The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-15-2013 02:28 PM)the Dragon Wrote:  I can tell you this:

UAB looks at kids in state and out-of-state. If they are looking at two kids, one in-state and one out, for one spot, McGee's question to the recruiters is "Which one is better?" If they are about the same, then they offer the in-state kid. If one is better, then they offer the better one.

UAB needs to recruit the best players they can possibly get, and most of those are in Alabama.

I'm not disagreeing.

That being said, "UAB needs to recruit the best players they can possibly get," and IF most of those are in Alabama, all the better.

Last year we had over 60 out if state players on the roster. I doubt many were walkons Based on who we were recruiting against I find it hard to believe that we could not find instate talent just as good as half of those. A thirty player shift would save us 1.5 million over five years. That does no even take into consideration the increased interest and fan support generated by having local players. I saw the parents of a player from ten years ago attending games this year.

Win with the kids you can get and the local kid thing will take care of itself.

The previous staff didn't think they could get some local kids, so they didn't even try until a few years into the CNC era. By then, it was too late. Example: There is a local high school head coach who played at UAB, and during the entire CNC era, no UAB coach ever visited his school (according to that coach). Even if he didn't have a prospect, you want to keep that door open. BTW, a kid from that school was offered by Alabama, so he had at least one great player to look at.

CNC used his Georgia connections, which is great. But he needed to make local connections too. He did little of that.

Remember that there are other considerations than athletic ability to recruiting any player. The coaches can't bring in a player the school won't admit or is a highly "at risk" player with negatives in off the field / court reputation. Since more and more school districts are likely having to hire the teachers they "can get" rather than the teachers they "want", it may affect the quality of athlete available in many of the state's districts for college life. There is also the risk that some local school administrator has changed one or more grades for a "star athlete" as they did in that Memphis high school to enhance their kid's chances of going to college.

When a district must dig to find any applicant for their vacant position, they are going to be less choosey than a district that has 300+ applicants for every single open position. One of my former students who now teaches in the Vestavia district, told me at a reunion that she doesn't dare leave the district because they have several hundred applications on file at any time. That is a luxury the majority of Alabama's districts don't have. They may even have to use substitutes to open school until a certified teacher in a particular subject applies to them (Shelby County schools were advertising for teachers to apply in early August 2012).

(01-15-2013 03:26 PM)the Dragon Wrote:  The previous staff didn't think they could get some local kids, so they didn't even try until a few years into the CNC era. By then, it was too late. Example: There is a local high school head coach who played at UAB, and during the entire CNC era, no UAB coach ever visited his school (according to that coach). Even if he didn't have a prospect, you want to keep that door open. BTW, a kid from that school was offered by Alabama, so he had at least one great player to look at.

CNC used his Georgia connections, which is great. But he needed to make local connections too. He did little of that.

I used to work with a Bessemer Academy assistant. He told me that they never got so much as a phone call, until Callaway's last year when Tyson Helton made a phone call. Within 2 months of McGee getting the job, McGee himself stepped on the school's campus.

(01-15-2013 03:14 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Win with the kids you can get and the local kid thing will take care of itself.

The issue is not that they couldn't get local kids but they never tried