Technically starting yesterday (April 14) and continues until August 1.

This year will be like NO OTHER because:

I believe there still restrictions on recruiting visits until June (assume this is in person, at home, etc.). Guess coaches will continue to Zoom. No in person scouting. Believe AAU ball was canceled last spring and summer.

Everyone is flying blind vis-a-vis high school, JUCOs, prep players, etc.

There could be all kind of hidden gems across say Michigan but no one has really seen them. Hard to scout a kid by looking at YouTube highlights and some box scores.

I saw a bit in the Washington Post. The stars (e.g., 4 and 5 star) are well known and will be in high demand. That won't change. Big question are the 3 and 2 star h.s. players. Will they get the same love they got before the pandemic???

Equally important was the 'one free transfer.'

Everything I've read suggests that coaches will prefer a transfer over a h.s. player. They are known players, plenty of film out there, easy to evaluate them playing against D-I players not unknown h.s. players.

And coaches like if you take a player who transfers TO YOU if he wants to transfer FROM YOU (2nd transfer) he has to sitout a year (unless it is a grad transfer).

I'm sure coaches are afraid they get a h.s. player and develop him for two years and someone poaches him.

Some averages say 13 ppg as a soph at Ohio and OSU comes calling... People will be putting all kind of thoughts into kids heads. You are better than the MAC, you should be in the B1G.

I saw a coach where he said instead of refreshing Verbal Commits daily he now does it at least hourly.

This has become a lot like NFL free agency. Wild, wild west.

Where does this leave EMU and the MAC.

If I were the HC of B1G teams, Duke, KY, etc. I would continue to recruit 4-star high school kids and hope to have them for 4 years (or less if they go NBA).

More thoughts later...

I love Earl and Fred Cofield but most kids playing today today have zero knowledge of who they are and why they matter. Hiring a former pro player without coaching experience is like the Statute of Liberty shining a recruiting beacon hoping it be a magnet for recruits. Howard was able to do it because it's U of M and a great staff who had recruiting relationships. And recruiting is,about building and maintaining relationships built over time.

The biggest selling points Coach Heath has is himself the Convo and playing time I am assuming all the starting positions are in play.

(04-15-2021 11:51 AM)emu79 Wrote:  I love Earl and Fred Cofield but most kids playing today today have zero knowledge of who they are and why they matter. Hiring a former pro player without coaching experiencei is like the Statute of Liberty shining a recruiting beacon hoping it be a,magnet for recruits. Howard was able to do it because it's U of M and a great staff who had recruiting relationships. And recruiting is,about building and maintaining relationships built over time.

I agree with you. Howard walked into a dream situation. He was the mature face of the Fab 5. Great staff which checked all of the boxes. He had really good college coaches. Coach who had been a HC for decades. A coach just removed from NBA coaching.

As I suggested in another thread, marketing of a famous alum, etc. only goes so far. We ultimately are about winning games. If the team doesn't win, marketing doesn't matter.