“On the road again…”
A semi-exhausted hello to everyone! I am writing this blog entry from the Holiday Inn Express in the wonderful town of King of Prussia, PA. It is currently midnight, and another long day of recruiting and evaluating prospective student-athletes is in the books.
This July I will be trying give you all some insight into what is annually one of the craziest months of the year for college basketball coaches. Under current NCAA rules, a twenty-day period in July is the only time during the offseason when Division I coaches can evaluate recruits away from their respective high schools. As a result, there are dozens and dozens of AAU tournaments that take place throughout the country over these next few weeks.
The benefit for college coaches is that every one of these events gives us the opportunity to evaluate a large number of potential recruits in a single setting. The objective is to see these high school athletes perform on the court and pinpoint the ones that would best fit your program's needs.
This recruiting period began for us last Wednesday and Thursday with a local tournament at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. On Friday, I hopped in the rental car and drove six hours to Albright College in Reading, PA. This was the site of an elite high school team camp, which featured some of the best programs up and down the east coast, even including local schools Denbigh and Nansemond River. After the team camp I was off to King of Prussia for an AAU tournament, where I currently am.
So as a college coach, what do you do at these events? For starters, you must be organized and have a plan before the event begins. Most tournaments are held at large facilities, and there is usually anywhere from five, six, or even ten games going on simultaneously. It can be overwhelming if you don't know whom you need to be watching, at what time, and on which court. Once you have your game schedule mapped out, you watch games. You watch games. Then you watch some more games. After that, you watch more games. All while taking notes on what you're watching and gathering information on the players who pique your interest.
Without exaggerating, most of the days at these tournaments last around 12-14 hours. Today for example, I got to the tournament site for the first game at 8:30am. The last game did not end until 10:30pm. Don't worry though; they were selling semi-cooked hot dogs and greasy pizza at the snack stand, so I didn't even have to leave the building for lunch!
I know what you're thinking, “So Post, you are spending most of every day during July watching teenagers run up and down a basketball court?” The answer to that would be an awkward “yes.” Please don't tell my parents. They might be upset that this is how college basketball coaches who possess Masters degrees spend their summer!
All joking aside, this month can certainly be a grind and a test of mental and physical stamina, but it is also a very necessary component of the recruiting process. Future CNU Captains are out there – some who can take our program to new heights. Do I have what it takes to find them? Who knows? But, I am staying in a Holiday Inn Express tonight…
Running tally for the month:
Total Days on the Road: 6
Total Miles Driven: 406
