[flamehunter]

Was Marshall Wood out of Rustburg recruited hard by Layer? He had every reason to go here IMHO, but the lure of the ACC is pretty strong for local guys who get offered to go there.

[Sly Fox]

Yes, we aggressively pursued him and probably still would welcome a transfer.

[Purple Haize]

Yes, we aggressively pursued him and probably still would welcome a transfer.

This is true. One of the reasons given there not being a history of Lynchburg players recruited by LU. That and whatever Greenburg offered recruits at the time!

[olldflame]

I question what grade you are going to get in your entry level recruiting class with that approach.

Let´s say we identify the next local star when he is a Sophomore and the next 2 years we use a couple of schollies to sign one teammate from his HS team and one from AAU who are borderline at best. Does that increase our chances of signing him? Maybe......... but by how much? 10%? 15? maybe 20% at most? Meanwhile you have used 2 schollies you might have been able to sign better players with and have absolutely no gaurantees it will get you anywhere.

To use a real life illustration. If we had signed RDs kid, who was a year or 2 ahead of him at Brookville, do you think it would have made any difference to Logan? I don´t.

[Purple Haize]

I question what grade you are going to get in your entry level recruiting class with that approach.

Let´s say we identify the next local star when he is a Sophomore and the next 2 years we use a couple of schollies to sign one teammate from his HS team and one from AAU who are borderline at best. Does that increase our chances of signing him? Maybe......... but by how much? 10%? 15? maybe 20% at most? Meanwhile you have used 2 schollies you might have been able to sign better players with and have absolutely no gaurantees it will get you anywhere.

To use a real life illustration. If we had signed RDs kid, who was a year or 2 ahead of him at Brookville, do you think it would have made any difference to Logan? I don´t.

Yeah, considering I've only recruited 2 All Americans I guess I wouldn't do well in that class.

In your hypothetical I'd approach it differently, so I can't really speak to that

As for Logan and MD that is a whole different ball game because of other issues involved.

And BTW, Jeff Meyer! It's still a rule.

[olldflame]

How big a factor did having homies on the team play in signing those 2 all americans? Just curious.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

I really dont think its as big of an issue as some people think. The HUGE positive to recruiting kids within 3-4 hours (and especially within an hour) is that the community supports what you're doing. I am not making any digs or taking any shots, but community support is something that Liberty basketball has not had in a long time. Regardless of what the reason for the lack of support, anyone can recognize an issue, finding a solution is what makes someone valuable. Again, I am not taking any shots, but if helps with community support to recruit some local kids.... Now with that being said... We aren't swimming in a pool of basketball talent between here and Roanoke either.

When you aren't out in the community, or in this case recruiting kids from the community, the community will not support at this level of basketball. Some people might think that I am wrong, but the lack of attendance doesn't lie. I mean, I don't know of any other DI team offering free attendance and free food for games... You would think that at least the homeless show up, but its an effort to get the community on board none-the-less.

I 100% support recruiting from Florida, but I have a bit of bias .

[Purple Haize]

How big a factor did having homies on the team play in signing those 2 all americans? Just curious.

I had a good relationship with one coach because I had worked hard to get a kid that didnt sign with us and the other one, we has a kid from his HS do pretty good for us a few years earlier and that helped. The past two years there was a good deal of talent that is a lot better then what we have on the bench. And TBGBG hit the nail on the head. It's a HUGE boost to community involvement. The number of people in Lynchburg who have not seen a game at LU should be embarrassing.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

And TBGBG hit the nail on the head. It's a HUGE boost to community involvement. The number of people in Lynchburg who have not seen a game at LU should be embarrassing.

Haize said I was right?

[BJWilliams]

Its an interesting dance recruiting is. you want to get the best players at your position(s) of need, but I do agree it would be good to have players that the community can get behind because they followed their school careers in that area. One thing that I will say is when you have players that actively get involved in the local schools and appear at events like the Get Downtown event or other things.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

Its an interesting dance recruiting is. you want to get the best players at your position(s) of need

(Sorry bud, I had to)

[BJWilliams]

Actually smart(expletive) funnyman you didn't

[JK37]

Actually smart(expletive) funnyman you didn't

No one likes a know-it-all. Everyone appreciates someone who can laugh at themselves.

Recruiting is identifying need, evaluating talent, making the pitch, and closing the deal. Steps 2-4 are a partnership involving the prospect, all people of influence around the prospect, and the collegiate coaches to ensure what is best for the prospect. Doesn't always happen, by that Hoyle be the goal.

A local prospect's status should never be enhanced solely on the basis of their locality. However a staff chooses to grade prospects (stars, letters, numbers, colors - I've seen it all.), a local prospect should only be favored solely on the basis of locality is already equal to another prospect interns of evaluation and rank. If a staff is evaluating two 3-star players, and one is from Texas and one is from Rustburg - recruit them both, but feel more urgency to sign the Rustburg kid. Use the advantage of locality in the recruiting process. But never elevate a 2-star above the 3-star simply because of locality.

[olldflame]

Actually smart(expletive) funnyman you didn't

No one likes a know-it-all. Everyone appreciates someone who can laugh at themselves.

Recruiting is identifying need, evaluating talent, making the pitch, and closing the deal. Steps 2-4 are a partnership involving the prospect, all people of influence around the prospect, and the collegiate coaches to ensure what is best for the prospect. Doesn't always happen, by that Hoyle be the goal.

A local prospect's status should never be enhanced solely on the basis of their locality. However a staff chooses to grade prospects (stars, letters, numbers, colors - I've seen it all.), a local prospect should only be favored solely on the basis of locality is already equal to another prospect interns of evaluation and rank. If a staff is evaluating two 3-star players, and one is from Texas and one is from Rustburg - recruit them both, but feel more urgency to sign the Rustburg kid. Use the advantage of locality in the recruiting process. But never elevate a 2-star above the 3-star simply because of locality.

Well put.

I would say at LU an additional factor to go with evaluating the player´s basketball talent is how well they will fit in to the Liberty culture. We have been blessed with some pretty fair players (and another on the way) who are homeschooled kids who well might have chosen to attend LU if they did not play BB and were paying their own way. They happen to be from Texas because homeschoolers have access to high caliber coaching and competition there you don´t see in Central VA (or many other places for that matter).

Taking your example a step further, if the 2 players are dead even in talent, one is local and one from TX and the TX kid is a Jesse Sanders type who you know will thrive at Liberty while the local kid may not be a bad apple per se, but has some history which says he may have a problem following the rules, who do you prioritize?

[olldflame]

How big a factor did having homies on the team play in signing those 2 all americans? Just curious.

I had a good relationship with one coach because I had worked hard to get a kid that didnt sign with us and the other one, we has a kid from his HS do pretty good for us a few years earlier and that helped. The past two years there was a good deal of talent that is a lot better then what we have on the bench. And TBGBG hit the nail on the head. It's a HUGE boost to community involvement. The number of people in Lynchburg who have not seen a game at LU should be embarrassing.

I know there are those who will say that LU basketball has NEVER had strong support from the community, but I for one recall a time in the 90s when it was a lot better. Look at the rosters from those teams, and you see players from places like Maine, Alaska, Michigan, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Iowa, and of course that local basketball hotbed, Nigeria. The closest we came to having a local player were Barry Taylor from Maryland and Jody Chapman from Charlotte. Those teams drew better because they played exciting, winning basketball. I do believe the staff at that time had some things going on with the community which may have played a part, but it was not necessarily recruiting related.


I know it doesn´t fit within the parameters of ¨the rule¨purple, but I just feel like saying it.

Jeff Meyer

[Purple Haize]

And TBGBG hit the nail on the head. It's a HUGE boost to community involvement. The number of people in Lynchburg who have not seen a game at LU should be embarrassing.

Haize said I was right?

Don't let it go to your head HA. It's not necessarily a good thing.

[BJWilliams]

Lemme us an example based on JK's premise (which is a very good one I think). Let's take say...Karl Overstreet from over at EC Glass, 6-9 forward. Now at first blush, your thought would be to get him. But let's say that Jacob Hammond from Oklahoma City, 6-10, is out there as well. Both are interested in Liberty (hypothetically), both are the same star level, ideally you would go after Overstreet but you would also want to try to get Hammond as well because one or both can fill needs on the roster.

[olldflame]

Lemme us an example based on JK's premise (which is a very good one I think). Let's take say...Karl Overstreet from over at EC Glass, 6-9 forward. Now at first blush, your thought would be to get him. But let's say that Jacob Hammond from Oklahoma City, 6-10, is out there as well. Both are interested in Liberty (hypothetically), both are the same star level, ideally you would go after Overstreet but you would also want to try to get Hammond as well because one or both can fill needs on the roster.

Easy to say if you need 2 bigs and have 2 scholarships available. The issue comes when you only can afford to sign one.

[JK37]

Even when you can only sign one, you still pursue both because one might say "no".

Answering your question regarding the Liberty culture, olldflame, I believe that should already be taken into consideration once a "grade" (letter, color, stars, etc.) has been made. And it's constantly reevaluated. I've witnessed many fiends evaluate only on-court attributes, often to their own demise. A prospect is not 3-star in my book only because of what they do on the court. Better fit both on the court and off it can elevate a prospect's grade/status within a program. All of it is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

In short, if they're both equal talents, but the Texas kid is a better fit for Liberty culturally, I would argue that kid is "more talented" anyway.

[BJWilliams]

That was my point in the last statement olldflame amd confirmed by JK...if you can only sign one of the two, go after both anyway, because as I said, whether you can only get one or get both, they still fill a need on the roster.

[Purple Haize]

OLD is right that back in the 90's we had better community support without local players. There are several reason for that one of which is that the coaches did a good job getting out shaking hands and kissing babies. But where is that support now? Unlike some Catholic school with bad dorms in a metro area north of us ( ) LU needs to concern itself with being a part of the community. The aforementioned Papist institution doesn't need to put the community perception high on the list because of its location. LU is different because of its location. At LU, all things being equal I'd take the local kid every day of the week.
A GREAT PR move would be to say that the Seminole Player of the Year will always have a spot on the roster at LU. You could throw Dogwood in as well but that might be stretching it. Heck, with all the VHSL changes just say the Area Player of the Year. Easy. Simple. No lose proposition that would generate oodles of good PR.

[BJWilliams]

Would you mean the News Advance All-Area Player of the Year perhaps with all the changes happening?

[JK37]

It would be a good PR move, and coaches should be cognizant of PR. But I'm not sure such a move is the right move. Such a blanket statement handcuffs the staff in too many ways.

I'm ignoring your Catholic comments. And I think your use of the word "metro" is delusional. We're rural.

[olldflame]

OLD is right that back in the 90's we had better community support without local players. There are several reason for that one of which is that the coaches did a good job getting out shaking hands and kissing babies. But where is that support now? Unlike some Catholic school with bad dorms in a metro area north of us ( ) LU needs to concern itself with being a part of the community. The aforementioned Papist institution doesn't need to put the community perception high on the list because of its location. LU is different because of its location. At LU, all things being equal I'd take the local kid every day of the week.
A GREAT PR move would be to say that the Seminole Player of the Year will always have a spot on the roster at LU. You could throw Dogwood in as well but that might be stretching it. Heck, with all the VHSL changes just say the Area Player of the Year. Easy. Simple. No lose proposition that would generate oodles of good PR.

Interesting idea and probably good from a PR standpoint, but definately NOT a no lose scenario. Wait til the year you only have one schollie, the área player of the year is at best a solid D2 prospect (wouldn´t be the first time or the last) and you have a kid out of state who desperately wants to come and could be the cornerstone of your program for 4 years. Of course you could always yank the schollie you gave to the área POY the year before.

[Purple Haize]

OLD is right that back in the 90's we had better community support without local players. There are several reason for that one of which is that the coaches did a good job getting out shaking hands and kissing babies. But where is that support now? Unlike some Catholic school with bad dorms in a metro area north of us ( ) LU needs to concern itself with being a part of the community. The aforementioned Papist institution doesn't need to put the community perception high on the list because of its location. LU is different because of its location. At LU, all things being equal I'd take the local kid every day of the week.
A GREAT PR move would be to say that the Seminole Player of the Year will always have a spot on the roster at LU. You could throw Dogwood in as well but that might be stretching it. Heck, with all the VHSL changes just say the Area Player of the Year. Easy. Simple. No lose proposition that would generate oodles of good PR.

Interesting idea and probably good from a PR standpoint, but definately NOT a no lose scenario. Wait til the year you only have one schollie, the área player of the year is at best a solid D2 prospect (wouldn´t be the first time or the last) and you have a kid out of state who desperately wants to come and could be the cornerstone of your program for 4 years. Of course you could always yank the schollie you gave to the área POY the year before.

Did I say scholarship? Do you really think every year the POY would WANT to come to LU? Who says even if they are on the team they will stay for four years? Are you just that Anti Local talent? This is HUGE from a PR standpoint which is something outside of UK teams craze and LU is desperate for