Basketball Recruiting Information
Basketball recruiting consists of more than watching a player run up and down the basketball court. Recruiters have the responsibility of finding the player that will fit into their program, and abide by the rules and guidelines of the college and university. Academics are monitored by the recruiters, who may not award scholarships to any recruits who do not meet a minimum required grade point average. Breaking any recruiting guidelines could cost teams their eligibility.
Other People Are Reading
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initial Contact Phase
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Sports sites and clubs like Rivals.com begin ranking players as early as their middle school basketball years. This does not give college basketball recruiters the ability to begin recruiting the players at this time. In fact, college recruiters may not start officially recruiting and contacting players until their sophomore year of high school. The number of phone calls the coach or coaching staff from an institution can make are limited. With the NCAA, the institution may call the parents, legal guardian, or high school coach of the prospect once a month during the high school recruit's sophomore year, and twice per week during her junior year. Beginning the senior year of the athlete, the institution may contact the recruit once a week.
Academic Requirements
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Basketball recruiters for both high prep schools and colleges or universities have the responsibility of reminding the students that education comes first. Some players have great athletic skills, but they do not have great academic scores. The recruiting process does not allow coaches or other recruiters to pass out scholarships to any player who does not maintain the grade point average outlined in the school's admission requirements. Recruiters may not have teachers or professors pass a student so they may receive the scholarship and play the sport. The players have to earn and maintain their grades by themselves.
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Bribery
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When coaches recruit for their teams, they may not offer monetary bribes to the players or their family members. When players are in a high demand on the recruiting circuit, coaches from big-name colleges and universities will be trying to get them to sign a letter of intent to attend their college, and play for their basketball program. If any university or one of its alumni is caught giving money and other gifts of persuasion to the player, that could cause the basketball program to forfeit wins.
International Recruits
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Institutions and coaches also recruit basketball standouts from oversees in other countries. These recruits must take the SAT or the ACT to attend school and play in the NCAA. There also legalities such as citizenship, visas and green cards that must be awarded for the recruit to come to the United States and attend college. This makes recruiting international students more difficult.
Professional Eligibility
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Professional teams and agents are also allowed to recruit high school seniors and college players. If a high school senior receives any advice or signs a contract with a professional agent, she will lose her college eligibility. Also, any college player who signs a contract and speaks with an agent will lose her current scholarship and NCAA eligibility. Recruits have the right to go from high school to professional play, but they will have to play overseas basketball, because the NBA mandates that a player may not come straight from high school to the league. You must play one year of college basketball, or one season professionally overseas, before you can be entered in the NBA draft.
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