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Next recruiting target: Class of 2005? Posted: Wednesday January 29, 2003 8:47 PM
January and February are the hibernation months for college basketball recruiting junkies. No matter how much they crave information, college scouts are busy with conference games and high school teams are digging in for the stretch run in their respective leagues. The amount of fresh recruiting information is sparse. Commitments rarely happen in January and only slightly pick up in February. However, after that, the recruiting calendar begins to open up and once again it is commitment time. At this point, the crop of seniors is picked over and colleges are forming relationships with their favorite underclassmen. Juniors are being asked to visit campuses, and spring events are on the horizon, which means commitments from the Class of 2004 will increase after the Final Four. Class of 2004? Yep, we’re just months away from officially ushering in a new crop of superstars. But, if we learn from the past, we won’t be surprised to see sophomores making early pledges. The decision to offer a sophomore in high school can be a perilous one. There are probably five guys in the Class of 2005 who can be labeled "can't-miss recruits." Outside of that, offering a scholarship to a player that young is taking a huge risk. “You never know,” one major college assistant said. “So much can happen. Coaches can change. The kid might not be good enough in the end. A lot of people are into offering when they can walk. I wouldn’t offer unless he’s a can't-miss kid from in the state.” From my perspective, the biggest problem with offering this early is physical maturity. In many cases, the best sophomores and freshmen are the ones who are ahead of the game in terms of physical development. That Charles Atlas look-a-like as a sophomore could easily wind up resembling a Chuck Nevitt play-a-like as a junior and senior. However, one college coach said that if you are going to gamble, gamble on size. “Offering a sophomore may be too early, but probably isn’t too early if they’re a big guy,” he said. “Take a gamble with 6-10. I think people would be more ready to do that than to take a gamble on a 6-foot little guy.” Still, taking a commitment (and therefore committing a scholarship to a kid) that young has inherent risks other than gambling on a kid’s basketball development. “What if he doesn’t get it done academically?” one coach said. “Then you’ve really made a mistake.” “What if he blows up and becomes the No. 1 player in America?” another coach said. “You’d have to recruit your ass off to try and keep him. You’d be recruiting him twice.” As it stands right now, Texas Tech is the only major college program we know of that holds a commitment from a member of the Class of 2005. Bobby Knight landed Justin Wilkerson, a 6-foot-7 forward from Greenville, Texas, back on Nov. 20. Traditionally, Knight hasn’t been gun-shy about pulling the trigger on young kids, so we shouldn’t be surprised by Tech’s quick draw. The question is, who’s next and when? More Recruiting Hot News from TheInsiders.com
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