Everyone dreams about playing for Pat Summit at Tennessee, scoring 20 points to win the national championship and riding off to play professionally. Many fantasize themselves as Tennessee’s next Shekinna Stricklen, playing 32.2 minutes per game. In reality, however, Stricklen is a rarity, the only freshman in the Big East, SEC or ACC who ranks in the Top 10 in minutes played per game. Indeed, only four-to-six players per year actually have the opportunity to get a scholarship at Tennessee or Connecticut. Still, there are plenty of people who live the dream every day and think that if the dream does not play out completely that they will be a failure.
While people believe this, nothing could be farther from the truth. The biggest failure by a parent, coach, or player is going to a school that is a poor fit academically, athletically, or socially.
When players begin their recruiting process in their ninth or tenth-grade year, schools begin to do mass mailings of any player who could be a Division 1 prospect or whom they see on a list. For example, I once spoke with an ACC assistant coach who told me they really liked this certain player and they wanted her to come on a visit. I asked that coach where they saw the player, and she told me they had never seen her but heard about her. The school could not possibly have known enough about the player to really know what they were getting into. In reality that player is being placed in a situation where she may get recruited by a school that has idea of her playing skills and ability to fit in their system.
On the letter front, we once had a workout in Florida during the spring, had 20 kids or so there, and did a write up on it which went on our website. By the end of October, one Conference USA school had mailed every kid on that workout list merely because they were at our workout. While getting the letter is great and makes you feel special, it really has no meaning in terms of your future at that school. But that is how you get on a list and the recruiting process begins.
A scout who has over 20 years of experience once told me that a lot of players take the “best available” offer because usually it is the biggest school but not necessarily the best fit. If a school has 15 scholarships, that averages out to be almost four per year. Most schools play between seven and nine players on the average for a game which means there are six-to-eight players on the roster who get little or no playing time. While some parents and players may say it’s worth it because of the academic opportunities. But if you are someone who has been playing basketball since a young age and are used to being the lead player on a team, sitting on the bench—even Tennessee’s bench--may be something you did not bargain for.
Schools can afford to make mistakes on about 50% of their signings because of the number of scholarships the school has. A tough academic school is limited on the top-level athletes they can recruit. Therefore, a good student may get on the team because the coach is hoping they become a program player and could possibly contribute as a senior. If they do not, that is fine with the coach too, because the player will probably transfer, and the coach will get another chance at getting a better player.
I know a lot of negativity has hit you in the face in the first part of this article but just because a certain school is mailing you, calling you, or offering you does not mean that is the best school for you even if they are playing on TV or ranked in the Top 25. Usually a player will get a variety of offers from different types of schools with different locations, enrollments, and athletic ability. I think one thing that is very telling as far as recruiting is whether local universities are recruiting you. If not, you might not be the player you think that you are. If a very good player is local, local schools are usually dying to get her. Say, for instance, you live in Jacksonville, Florida. If you do not have offers from two of the top four state schools (Florida, Florida State, South Florida, Miami), then maybe you are not a Big East, SEC, or ACC-caliber player either, because the local schools have probably studied you the most. While that may be tough to handle, why not go to play in the Sun Belt or Conference USA, where you can contribute and have a better college experience rather than holding out until the last minute to get an ACC or SEC school to take you (then running the risk of riding the pine).
Parents are probably guiltier of pushing players to the highest offer than are the actual players, because if you play against top-level competition it is pretty easy for a player with any degree of self-awareness to figure out where she falls into the fold of recruiting in general. Faced with a variety of different scholarship offers, you should look at the scale of what you have, and most likely take something in the middle. If most or all of your offers are from Top 25-level schools, then likely you are a Top 25-team player. If you have offers from mostly lower level schools plus one big-time school, then you can do the math as to where you probably should be.
While the bench is not a death sentence as a freshman, if you are not working your way into some type of action and your coach is recruiting your position, it is also pretty easy to figure out where you are as well. While the dream of hitting the game-winning shot for Tennessee is in the back of everyone’s mind, going to a school where you can contribute, fit in, and be valued is something much more important, especially when you are going to spend four years of your life at that school. Remember, Class of 2010, the biggest offer is not always the best offer.