hopefully you'll impress another coach that'll give you another opportunity to play college basketball at another high end academic school.
Many of the Ivy schools will host "elite" camps on the same weekend and you'll have to choose which one to go to if that is what you are interested in. There are many more schools that offer them and you'll have to look at the Camps/Clinics section of each school's athletics' website. They aren't always called Elite camps either. Some will be "Prospect" or "Practice" camps.
DISCLAIMER: If another entity (not a school but an organization) says they are hosting an "elite" camp please be aware that these are generally moneymakers and there is nothing "elite" about them. If you have any questions regarding which camps are good or bad to attend, I can definitely answer any questions on Twitter: @coachhop21 or my email: cwhop03@yahoo.com
According to NCAA rules, programs are not allowed to limit the participants to just their recruits. They are allowed to limit numbers but if a kid wants to come and pay, then they have to let that athlete participate. Programs also have to charge money for the camp. Some camps will charge the bare minimum because they want their best kids to come to camp and make sure the expenses aren't very high, especially when many are flying in for the weekend. For other programs, it's a way to see their potential recruits as well as a way to make money. Camp fees will range from $50-$400.
One of the best parts of having an elite camp for a college coach is to have full access to the potential recruits. They get to see them work in drills, they get to watch them play, they get to see how they treat teammates, and they get to see the recruits compete. Coaches also get to coach them and potentially get to see them play with their guys to see how they fit. One thing that is overlooked is that coaches get to see how the recruits treat managers, support staff, the servers at the dining hall, or anyone else that doesn't seem to help the recruit. This is a huge character thing that could be a make or break opportunity for a recruit without them really knowing.
For players, the elite camp is a great tool to gain information. It's good to see how the coaches treat the players, it's good to see how the players interact with each other, and it's good to see how the coaches coach you. It's essentially a "day in the life" of a college basketball player minus the classes. Even if it doesn't go well, it should give an idea of what you need to work on because you will play against some pretty good players.
At a few of the Ivy League school elite camps, coaches from lower levels (D2 and D3) will actually be instructors or will be there evaluating recruits. So, if you don't impress the D1 coaches, hopefully you'll impress another coach that'll give you another opportunity to play college basketball at another high end academic school.
Many of the Ivy schools will host "elite" camps on the same weekend and you'll have to choose which one to go to if that is what you are interested in. There are many more schools that offer them and you'll have to look at the Camps/Clinics section of each school's athletics' website. They aren't always called Elite camps either. Some will be "Prospect" or "Practice" camps.
DISCLAIMER: If another entity (not a school but an organization) says they are hosting an "elite" camp please be aware that these are generally moneymakers and there is nothing "elite" about them. If you have any questions regarding which camps are good or bad to attend, I can definitely answer any questions on Twitter: @coachhop21 or my email: cwhop03@yahoo.com
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Picking and Paying for a College for All Athletes
Finding the right fit and the correct level for high school athletes can be extremely difficult. There are so many things to think about before many decision. Here are some issues and solutions for issues at all levels. Again, this is for all levels and all sports.
Division One
There are several sports at the Division level that every member of the team is on a full scholarship. Those sports include football (85), basketball (M - 13 and W - 15), women's tennis (8), women's gymnastics (12), and women's volleyball (12). All of the other sports can offer full scholarships but don't often because of the limits they have.
If you don't participate in any of those sports you are looking at anywhere from a full scholarship to being a walk-on. Full scholarships will go to the "elite of the elite" in that sport. Getting a full scholarship is hard. So...you should be happy with getting ANY scholarship money.
For most families, even with the scholarship money, you'll be looking at outside sources for scholarships as well as academic money. The academic money is an institution to institution thing. Most of the time the potential money will be posted somewhere on their Admissions' website. In some of the bigger schools, it depends on which "school" you apply to within the university to see if you get any academic scholarship money.
Private schools tend to give out more scholarship money than state schools. That's another thing to keep in mind if finances are really important in the final decision.
Division Two
I've talked about Division Two before HERE. Much like what I mentioned above with the minimal scholarships, D2 athlete are very similar to D1 athletes when it comes to finances. The biggest difference is that D2 athletes generally have to come up with more money out of their own pocket.
Another thing to think about is the availability of scholarships. Some programs ARE NOT fully funded and don't have the same amount of scholarships as other schools. It's a school to school and program to program thing. Like some D1 athletes, there are some full scholarships available but not as many.
Here is a chart of scholarships available for all sports at the D1 and D2 levels. Just because these are the total amount scholarships each program is allowed to have, it doesn't mean that each program has this many scholarships for their program.
Division One
There are several sports at the Division level that every member of the team is on a full scholarship. Those sports include football (85), basketball (M - 13 and W - 15), women's tennis (8), women's gymnastics (12), and women's volleyball (12). All of the other sports can offer full scholarships but don't often because of the limits they have.
If you don't participate in any of those sports you are looking at anywhere from a full scholarship to being a walk-on. Full scholarships will go to the "elite of the elite" in that sport. Getting a full scholarship is hard. So...you should be happy with getting ANY scholarship money.
For most families, even with the scholarship money, you'll be looking at outside sources for scholarships as well as academic money. The academic money is an institution to institution thing. Most of the time the potential money will be posted somewhere on their Admissions' website. In some of the bigger schools, it depends on which "school" you apply to within the university to see if you get any academic scholarship money.
Private schools tend to give out more scholarship money than state schools. That's another thing to keep in mind if finances are really important in the final decision.
Division Two
I've talked about Division Two before HERE. Much like what I mentioned above with the minimal scholarships, D2 athlete are very similar to D1 athletes when it comes to finances. The biggest difference is that D2 athletes generally have to come up with more money out of their own pocket.
Another thing to think about is the availability of scholarships. Some programs ARE NOT fully funded and don't have the same amount of scholarships as other schools. It's a school to school and program to program thing. Like some D1 athletes, there are some full scholarships available but not as many.
Here is a chart of scholarships available for all sports at the D1 and D2 levels. Just because these are the total amount scholarships each program is allowed to have, it doesn't mean that each program has this many scholarships for their program.
Last thing to think about when it comes to a D1 and D2 scholarship is the completed offer from the school. A partial scholarship at one school could be equal to a full scholarship at another. What I mean is, some schools are forced to offer full scholarships to certain athletes because they have no chance to get them otherwise. Other schools can't afford to offer certain athletes full scholarships because the rest of their team would be compromised. That is why a partial scholarship could mean a full scholarship for certain programs.
Division Three
Since there are no athletic scholarships at the D3 level, you and your family have to figure out the best way to pay for school. Sometimes you have to get creative and sometimes you can just write a check.
Like dealing with schools that are giving partial athletic scholarships, D3 schools will give out academic scholarships. This is generally the only way to get money from the school. Some of the upper echelon "athletic" schools could potentially give an athlete a "need based" scholarship. As in, "we need you" and we will make sure you won't pay that much. This isn't the case at most schools but certain schools will get away with this because they give all their students scholarships and it doesn't look weird.
There is also legitimate need based financial aid. This is for families that can't afford the true cost of attendance. Certain schools are able to meet 100% of aid, while others can only meet 60%. This is all based off of the school's endowment. Not a bad thing to know before asking for a financial aid package.
The academic scholarships and the need based financial aid are great platforms for families to afford college. There are times that these two will get the total financial aid package matches a financial aid package from a state school. Doesn't always happen but it could.
At most state schools, there isn't much leeway to give academic money at the D3 level. So, they are relying on pure numbers and government funding to make profit. There still is some financial aid available but not as much as there is at a private institution. So, don't expect to get a ton of help from the school specifically in regards to financial aid.
The last and most important part of picking a college, D1, D2, or D3, is the academic side of things. You don't want to make a decision based purely off athletics. You want to go to a school that has your major of interest. If the school you initially go to has the scholarship money but not the major you are looking for, you could be miserable for the next four or five years. It could also force you to go back to school with not at much help financially from your family or the school.
Scholarships don't fall off trees BUT you have to look at the academic side of others. When picking a college, these should be you and your family's priorities 1) Cost (depending finances and/or scholarship), 2) Academics, 3) Athletics.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Are You Being Recruited?
We live in a world that everyone that plays high school basketball is getting "recruited" to go someplace and play in college. The concept of "being recruited" gets lost because it seems so watered down. When do you know if you are actually being recruited? You are about to find out.
You just got a form letter in the mail from a certain school while you are a junior. What does that mean? It means that one of the coaches saw you play, liked what they saw, and wouldn't mind seeing you play in the spring or summer during AAU. Very rarely will a form letter truly mean you are being recruited. It means you are on a list for that specific recruiting class. That list sometimes consists of over 300 kids. As much as gives your ego a boost, it doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of recruiting.
You received an email from an assistant coach inviting you to campus over the summer. Like the form letter, the email was sent through the program's recruiting database. Every single kid on the list got an email (if they have an email address). Another thing to know is that most programs have a really cool email system that personalizes every email to every recruit. Each email has some really cool graphics that have links to various information regarding the program. The emails look awesome but generally don't mean much, especially at the beginning or during the prospect's junior year.
You got a phone call from an assistant coach during the spring or summer of your junior year. This is the next step in the recruiting process. These personal interactions are what you want. The phone call usually means they are interested in you as a player and want to learn more about you. They will usually gauge your interest, what you are looking for in a college, and what your grades and standardized test scores are. There are times that after one phone call coaches will stop contacting because they know their school doesn't have what you are looking for. It's a start though.
Text messages from coaches start popping up on your phone. These are definitely a good thing, like the phone calls but they can be a bit tricky. Why are they tricky? Through many program's recruiting database, they can send mass text messages to each of their recruits that won't be personalized but sent to their whole list. You want coaches to be specific with you and that's how you know their interest is real. An example of a mass text would be, "Hope practice is going well, we play on the road Saturday vs. _______." An example of an individualized text is, "Heard you played really well against _______ on Tuesday, good luck against ________ on Friday. Looking forward to having you on campus soon."
You see a bunch of schools watching you play during the summer for AAU. This is tricky because AAU usually has good players playing against each other. Just because a coach from a program watches you play doesn't necessarily mean they are watching you specifically. They could be, but they could always be watching someone else as well. Hopefully, you showcase yourself enough that coaches will continue to come and notice you more than they already do.
The assistant or the head coach sent you a hand written note. This is definitely good stuff for you. How easy is it for coaches to send an email or form letter that has been written several times before? Much easier than personally writing a letter to a prospect. Even if a coach writes you a little note on a standard letter is a good sign but a completely handwritten note is much better.
The head coach called you and left a message. Whenever the head coach gives you a call, that's a good thing and that usually means that a school is very interested in you. Assistant coaches usually handle recruitments, especially at the beginning. They will help narrow down the field for the head coach. So, the head coach giving you attention is never a bad thing.
A coach from the school comes to a practice or game. This is when the interest level amps up a bit. If a coach is missing their team's practice to come to yours, then you are a high priority for that particular school. If a coach stops by for multiple practices and/or games during your junior year, that usually means you could have a scholarship coming your way. Coaches aren't going to miss their own practice time in order to watch someone they have little or no interest in. D1 and D2 coaches aren't supposed to talk to prospects after games. They can talk to high school coaches but not a prospect. Again, if they are at a game, that is a good sign for you as a prospect, even more if the coaches come to more than one game. D3 coaches are allowed to talk to seniors after their head coach has released (usually after team talk) them.
In closing, you want personalized communication with college coaches. That is the only true way to know that you are being recruited.
You just got a form letter in the mail from a certain school while you are a junior. What does that mean? It means that one of the coaches saw you play, liked what they saw, and wouldn't mind seeing you play in the spring or summer during AAU. Very rarely will a form letter truly mean you are being recruited. It means you are on a list for that specific recruiting class. That list sometimes consists of over 300 kids. As much as gives your ego a boost, it doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of recruiting.
You received an email from an assistant coach inviting you to campus over the summer. Like the form letter, the email was sent through the program's recruiting database. Every single kid on the list got an email (if they have an email address). Another thing to know is that most programs have a really cool email system that personalizes every email to every recruit. Each email has some really cool graphics that have links to various information regarding the program. The emails look awesome but generally don't mean much, especially at the beginning or during the prospect's junior year.
You got a phone call from an assistant coach during the spring or summer of your junior year. This is the next step in the recruiting process. These personal interactions are what you want. The phone call usually means they are interested in you as a player and want to learn more about you. They will usually gauge your interest, what you are looking for in a college, and what your grades and standardized test scores are. There are times that after one phone call coaches will stop contacting because they know their school doesn't have what you are looking for. It's a start though.
Text messages from coaches start popping up on your phone. These are definitely a good thing, like the phone calls but they can be a bit tricky. Why are they tricky? Through many program's recruiting database, they can send mass text messages to each of their recruits that won't be personalized but sent to their whole list. You want coaches to be specific with you and that's how you know their interest is real. An example of a mass text would be, "Hope practice is going well, we play on the road Saturday vs. _______." An example of an individualized text is, "Heard you played really well against _______ on Tuesday, good luck against ________ on Friday. Looking forward to having you on campus soon."
You see a bunch of schools watching you play during the summer for AAU. This is tricky because AAU usually has good players playing against each other. Just because a coach from a program watches you play doesn't necessarily mean they are watching you specifically. They could be, but they could always be watching someone else as well. Hopefully, you showcase yourself enough that coaches will continue to come and notice you more than they already do.
The assistant or the head coach sent you a hand written note. This is definitely good stuff for you. How easy is it for coaches to send an email or form letter that has been written several times before? Much easier than personally writing a letter to a prospect. Even if a coach writes you a little note on a standard letter is a good sign but a completely handwritten note is much better.
The head coach called you and left a message. Whenever the head coach gives you a call, that's a good thing and that usually means that a school is very interested in you. Assistant coaches usually handle recruitments, especially at the beginning. They will help narrow down the field for the head coach. So, the head coach giving you attention is never a bad thing.
A coach from the school comes to a practice or game. This is when the interest level amps up a bit. If a coach is missing their team's practice to come to yours, then you are a high priority for that particular school. If a coach stops by for multiple practices and/or games during your junior year, that usually means you could have a scholarship coming your way. Coaches aren't going to miss their own practice time in order to watch someone they have little or no interest in. D1 and D2 coaches aren't supposed to talk to prospects after games. They can talk to high school coaches but not a prospect. Again, if they are at a game, that is a good sign for you as a prospect, even more if the coaches come to more than one game. D3 coaches are allowed to talk to seniors after their head coach has released (usually after team talk) them.
In closing, you want personalized communication with college coaches. That is the only true way to know that you are being recruited.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Advice for Parents in Recruiting
Over the past 15-20 years parents (good and bad) have become more involved with youth sports, high school sports, and now college sports. I believe the mindset has become "I'm paying the money and I should be involved in the process." I agree with that statement to an extent because parents should absolutely be involved but they shouldn't be the main focus. There is no way that a child can be the best they can be when the parent(s) overwhelm the process.
So, here are some words of advice for the parents out there during the recruiting process:
1) Remember it's your son or daughter that is being recruited, not you. Yes, the college coaches will try to recruit you on top of your child, but you shouldn't be the main focus of the recruitment. Your child is and should be the #1 priority in this situation.
2) Do your research. Know the colleges that your son or daughter is looking at. Know the acceptance rate, know the average academic scholarship, and know the average financial aid package. Know the academic programs, know the retention rates, know the graduation rates of the regular students, student-athletes, and athletes from the particular team that is recruiting your son or daughter. Know internship opportunities, know average salary of recent graduates, and know graduate school acceptance rates for graduates. If the questions to these answers aren't posted (many are), please ask an admissions counselor and the coaches.
3) Know the roster. As a parent, you think your son or daughter is the best thing since sliced bread. Guess what? There are a lot of slices of bread on college rosters. Look to see how many players are on the roster. See how are the classes distributed. Make sure to look at how many players on the roster play the same position as your son or daughter.
4) Be honest with coaches. How many times do teenagers tell people what they want to hear rather than what should be said? This same thing happens during the recruiting process as well. Kids don't want to disappoint anyone. They won't tell coaches that they aren't interested anymore. It shouldn't be the parents job to tell coaches if their son or daughter wants to or doesn't want to attend their school. If coaches ask where things stand, you can always hint what is going on and then have your son or daughter call the coaches to tell them they aren't interested anymore.
5) Don't be afraid to say NO. This is the second best answer college coaches can get. The earlier they get a "no" the better it is for everyone. You and your child should not drag out the process. Their college choice should be a tough one. It's where they are going to spend the next four or five years of the life. If you know there is a college that your child isn't interested in, encourage your child to tell that college "no."
6) If you don't know, ask someone that does. As a parent, you should have a ton of questions. Your child is one of the most important things in your life. You want the best possible situation for them. If you don't know, get advice from someone that has been through the process before, whether that be a player or parent. If you can't find anyone, ask a high school or AAU coach to help a little bit. They generally have a good grasp of how things work.
So, here are some words of advice for the parents out there during the recruiting process:
1) Remember it's your son or daughter that is being recruited, not you. Yes, the college coaches will try to recruit you on top of your child, but you shouldn't be the main focus of the recruitment. Your child is and should be the #1 priority in this situation.
2) Do your research. Know the colleges that your son or daughter is looking at. Know the acceptance rate, know the average academic scholarship, and know the average financial aid package. Know the academic programs, know the retention rates, know the graduation rates of the regular students, student-athletes, and athletes from the particular team that is recruiting your son or daughter. Know internship opportunities, know average salary of recent graduates, and know graduate school acceptance rates for graduates. If the questions to these answers aren't posted (many are), please ask an admissions counselor and the coaches.
3) Know the roster. As a parent, you think your son or daughter is the best thing since sliced bread. Guess what? There are a lot of slices of bread on college rosters. Look to see how many players are on the roster. See how are the classes distributed. Make sure to look at how many players on the roster play the same position as your son or daughter.
4) Be honest with coaches. How many times do teenagers tell people what they want to hear rather than what should be said? This same thing happens during the recruiting process as well. Kids don't want to disappoint anyone. They won't tell coaches that they aren't interested anymore. It shouldn't be the parents job to tell coaches if their son or daughter wants to or doesn't want to attend their school. If coaches ask where things stand, you can always hint what is going on and then have your son or daughter call the coaches to tell them they aren't interested anymore.
5) Don't be afraid to say NO. This is the second best answer college coaches can get. The earlier they get a "no" the better it is for everyone. You and your child should not drag out the process. Their college choice should be a tough one. It's where they are going to spend the next four or five years of the life. If you know there is a college that your child isn't interested in, encourage your child to tell that college "no."
6) If you don't know, ask someone that does. As a parent, you should have a ton of questions. Your child is one of the most important things in your life. You want the best possible situation for them. If you don't know, get advice from someone that has been through the process before, whether that be a player or parent. If you can't find anyone, ask a high school or AAU coach to help a little bit. They generally have a good grasp of how things work.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Investing in Players
Over the course of an athlete's career that are a lot of people that are looking out for them. It usually includes their parents, HS coach(es), and AAU coach(es). Quite a few people are investing money and a lot of time in order for the athlete to succeed. The hope is that everyone works together in order for the athlete to achieve his or her goals.
Parents are investing by pouring time and money into many different ventures. Some of which include traveling tournaments, training, AAU, and team associated events in high school. They want what's best for their son or daughter. Their idea of what is best usually is completely structured around their son or daughter. Yes, they want the team to win but their son or daughter is the number one priority.
A lot of times, parents are spending more time with their kids than they are with each other. Or at least more time watching their kid play than with each other. In some parents' cases, coaching their kid, especially at the youth levels. Many parents have kids that are different ages and/or different genders that are separated every weekend and a lot of week nights because of tournaments and games. Anyway you look at it, it's a lot of time spent in balmy gyms all over the place.
HS coaches are investing by having open gyms, team workouts, working with youth programs, etc. HS coaches could be investing in a player's career for 13 years. That time commitment is unparalleled compared to any other coach. Kids from kindergarten to ninth grade are going the camps and clinics hosted by the high school coach. Yes, he/she wants what is best for their program but they are looking out for every player as well.
A lot of coaches are taking the time away from their own children to help out kids in their program. They generally aren't getting paid to the level that they should considering how much time they put in. Imagine putting in 20-30 hours a week for a job that they get paid less than half of the minimum wage. Most do it because they love it. They want to see the kids they've seen grow up physically grow up emotionally and socially.
AAU coaches are investing by spending their spring and summer time with 13-17 year olds. They usually aren't getting paid much and want to see the kids do the best to their abilities. Many will spend countless hours in contact with college coaches in hopes of helping find the best college for each kid's future.
College coaches invest a ton of resources into potential recruits. It's usually not their money but it is their time. They spend weekends during the spring and summer away from their family. They also spend a lot of week nights during the season trying to lure your son or daughter to their campus. There are times that the coaches are investing time and energy in keeping kids at their colleges. It's almost an every year thing. They not only have to recruit the kid from high school but also recruit them not to leave their college. It shouldn't be that way but a lot of times it is.
The idea of "what's best for little Timmy/Tammy" is drastically different from everyone's perspective. The more everyone communicates, the more likely people will on the same page. It's communication at all three levels.
Parents are investing by pouring time and money into many different ventures. Some of which include traveling tournaments, training, AAU, and team associated events in high school. They want what's best for their son or daughter. Their idea of what is best usually is completely structured around their son or daughter. Yes, they want the team to win but their son or daughter is the number one priority.
A lot of times, parents are spending more time with their kids than they are with each other. Or at least more time watching their kid play than with each other. In some parents' cases, coaching their kid, especially at the youth levels. Many parents have kids that are different ages and/or different genders that are separated every weekend and a lot of week nights because of tournaments and games. Anyway you look at it, it's a lot of time spent in balmy gyms all over the place.
HS coaches are investing by having open gyms, team workouts, working with youth programs, etc. HS coaches could be investing in a player's career for 13 years. That time commitment is unparalleled compared to any other coach. Kids from kindergarten to ninth grade are going the camps and clinics hosted by the high school coach. Yes, he/she wants what is best for their program but they are looking out for every player as well.
A lot of coaches are taking the time away from their own children to help out kids in their program. They generally aren't getting paid to the level that they should considering how much time they put in. Imagine putting in 20-30 hours a week for a job that they get paid less than half of the minimum wage. Most do it because they love it. They want to see the kids they've seen grow up physically grow up emotionally and socially.
AAU coaches are investing by spending their spring and summer time with 13-17 year olds. They usually aren't getting paid much and want to see the kids do the best to their abilities. Many will spend countless hours in contact with college coaches in hopes of helping find the best college for each kid's future.
College coaches invest a ton of resources into potential recruits. It's usually not their money but it is their time. They spend weekends during the spring and summer away from their family. They also spend a lot of week nights during the season trying to lure your son or daughter to their campus. There are times that the coaches are investing time and energy in keeping kids at their colleges. It's almost an every year thing. They not only have to recruit the kid from high school but also recruit them not to leave their college. It shouldn't be that way but a lot of times it is.
The idea of "what's best for little Timmy/Tammy" is drastically different from everyone's perspective. The more everyone communicates, the more likely people will on the same page. It's communication at all three levels.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Picking an AAU Team
This is the time of the year that you'll see some AAU coaches/directors start to linger around high school games. Some get the ball rolling early and are around all season. Just like with picking a college, there are many things that need to be looked at when picking an AAU team. I am strictly talking about players that want to play in college when it comes to picking the correct AAU team/program.
Most if not all guys that play AAU think they are or want to be Division One basketball players. If you think you are a D1 player, you HAVE to play during the Division One Live Periods. A Live Period is when Division One coaches are allowed to watch travel basketball and evaluate prospects. The Live Periods this year are April 10-12, April 24-26, July 8-12, July 15-19, and July 22-26. It is very important that you are playing in tournaments during those weekends to be seen.
Division Two and Division Three coaches have a much different recruiting calendar. They are allowed to see prospects almost all the time. I'm not as familiar with the D2 coaches but they certainly aren't as restricted as the D1 coaches. There are no dead periods for D3 coaches. They can be out ALL THE TIME.
Last thing when it comes to what tournaments the team plays in is, you want college coaches to see you play when you are fresh. Both Nike and adidas have structured their travel team schedules with guys only playing three or four games a weekend. It's brilliant thinking. The Upper Midwest has done the same thing with their Sanford Pentagon Series. If you are tired (your body especially), you will not be your best and you want coaches to see you at your best. Simply put, four games is MUCH better than seven or eight games every weekend.
Playing at a high level is important. You want to be able to play against other good players on a consistent basis. By playing on a program's second team (generally speaking) doesn't allow you to do that. Yes, there are some programs that have very good second teams but make sure to look at the schedules of each team to see which is the top team and which is the second team, especially if the program directors tell you the "teams are equal." Top teams will generally travel a bit more and/or play in slightly better tournaments.
It's important to have a plan in place for each individual player's development. Ideally, you want to be able to play a position that you will in college. Practice time is generally limited so it's extremely important that practice has some type of skill development in it. It can't just be scrimmaging. Communication with high school coaches on what their thoughts on the player's development is something that is forgotten at times (it's a two-way street).
You want to be on a good team. Good teams go further in tournaments (yes, I know I'm not a huge fan of tournaments but everyone still plays in them) and the further the team goes, the better chance of college coaches see that team. Asking who else is on the team is important. You don't want to play with guys/girls that aren't very good or don't have the same goals as you. Continuity on the roster is important as well. You don't want to have a new roster every weekend and ideally the roster only changes one to three guys every year.
Winning at the expense of development is an interesting concept (much like youth travel basketball). The reason I say this is because A LOT of travel teams will play zone. They play zone because a lot of the players play with different defensive concepts and zone is easy to teach and just about all HS programs teach it the same way. I know when I coached in college it was important to see how players moved side to side on defense. On top of that, with the exception of Syracuse, how many college programs exclusively play zone? Some zone isn't bad, but all zone isn't what you want.
Cost is important for just about all families. Programs will range from $800-$2500 and sometimes more. Some programs don't charge or charge very little and that is usually for the programs with the sneaker affiliations. There are times with the "sneaker affiliated programs" to charge a way more money to the kids that aren't on their top team in order to fill the gap because their top team is barely paying anything at all. Your son or daughter is paying to have "_________" across his/her chest and it doesn't mean that much. All these programs make money for their coaches/directors, you don't want to be the sacrificial pawn in their money making machine. Which program gives you the best bang for your buck?
Last thing I will talk about is what I think is the most important. Obviously, you want exposure to college coaches but you WANT to be exposed as a player. You want to get beat on defense, you want to miss shots around the basket, you want to struggle from 3, you want to get matched up against someone much better than you, you want to be dominated physically, and you want to get benched. Why????? Because you need to get better and you need to get stronger. And you need to figure how what works and what doesn't work against better players.
Can the team that you picked expose you to all of this? I hope so.
Most if not all guys that play AAU think they are or want to be Division One basketball players. If you think you are a D1 player, you HAVE to play during the Division One Live Periods. A Live Period is when Division One coaches are allowed to watch travel basketball and evaluate prospects. The Live Periods this year are April 10-12, April 24-26, July 8-12, July 15-19, and July 22-26. It is very important that you are playing in tournaments during those weekends to be seen.
Division Two and Division Three coaches have a much different recruiting calendar. They are allowed to see prospects almost all the time. I'm not as familiar with the D2 coaches but they certainly aren't as restricted as the D1 coaches. There are no dead periods for D3 coaches. They can be out ALL THE TIME.
Last thing when it comes to what tournaments the team plays in is, you want college coaches to see you play when you are fresh. Both Nike and adidas have structured their travel team schedules with guys only playing three or four games a weekend. It's brilliant thinking. The Upper Midwest has done the same thing with their Sanford Pentagon Series. If you are tired (your body especially), you will not be your best and you want coaches to see you at your best. Simply put, four games is MUCH better than seven or eight games every weekend.
Playing at a high level is important. You want to be able to play against other good players on a consistent basis. By playing on a program's second team (generally speaking) doesn't allow you to do that. Yes, there are some programs that have very good second teams but make sure to look at the schedules of each team to see which is the top team and which is the second team, especially if the program directors tell you the "teams are equal." Top teams will generally travel a bit more and/or play in slightly better tournaments.
It's important to have a plan in place for each individual player's development. Ideally, you want to be able to play a position that you will in college. Practice time is generally limited so it's extremely important that practice has some type of skill development in it. It can't just be scrimmaging. Communication with high school coaches on what their thoughts on the player's development is something that is forgotten at times (it's a two-way street).
You want to be on a good team. Good teams go further in tournaments (yes, I know I'm not a huge fan of tournaments but everyone still plays in them) and the further the team goes, the better chance of college coaches see that team. Asking who else is on the team is important. You don't want to play with guys/girls that aren't very good or don't have the same goals as you. Continuity on the roster is important as well. You don't want to have a new roster every weekend and ideally the roster only changes one to three guys every year.
Winning at the expense of development is an interesting concept (much like youth travel basketball). The reason I say this is because A LOT of travel teams will play zone. They play zone because a lot of the players play with different defensive concepts and zone is easy to teach and just about all HS programs teach it the same way. I know when I coached in college it was important to see how players moved side to side on defense. On top of that, with the exception of Syracuse, how many college programs exclusively play zone? Some zone isn't bad, but all zone isn't what you want.
Cost is important for just about all families. Programs will range from $800-$2500 and sometimes more. Some programs don't charge or charge very little and that is usually for the programs with the sneaker affiliations. There are times with the "sneaker affiliated programs" to charge a way more money to the kids that aren't on their top team in order to fill the gap because their top team is barely paying anything at all. Your son or daughter is paying to have "_________" across his/her chest and it doesn't mean that much. All these programs make money for their coaches/directors, you don't want to be the sacrificial pawn in their money making machine. Which program gives you the best bang for your buck?
Last thing I will talk about is what I think is the most important. Obviously, you want exposure to college coaches but you WANT to be exposed as a player. You want to get beat on defense, you want to miss shots around the basket, you want to struggle from 3, you want to get matched up against someone much better than you, you want to be dominated physically, and you want to get benched. Why????? Because you need to get better and you need to get stronger. And you need to figure how what works and what doesn't work against better players.
Can the team that you picked expose you to all of this? I hope so.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Trickle Down Recruiting
Trickle down recruiting happens every year throughout the country. What exactly is it? It's when there aren't enough recruitable prospects that fit the level of certain schools and it forces that same school to recruit a player that normally would be recruitable at a lower level. In normal terms, it's when a D1 school recruits what is normally a D2 player and when a D2 school recruits what is normally a D3 player.
Why does this happen?
You will see it a lot with schools that recruit at a state or regional level. Most of their athletes are from the state that the school is located or in the surrounding states. Knowing that there isn't as many as recruitable athletes in a certain class, schools will go after a player that fits perfectly into a lower level school.
I'll just throw an example of schools that are local. North Dakota State generally gets kids from the Upper Midwest. In the class of 2016 (I don't know this, it's all hypothetical) there is a limited amount of low major D1 players that are available. Since there is a very limited number of players that are recruitable, they will go after a kid that would normally go to MN-Duluth. Since, MN-Duluth can't get their "normal" prospect, they then go after a kid that would normally go to UW-Eau Claire.
In the grand scheme of things, the D3 school gets hit the most. Why? The prospects that they are normally looking for get decreased drastically. It also forces the D3 schools to get creative with their recruiting. By creative, I mean, go out of state and/or get junior college guys.
What happens next?
After about an year or two, the kids and their current coach realize (maybe it's just the kid) that there really isn't a role for the player on the current team. They realize that playing time won't be very easy to come by, especially after the next recruiting comes in and that now sophomore isn't the player that a few of the freshmen are.
These players then transfer down a level to where they originally fit. They end up being successful at that level and everyone ends up happy. Sometimes you'll see kids eventually transfer down two levels and realize the D3 level is exactly what they are looking for. The allure of the scholarship blinded their decision making skills during their recruitment.
Why does this happen?
You will see it a lot with schools that recruit at a state or regional level. Most of their athletes are from the state that the school is located or in the surrounding states. Knowing that there isn't as many as recruitable athletes in a certain class, schools will go after a player that fits perfectly into a lower level school.
I'll just throw an example of schools that are local. North Dakota State generally gets kids from the Upper Midwest. In the class of 2016 (I don't know this, it's all hypothetical) there is a limited amount of low major D1 players that are available. Since there is a very limited number of players that are recruitable, they will go after a kid that would normally go to MN-Duluth. Since, MN-Duluth can't get their "normal" prospect, they then go after a kid that would normally go to UW-Eau Claire.
In the grand scheme of things, the D3 school gets hit the most. Why? The prospects that they are normally looking for get decreased drastically. It also forces the D3 schools to get creative with their recruiting. By creative, I mean, go out of state and/or get junior college guys.
What happens next?
After about an year or two, the kids and their current coach realize (maybe it's just the kid) that there really isn't a role for the player on the current team. They realize that playing time won't be very easy to come by, especially after the next recruiting comes in and that now sophomore isn't the player that a few of the freshmen are.
These players then transfer down a level to where they originally fit. They end up being successful at that level and everyone ends up happy. Sometimes you'll see kids eventually transfer down two levels and realize the D3 level is exactly what they are looking for. The allure of the scholarship blinded their decision making skills during their recruitment.
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