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MID-MAY RUMINATIONS

Rob Harrington
readermail@prepstars.com
May 11, 2010

This spring has been like a lot of other springs. We’ve seen all the head coaching changes, assistant coaching changes, and lots of commitments from both the 2010 and 2011 classes.

Along with that, a slew of events continue to take place throughout the country, and big weekends are upcoming at the end of the month over Memorial Day and with the beginning of the major individual camps in early June.

About those late 2010 signings. One thing you won’t read in the slew of press releases released by colleges is that the connect rate on these guys tends to be significantly lower than on players signed in the fall. There are exceptions, of course, and we’re not referring to the elite late-deciders such as Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones.

But one must consider the circumstances. Hordes of college players leave their schools each spring, and the desperation involved in many of these recruitments creates rash decisions by both the college programs and the high school prospects.

Not surprisingly, a disproportionate number of the players who leave in the spring were those who signed in the spring.

That doesn’t mean everyone should sign in the fall, either. Because of all the movement of coaches, some players who thought they’d ended the process suddenly find themselves in the same spring predicament as others who simply weren’t prepared to decide early or who needed to shore up their academics.

In the end there’s no guarantee that particular approach will work, but it’s definitely worth noting that, however they got here, the seniors who have decided within the past month face a much higher degree of risk.

And with that, we advance onward.