Nobody likes to wait.
We all hate the doctor’s office, the DMV, and traffic jams equally.
So why has waiting in college recruiting become a good thing?
“I think that there are fewer kids committing early than we saw a few years ago. I think the other piece to it is that kids also wanna go see where the opportunity exists but I think kids wanna see where they’re really wanted too.
“A lot of times the reason for a commitment is a pre-existing relationship between someone connected to the kid whether it’s the high school coach, the AAU coach and the college coach.
“I think by letting it play out, you get to really develop as a player, you let the school see your development and then you find out if it’s a good fit,” says Adam Finkelstein of the New England Recruiting Report¬†in a recent¬†FizzCast.
And he’s right on.
As¬†The Fizz chronicled the¬†Tobias Harris saga, it was a melodramatic (and aggravating) countdown until the day he would end up becoming¬†Bruce Pearl’s next weapon on the court.
Now for guys like Josh Selby, it’s a matter of focusing on the high school season and taking things slow.
You get to develop as a player – but more importantly, you allow things to play out for the schools you’re looking at playing for next year.
If you were looking to go to Notre Dame last year as a forward, you might have thought about it because Luke Harangody appeared to be on his way to the NBA. But he came back.
Scratch South Bend off the list if you didn’t want to wait around a year.
Most coaches know whether or not you’re their type of player after seeing you play once or twice. But it’s in the recruit’s hands as to where they ultimately end up.
So in that case, we can keep on waiting – as long as there aren’t any forms for us to fill out.
