Conventional wisdom says to compete at higher levels in the WCC and NCAA, you have to not just go after, but find a way to get 2, 3, 4 or 5 star ranked recruits.
Hard to argue when you see Kentucky, North Carolina, or Duke consistently going deep in the NCAA Tournament. It's like they have a McDonald's All American franchise on campus! Would you like a Michael Jordan or Kevin Durant with your fries?
I mean, if you can get 5 Russell Westbrook types, you're not going to lose much. News flash, today that's out of our reach as are most 4 and 5 star recruits.
As season ticket holders and fans, we know recruiting will be our greatest challenge.
So I asked Coach Sendek, "How are we going to land the stars?"
What message are we going to use to differentiate SCU from everyone else? All of the sudden in the WCC, we have more "name" coaches hitting the trail trying to parlay their "rep" to get better players.
His answer, another conundrum. He's not an "astrological" recruiter. He doesn't just follow the stars. Bottom line, he doesn't think much of "rating services."
OK...There are facts to support that view.
Even the can't miss McDonald's All Americans have spotty track records in college. More than you would guess don't make it to the Pro game. For every LeBron there's a Nash - under the radar. Ask Steph Curry, who just ruined Russell Westbrook's "happy meal."
"As a coach, I pride myself and my staff to be a great judges of talent. We will find and develop better players without worrying about their star ranking."
OK...So How???
Big picture: You build a process and a community that produces a consistent pipeline of recruits good enough to exceed our program goals. I won't spend much time in this segment on the process, but it is as detailed as it is reactive. Able to probe who the best fits are and hyper responsive to move fast on our priorities. And yes, the staff does troll the top 100 star lists as a reference point.
The community piece is the most interesting. It means everyone is always recruiting. That includes everyone ever associated with SCU no matter where they live or their connection to the University.
Sounds very PR-ish, but in fact, a recent signee came to us this way. This army of eyes and ears has been dormant for 20 years or more because the University wasn't serious about sports and, therefore, Athletics never reached out to engage their best salespeople - happy grads.
Community is also the "network" that comes with your coaching staff. This coaching tree has tremendous relationships with other coaches; where knowledge of players and potential stars are important.
Our new tree has "honkin" roots. It is yielding dividends as I write this piece.
The work on process and community never stops as is the case with having high standards for recruits. Coach and the staff will not compromise on standards.
The recruit must:
#1 - be an SCU quality student first
#2 - be committed to personal, academic and athletic growth
#3 - must be able shoot the ball at a consistent high level
#4 - must be good passers in all situations
#5 - must have the speed and agility to play lock down defense
Of course the list is bigger, but you get the idea. We all know our current roster has some challenges with the above. However, the coaching staff is pleased with the improvement seen in the first month of skill development.
Assistant Coach Barret Peery told me the positive changes they've seen in a number of players after working with the staff. One example is a player, not named Jared, who made 43/50 three point shots in a recent shootout drill. This is not a "one off" but true progression. For a team that was ranked second to last in FG% in the WCC last year, that's a big deal.
There are more moves coming both on and off the court including the coaches moving their families to the valley.
One thing I'm becoming more sure of when it comes to our program and recruiting, is that this coaching staff is not "starstruck." Not like the past where we heard all the conventional talk of how good it was gonna be and well - wasn't.
Right now I don't hear a lot of "talk" but I do see a lot of "action."
If you are a believer that the "conventional wisdom is wrong" as I am, we'll see if all this action results in the right "reaction" on the court where The Mission is etched for all to see. It's a statement that's bold and a harbinger of a bolder, better future.
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