Colleges not only recruiters on the summer circuit - ALL-MET ELITE

Colleges not only recruiters on the summer circuit

ALL-MET ELITE

 

OAKHILL ACADEMY

MOUTH OF WILSON VA.

 

 

National prep powers also looking for talent

Courtesy of

 CINCINNATI.COM

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — On the summer high school travel basketball circuit, coaches from every Division I college program jockey to see and be seen by top recruits. It is also becoming increasingly common for coaches from high school basketball powerhouses such as Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) or Huntington (W.Va.) Prep to be at the same events, doing the same thing.

“The high school situation has really changed,” said long
time summer basketball coach Boo Williams of Hampton, Va., while at the Nike Peach Jam tournament here. “It used to be just Oak Hill and Flint Hill (Oakton, Va.). Now, it’s Findlay Prep, Huntington Prep, Montverde (Fla.) Academy and a lot of other basketball academies. Now you see a lot of guys changing high schools going into their junior year because of the high school recruiting. High schools are beginning to be like a mini AAU season. You have to be careful with some of the schools. I don’t have a problem with the legitimate schools, but some of these schools are not legitimate.” The spread of basketball academies and their recruitment of top players around the country can complicate things for college coaches.

“Our recruitment gets mixed up in the high school recruitment,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. “Sometimes the young man can’t concentrate as much on the college decision because he still has to make a high school decision. Any time we’re in that situation, we wait until a player’s high school decision is made and the head is clearer and then you can barrel in there and talk with the parent.”
Brey said it’s always a concern when a player he’s recruiting switches high schools.

“You develop relations with a high school coach and guidance counselors or whatever and when the player changes (schools), you worry how that’s going to affect us, especially if it is only a verbal commitment. The old high school coach may have been a great ally of ours all along. And all of a sudden, they’re going to high school X and you know what, they’re an ally of that program. That’s one of the things that you’re thinking through as a staff when you try to figure out if that player’s recruitment is a good investment in your time. Let’s not waste time if we’re not going to get him.”

Oak Hill assistant coach Eddie Knudsen said it’s obvious there’s a lot more competition from various basketball academies. He said he was at Peach Jam this past week to scout players for Oak Hill and to scout opponents for Williams.

“I think the reason more (basketball academies) are cropping up is there’s enough talent to go around,” said Knudsen, who also teaches English at Oak Hill. “But you have to look at the school’s setting and education. Players still come to Oak Hill to get their grades right and to get a good education.”

Prep powerhouses such as Montverde Academy, Oak Hill or Findlay Prep offer players a chance to travel the country playing high school opponents, but the real benefit for many players of going to those schools is at practice.

Canadian Montaque Gill-Caesar, who made a splash in the 16-under division of the Peach Jam, honed his skills by going up against top 2013 recruit Andrew Wiggins every day in practice last season at Huntington Prep.

“A lot of them are really sold on, and I can’t fault them for this, the competition in practice,” Brey said. “A lot of the players are the best players in their county or high school and they’ll get a couple of good games a year but in practices, there isn’t much competition. If I had a son like that, I don’t think I could fault him if he says, ‘Dad, every day, I am going to play against a Division I prospect in practice.’ ”

Jonathan Laurent, a small forward for the 16-under squad for E1T1 Elite, averaged 18 points and nine rebounds a game as a sophomore last year for Freedom High in Orlando. He said he has been contacted by Montverde Academy and other schools.

“It’s tempting because they’re a school that has won a national championship and you’re at a small school,” Laurent said. “But, nobody wants to leave a school if you’re the man at your school. You don’t want to go somewhere where you don’t know what’s going to happen – if you’ll even be able to play. Then again, you want to play the best and these schools all have good reps and they get players to college.” ■