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The "knack" of recruiting...
A given.....you need good players. Something has to make them want to come to your school. There may be more of a special knack to that than we realize.
I had a birthday last week....and a lifelong friend gave me a copy of new book written by Ray Allen (with a ghost writer). Allen was one of the best NBA players ever....had an 18 year career and was/is the best three point shooter in NBA history. In college he was an All American...and coming out of high school he was a highly sought after recruit.
Allen went to UConn; which is why my friend thought I might find the book interesting. I've read about half of it. Allen begins his story as a kid growing up in South Carolina, followed by HS, college and the NBA, the latter dominating his story.
Here is what I found so interesting: around 1990 Calhoun was just beginning to build his resume as a great coach of what turned out to be a great program. But when Allen was being recruited out of HS the big name programs of the time were after him, as well as Calhoun at UConn. When Allen's friends learned UConn was on his list of final candidates their response was, UConn! Are you nuts...or something like that.
Well Allen chose UConn over the big names....and the deciding factor was the way he was treated by the Calhoun and his staff and the players he met during his campus visit. Allen goes on to explain the things
that turned him off by the sales pitches he received at his other final schools; the way he was treated during his campus visits; and little slights that annoyed him. He names the schools and coaches as he describes what he didn't like about their recruitment process/tactics.
Think about that. Here is one of the countries top HS players who can go anywhere he wants...and winds up staring in college and the pros...and what really impacts his college decision is the impression made by the way he treated during the recruiting process and campus visit. To the point that he chooses a school out in the sticks that is just beginning its rise to prominence
Obviously Allen goes into much detail. But his bottom line was that Calhoun/staff/current players treated him with respect; were genuinely friendly; acted as if they really wanted him; and, very important, there was no canned sales pitch or BS. At UConn he felt comfortable and wanted.
Now anyone (at least me) would think that any school trying to recruit a kid would do everything they could to put their best foot forward and impress him with how much he's going to love their place..and that it's the place for him/her. Apparently, though, some places are quite a bit more effective at that than others. Allen's description makes that very clear. Believe it or not, he even sites a racial incident that occurred at one southern school.
Now UD has very impressive facilities...a plus. If we can get a kid on campus, the way he/she is treated,...made to feel,..is likely to be very important. And we won't ever get them to campus for a visit unless they are very favorably impressed by our initial contacts with them. I recall hearing that Jabir would explain to a recruit's parents (in their living room, I presume) that if their daughter came to Dayton "she would get a good education and he would treat her as if she was his own daughter." That would impress me as a parent.
My bottom line with this rambling is that it may be a mistake for us to think that we don't have a chance recruiting against the big time schools. The big timers don't always treat recruits as well as they should (read Allen)...and sometimes misread what's important to a kid and his parents. Some coaches have a natural ability to make a HS player and his family feel comfortable and "want" to play at his/her school. The ability to create that sort of favorable impression in a young kid's mind (and parent's) is really important. I hope coaches Grant, Greene and staff have what it takes.
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