July Recruiting Tips
I have done a couple of articles in the past highlighting ways to enhance your recruiting, but in advance of tomorrow (and all of July) I wanted to offer some things to try to avoid. Having been in and around recruiting for 20+ years, I’ve heard a number of things college coaches dislike seeing when they evaluate prospects, and after surveying a few coaches, I’ve come up with a list of items you as a prospect can 100% control that can give you an upper hand over other prospects competing for the same roster spots you are…that is, if you are willing to listen and adapt.
One other thing I wanted to address before I dig deeper into this article…everyone (myself, college coaches, the people around you) wants you to be yourself and be unique, but when it comes to a “team” setting, there’s a difference between being unique and having a “look-at-me”, almost selfish attitude. Are you willing to risk an opportunity to play at a certain college because of one of these items listed below? Please think long and hard about that, and understand this is your month as a prospect, and these coaches are there to see you, both on and off the court. Do you “fit” their team/family environment?
PARENT CONDUCT
One thing I have always said and I will continue to say, is parents get prospects crossed off recruiting lists much quicker than prospects get themselves crossed off. College coaches want to like you as a prospect, so they are going to give you the benefit of the doubt if you have a simple lapse in judgement and react poorly to an official’s call or coaching, as long as it isn’t a regular occurrence. What they aren’t going to tolerate is an obnoxious parent who is continually screaming from the stands, riding the officials nonstop, yelling at the coach about decisions, or even instructing/criticizing their own daughter from the sideline. THEY DO NOT WANT THESE PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR PROGRAMS!!! You know who they are. You see them all the time. And believe me, college coaches are quick to figure out who that person is. If as an adult you can’t check your emotions at the door for the benefit of your daughter’s education/recruiting, then please stay in your hotel room for their sake.
Just four days ago I was attending a boys’ ‘live’ event in Central Indiana where there were more than 300 colleges in attendance. On Sunday, a college coach came to the site I was at to watch a specific prospect, and as we’re talking on the baseline, a parent begins loudly objecting to every whistle, then they turned their attention to their own son’s mistakes and berated him. The college coach looks at me and says, “man, what an idiot. Who is that?” It turned out to be the father of the prospect he had come to evaluate. He had driven 25-30 minutes from the other tournament site just to see THIS kid, and as soon as he found out who the obnoxious parent was, he walked out and drove another 25-30 minutes back to the other tournament site.
PARENTS vs. TEAMMATES
This will sound like a small item, but it can be one of the most important things college coaches take notice of. When you are in the gym, and you are either waiting for your game or you are in between games, are you sitting with your teammates in groups, or are you sitting with your parents alone while your teammates are all gathered together as, you know, a team?
One of the toughest things about going away to college is separating yourself and becoming somewhat independent of your parental attachment. You don’t have to be the biggest social butterfly in the room, but if it’s obvious that your team is always doing activities together, even if it’s just sitting in the bleachers waiting on your next game, and you are always by your parents’ side away from the group, then how do you think coaches look at that in relationship to how they think you will be able to handle being away from home when you’re in college?
There are so many prospects who end up transferring from college to college because they don’t adapt well to being away from home, and it has nothing to do with being two hours away versus being ten hours away. They end up simply going to class, going to practice, and then they “lock themselves in their room” and don’t attend social activities, or even something as simple as dinner or a movie with their teammates. College coaches aren’t looking for people who will regularly alienate themselves from the group. Even if you don’t say much, hang out with your team when it’s a normal occurrence.
TARDINESS
Honestly, there shouldn’t be much I need to say here, but unfortunately I wouldn’t be discussing it if it isn’t an issue. Have a plan before each event. Know when you play, what facilities you play at, and have an idea as to traffic and how long it will take you to get from place to place. If your grassroots coach wants you there 45 minutes in advance, plan on being there an hour in advance.
I realize college coaches aren’t tracking your whereabouts 24-7, but they do notice when a game only has a few minutes left, your team is on the side stretching, waiting for your game, and you are either nowhere to be found, or you come strolling in wearing sandals, not at all prepared to play in three minutes. If you get caught in traffic because of an accident, fine, but there aren’t many other good excuses if college basketball is supposed to be something you are passionate about and really want.
If you don’t think tardiness matters, try being late for a college practice, film session, or workout. There’s a very good chance you are going to have some sort of intense consequence for EACH minute that you are late. I had one former player tell me they ran 20 times to the top of their arena and back for every minute someone was late, even if it wasn’t them but one of their teammates. Their arena had a capacity of around 15,000. Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indiana Fever/Indiana Pacers) holds 20,000, just to give you an idea.
PRE-GAME
Once again, this might seem like another small item, but what are you doing to prepare yourself to earn a college scholarship? Are you sitting in the stands, putting on your shoes at the last minute, or are you ready to go, stretching on the sideline, and mentally preparing yourself for your game. If your team is stretching together, are you with them? When on-court warm-ups begin, are you dialed in, piercings already out, going as hard as you can, simulating game-like speeds, or are you walking/jogging through the motions, not really taking it seriously because you think you are a ‘gamer’.
It shouldn’t matter who your opponent is either, you should always prepare the exact same way. You know…you’ve played that poor team you were going to dominate no matter what and gotten down 10-2 because your preparation wasn’t great. Coach calls a timeout, chews the team, and then you kick it into gear. College coaches want to know you are going to be focused on the worst team on your schedule the same way you will be focused on the better teams on your schedule. They prefer consistent effort.
EARBUDS / PHONES
This is kind of an extension of pre-game, but once you are in pre-game mode and the second half of the game prior to yours begins, your phone/electronic devices need to be turned off and put in your bags. There should be nothing on your mind other than the contest you are beginning soon. There is maybe no singular pet peeve more annoying to college coaches than to see one or two kids, the “too cool” kids, warming up with earbuds in because they can’t just warm up like the rest of their teammates. This is a great example of what I said at the top, about being unique versus having a “look-at-me” attitude.
PRESENTATION
Recruiting, in many ways, is like a job interview. Your presentation will form an initial impression in the minds of the college coaches on hand to watch your game. While this again might sound like something minor, some coaches will take notice of it. First, do you at least look like you are there to play a basketball game, or do you look like you were inconveniently woken up and just rolled out of bed? Do you have the correct shorts and uniform color on, or are you mismatched from your teammates? Also, make sure your grassroots coach has given you the correct uniform number that is listed in the college coach packets.
If your team has a team warm-up shirt or outfit, are you all wearing it, or are you “too cool” and wearing some other shirt instead? If you are lucky enough to have team shoes, are you matching your team or wearing something else to be “cool”? Are you the only kid wearing tights, or sleeves, or a fancy headband that makes you stand out, or is it something that is accepted and normal on your team? I realize I am in that gray area of nitpicking now, but I wouldn’t bring these things up if I hadn’t already heard them from college coaches who take issue with them.
BODY LANGUAGE / EYE CONTACT
This is one of the biggest items in this article, but I’m also sure you’ve heard about it from several different sources, so I won’t spend too much time addressing it. Make sure you are conscious of how you appear to college coaches. I want you to express emotion, absolutely, and I even discuss that below, but if it’s not an intense moment, make sure you look focused and have a consistent expression that whatever is happening is exactly what you thought would happen, almost business-like, even if things are falling apart.
Sit up on the bench; don’t slouch. Continue to talk and support your team from the bench, even if you aren’t having the best day. ALWAYS look your coaches in the eye when they are talking to you, even if you don’t necessarily agree with what they are saying. Try to eliminate eye rolls, shaking your head, and shoulder shrugs altogether. I realize I am talking about traits that are engrained in you, and there’s no way to possibly eliminate them completely without practice, but if you are conscious of them, maybe you can correct them along the way.
PASSION vs. IMMATURITY
Passion is a great thing, and it’s actually something I encourage you to show. College coaches want to see that you care about the game, about your teammates, and about being successful. But, when you react to anything, good or bad, just ask yourself if you are doing it as a competitor or if you are doing it immaturely, like pouting over a bad call. And please act like you’ve been in the moment before.
Celebrate a great play, include your teammates and coaches, and enjoy the moment, but don’t let it distract you from the next possession. On the flip-side, getting frustrated at yourself is fine, but again don’t let it affect your next possession. Refrain from showing frustration at bad calls, and act like it’s what you expected to be called. Also refrain from getting into it with an opponent. Stand up for yourself and your teammates, without question, but don’t instigate, and don’t pursue any action beyond standing up for yourself or your teammates.
OFF-COURT ACTIONS
The final topic I wanted to discuss today is how you represent yourself off the court. I think prospects and parents put so much time into how they appear to college coaches in the gym, that they forget how to act like normal human beings outside of the gym. Once again, this is essentially a job interview. How do employers want you to represent their company when you are outside of work?
Be courteous to everyone you come into contact with in and out of the gym, but also be aware of your surroundings when you go out for dinner or to the mall, movies, etc. If college coaches are staying in the same town as you for an event, isn’t it possible they will eat at the same restaurants? They might even be staying in the same hotel. You just never know who is watching you and when.
I have one last example that I will end with. A few years ago I attended an event, and one night a college coach and I decided to have dinner together. While we were driving through the parking lot (with our windows down), we noticed a specific prospect he was recruiting walking out of a department store with her parents. When we circled around and started to drive down the row where their vehicle was parked, this prospect was screaming at her parents, throwing a temper tantrum like a 7-year old who doesn’t get what they want. The coach immediately looked at me and said, “how can I expect her to respect me if she doesn’t respect her own parents?” He never watched that prospect again.
I know a lot of times this stuff comes across somewhat lecturelike, and I’m not trying to preach or tell you there is no room for error in any of this, but these ARE opinions that have been expressed to me directly from college coaches, so if you can take anything from the above insights, great. Good luck these next few weeks, and hopefully all of you will find exactly what you want out of basketball.