Joe Harris offered

Bone offers Chelan shooter Joe Harris. Not sure where the schollie will come from, maybe someone is leaving.

over 2 years ago selahcoug 3 comments 0 recs |

Comments

I saw on CF.c that Bone has 5 offers on the table....

For the 2010-11 class. How many of them do we think we have a legitimate shot at? How many would actually receive a scholarship? If one, or at the outside two, accept offers, do the others get pulled? None are supposedly available. Recruiting is an interesting animal.

I don’t remember anything quite like this under Bennett, but then again it seemed like reruiting was not quite as out in the open with him.

It’s also interesting to watch the recruiting going on with the football staff. It’s quite early, but already four kids have accepted scholarships. I’m guessing, but it looks like there are another 20 offers on the table, give or take.

Something I’m very curious about, is it really that important to be the first or one of the first to offer? Football and basketball seasons are a ways off yet, which means to me that there are a bunch of kids that are flying under the radar right now. It’s not as much of a problem for Wazzu, but some schools fill their allotments before the seasons start and are missing out on numerous opportunities. WSU doesn’t typically fill their quota before a season starts, especially in football.

I just see a big downside in filling slots too early. Injuries is one of the problems. Blow out a knee and you are damaged goods. Do schools pull those offers? Have a horrible senior season or have trouble with the law. Universities are gambling nothing bad happens and for most kids, I suppose nothing bad does happen most of the time.

My main point is I don’t think all of the best players have revealed themselves at this point, even with all the camps kids get exposed to. There are always a bunch of kids that improve their stock during their senior seasons.

However, recruiting is a 12 month a year proposition and everyone seems to be getting as many early commits as possible. It keeps the hype machines fueled. Just saying….

by SW WA Coug on May 28, 2009 9:32 AM PDT reply actions

To answer your questions

1) Generally, if a school has limited spots and offers more than they know they’re going to have, they’ll usually go with the first ones to commit and pull the others. Famously, the UW lost out on Luke Ridnour that way — they had two spots and offered scholarships to Ridnour, Curtis Allen and CJ Massingale. Bender said the first two to commit get the schollies. We all know how that one ended up.

2) Opinions differ on how important it is to be the first one to offer, but kids generally seem to take that as a flattering move. You hear a lot of guys when they commit that they liked the fact that “_________ was on me from the very beginning.” They seem not to like the johnny come latelies, unless that johnny is a big school and the kids gets stars in their eyes.

3) Doba famously hated filling slots too early. Remember how we only had like two commitments when Wulff was hired? That’s why — Doba hated getting a kid to commit then continuing to recruit them until signing day to make sure they stay. He was a guy who felt like people should be true to their word, and he didn’t want to play that game. Unfortunately, that’s the way the game is played today — and why the NCAA is looking hard at allowing an early football signing period.

4) As implied earlier, if a kid gets injured, takes a big step back, or just plays a position that’s now loaded with recruits, a school can quietly pull a scholarship offer. It’s not as uncommon as you might think.

CougCenter

by Jeff Nusser on May 28, 2009 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions

I'd love to see an early signing period for football....

It would allow the kids to concentrate on football and allow the schools to recruit other kids. I’m sure they’d still babysit those that signed or commited, but schools sure seem to spend an awful lot of resourses staying in constant contact.

I’d also like to see the NCAA simplify things so that everyone ‘easily’ understood the rules and those that break them suffer. I don’t quite know how to do that or have any major suggestions off the top of my head, but to have a staff of three or four at most schools dedicated just to keeping up with the rules seems a little archaic to me. Everyone interprets them to suit their needs. It shouldn’t be that way.

I’ve read numerous comments in regards to issues involving twitter, cell phones, text messaging and the like. I read an article earlier this month on CF.C about the people at WSU that continually monitor blogs and the like, our staff of compliance people.

Trying to understand what happened to Coach Wulff at Eastern is complicated. It’s not a simple issue of black and white what happened there. Neither are issues involved with APR. There are so many factors involved in getting a competitive team on the field or court. It gets so involved for the average person like me that it’s not even worth trying to understand. Sort of like Sabermetrics. The more I think I know, the less I actually do.

Then you have the ugly side of recruiting, the negative approach that certain staffs seem to like. When I was at the baseball game in Corvallis, I heard some really unflattering comments about Don Marbut and Pat Casey. I won’t elaborate but the coach at UW was also mentioned in the same context. I don’t know how valid the comments were, but they put a really negative spin on what the kids have to deal with. Outside the lines, it sounds like a pretty vicious environment. I imagine it’s no different in any other major sport.

Well, I’ve ranted on way too long. I just want to conclude that I think, overall, our athletic department is in good hands, with an AD, staff and coaches that seem to have a high level of integrity. I’m proud to call myself a Coug because I like the idea of always having to think outside the box and getting to compete against the big boys against some pretty long odds. I’d love to see what our programs would be like if we had a few more resources.

by SW WA Coug on May 28, 2009 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions