Basketball Recruiting ???

GopherHole

Active member
How does the best player in the GCL and best player in Cincinnati (according to Enquirer) only get signed by the #178 best team in the country (St. Francis)? Seems like he should be able to do better than that. And don't tell me about fit and coaching.
 
 
How does the best player in the GCL and best player in Cincinnati (according to Enquirer) only get signed by the #178 best team in the country (St. Francis)? Seems like he should be able to do better than that. And don't tell me about fit and coaching.
Did you ask the player why he/she chose that school? How do you know it's not about fit and/or coaching? Lots go into these decisions.
 
The same way a kid like Mo Njie gets offers to XU, UD, VCU, and Providence, It's all about measurables. Give me Land in a nano second over Mo but he doesn't have the size at this point to play at a high level. That doesn't mean he cant, a perfect example is Carlik Jones out of Aiken that went to Radford and just committed to UofL.
 
Don't know the kid at all, but like the pros, many times colleges recruit based on projected future talent, not what they did in high school. You'll find a kid who's 5'8" and scores 25 ppg, but colleges won't touch him because he's too small. Long and athletic is what they look for today.
 
There are a lot of factors involved. Size of player, style of play, relationship with the college coach. These are just some of the factors. Also maybe what is offered academically. Also remember, it not just about D 1. There are some great D 2 and NAIA programs who play for national championships at a consistent level and can compete with a lot of D 1 schools. Just some thoughts
 
The same way a kid like Mo Njie gets offers to XU, UD, VCU, and Providence, It's all about measurables. Give me Land in a nano second over Mo but he doesn't have the size at this point to play at a high level. That doesn't mean he cant, a perfect example is Carlik Jones out of Aiken that went to Radford and just committed to UofL.

Mo is due to athletic potential. Basketball IQ potential? I am not sure about that.
 
How does the best player in the GCL and best player in Cincinnati (according to Enquirer) only get signed by the #178 best team in the country (St. Francis)? Seems like he should be able to do better than that. And don't tell me about fit and coaching.
I mean, Land isn't exactly Jaxson Hayes out there. Moeller's had a history of good guard/wing players going to mid-major level schools (Barlow, Davenport, Benzinger) and being productive four year players. That's the type of guy Land is, he's not a high level talent.

Honestly, it's tough to explain these things, but seeing a high-level player just looks different from seeing a mid-major player. Go to somewhere like Flyin to the Hoop and you can see the difference between someone like Land and Isaac Okoro, Nimari Burnett, or Malaki Branham.

And hey, if Land is the real deal, he could transfer out after a couple years (someone mentioned Carlik Jones above, also Seth Towns) and contribute to a big-time program. That can be good for some players (Kerry Blackshear had a good year for Florida last year) and bad for some (Jaaron Simmons)
 
Size and athleticism play a huge role in recruiting and projecting to the next level. As a 6'4 off-guard/wing type player you need to bring major length and athleticism to the table to get above the low-major/mid-major threshold.

If you look around the state, there are several of those low to mid major type perimeter players in this class. It's the same reason No Njie likely ends up at a power 5 or high-level non-power 5 basketball school at some point. If you've ever been to any D1 college practices, younger post players often look like major long-term projects. People aren't invested in kids like him for next year, but for 3-4 years down the road.
 
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I mean, Land isn't exactly Jaxson Hayes out there. Moeller's had a history of good guard/wing players going to mid-major level schools (Barlow, Davenport, Benzinger) and being productive four year players. That's the type of guy Land is, he's not a high level talent.

Honestly, it's tough to explain these things, but seeing a high-level player just looks different from seeing a mid-major player. Go to somewhere like Flyin to the Hoop and you can see the difference between someone like Land and Isaac Okoro, Nimari Burnett, or Malaki Branham.

And hey, if Land is the real deal, he could transfer out after a couple years (someone mentioned Carlik Jones above, also Seth Towns) and contribute to a big-time program. That can be good for some players (Kerry Blackshear had a good year for Florida last year) and bad for some (Jaaron Simmons)
I agree. Believe me I know what a high level player is. Land can play against these players and he proved it during AAU when he played for Indy Heat for a short time. Just strange bc even the MAC is way better than St. Francis and he wasn't even getting attention from those schools. Seems like Moeller coaches did what they always do . . . force a kid to commit before season starts and not wait for better opportunities. It's a shame bc he would have gotten better offers I believe.
 
90% of HS recruiting is done thru AAU now. If he committed to St Francis early, maybe he really just liked the school and liked the prospect of playing early....compared to going somewhere bigger and not seeing much PT for a few years. Not every kid needs to go to a Power 5 to feel that they've "made it" as a player. The only thing I would wonder about would be the fact that St Francis is in Loretto, PA, a town of 1200 that's 75 miles from anywhere. Dang, that would be a major culture change from living in Cincy
 
90% of HS recruiting is done thru AAU now. If he committed to St Francis early, maybe he really just liked the school and liked the prospect of playing early....compared to going somewhere bigger and not seeing much PT for a few years. Not every kid needs to go to a Power 5 to feel that they've "made it" as a player. The only thing I would wonder about would be the fact that St Francis is in Loretto, PA, a town of 1200 that's 75 miles from anywhere. Dang, that would be a major culture change from living in Cincy
I think the idea of Cincinnati as a "big city" is overstated.
 
The same way a kid like Mo Njie gets offers to XU, UD, VCU, and Providence, It's all about measurables. Give me Land in a nano second over Mo but he doesn't have the size at this point to play at a high level. That doesn't mean he cant, a perfect example is Carlik Jones out of Aiken that went to Radford and just committed to UofL.
None of those offers are still valid and haven't been for awhile . . . they all went away bc he never improved. Plus no college coach wants to deal with the dad.
 
None of those offers are still valid and haven't been for awhile . . . they all went away bc he never improved. Plus no college coach wants to deal with the dad.

The overall point is that at one time those were concrete offers based on his potential. Obviously you think Land should be playing at a higher level but coaches disagree with you. Like I said, maybe he gets better and signs on at a bigger school in a few years. I'm really not sure what your looking for ?
 
He’s getting a free education. I guess to some, that’s getting way overlooked today. Plenty of mid majors in Ohio and Indiana knew about him. Apparently they weren’t very interested. Hopefully the young man will grow as an educated person and player going forward. That’s all that matters. Good luck young man ! ?
 
So a few months ago, I was listening to WLW and an interview with current UC head basketball coach. He was talking about recruiting. He was talking about wing players in particular and how he does not even talk to wing players unless they meet a certain height and wingspan thresholds. He did not care how good the player was in high school, if the player did not meet these objective thresholds, he was not interested. I was a little taken back by his comments but I do not think he is unique.
 
So a few months ago, I was listening to WLW and an interview with current UC head basketball coach. He was talking about recruiting. He was talking about wing players in particular and how he does not even talk to wing players unless they meet a certain height and wingspan thresholds. He did not care how good the player was in high school, if the player did not meet these objective thresholds, he was not interested. I was a little taken back by his comments but I do not think he is unique.

Size and athleticism can't be taught... college coaches feel like they can teach everything else.
 
How about passing, shooting, dribbling, defense. That’s why there are many average teams at all levels. Way too many one dimensional players today.
 
How about passing, shooting, dribbling, defense. That’s why there are many average teams at all levels. Way too many one dimensional players today.
He didn't say they took players without those skills. Just said they didn't look at every player with those skills.
 
He didn't say they took players without those skills. Just said they didn't look at every player with those skills.

You can have those skills all you want. But for the most part, if you don't have certain size and athleticism you probably aren't going to play D1 college basketball.
 
How many kids really prefer D2 or NAIA over D1 ?

If you don't really love basketball, D1 is a grind.

Big fish, small pond. You can focus more on your future while having all or much of your schooling paid going d2. Were not talking kids who are candidates for NBA, but who are mid level D1 or lower. Why not dial it back a bit and pick your school out of virtually every D2 or NAIA vs accept the 2 or 3 D1 offers that really dont excite you?

Sometimes a kid plays a sport simply because he is good at it (natural size) and not because he loves it.

So many threads on boards like this one assume it is the goal of every kid to reach as high as possible. It is not that way in reality.
 
People forget, D1 basketball coaches are running major multi million dollar corporations and are paid (even the Wright state type schools) like high end CEO's. They are not going to bet there lively hood on a scrapper who has a great pivot game. The talented dude that has no idea what a reverse pivot is but is just skilled enough will have more success over a period of time.

Trust me, if these coaches had evidence that fundamentals beat talent, they would take skills every time. There is just to much at stake.

The beauty of basketball is though that the a group of scrappers can beat the talent guys in a 40 minute game. They can never do it over a 6 month season, 4 year career etc.
 
I got the sense after listening to the interview, that there are many basketball players with skills but 6' 7" wing players with the same wingspan are not nearly as common and if you don't have those measurables, one just isn't competitive in the long run. Kind of like a high school pitcher that has to throw in low 90's just to get a D1 look.
 
How many kids really prefer D2 or NAIA over D1 ?

If you don't really love basketball, D1 is a grind.

Big fish, small pond. You can focus more on your future while having all or much of your schooling paid going d2. Were not talking kids who are candidates for NBA, but who are mid level D1 or lower. Why not dial it back a bit and pick your school out of virtually every D2 or NAIA vs accept the 2 or 3 D1 offers that really dont excite you?

Sometimes a kid plays a sport simply because he is good at it (natural size) and not because he loves it.

So many threads on boards like this one assume it is the goal of every kid to reach as high as possible. It is not that way in reality.

I think you are fooling yourself if you think D2 or NAIA isn't also a grind. They all take it very serious and put in as much time as the D1 programs. The only difference is they may not have as much travel time.
 
I think you are fooling yourself if you think D2 or NAIA isn't also a grind. They all take it very serious and put in as much time as the D1 programs. The only difference is they may not have as much travel time.
I was thinking primarily of an athlete who could excel at the D2 level ( big fish, small pond concept) but would be average or less at D1. The difference in the grind when you are at the bottom is very different and much more psychologically stressful than when you are say your teams top two or three players.

It is all a grind at every level for most kids. Some love it and feed off of competition while others miss the close relationship of high school and seeing fans they really know. Personally, I have found more kids fail to play 4 years at the next level than those that do play out their eligibility.

I had family that took the NAIA route and recieved 1/2 athletic and 1/2 academic scholarships. Real soon it was decided to drop the athletic as keeping up on both were not probable, and academics affected a larger percentage of life.
 
Akron St Vincent St Mary - Ohio State has offered 6-6 Malichi Branham (2021) and 6-4 Sencire Harris (2022) 6-6 Daylen Burney (2021) getting D1 offers for Football 6-2 Raymar Pryor (2022) D1 Offers. 6-10 Darius Stratford (2023) 6-3 LA Hayes (2023) should also get looks down the road.
 
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