90 pro scouts

[Kmoney]

Aren't you just describing a career fair, which happen at every college all the time?

Or were you just being sarcastic?

Career fairs are not televised world wide. If UK had their career fair on CNN, dont you think that would be a major advantage over other schools?

 

[7774]

Career fairs are not televised world wide. If UK had their career fair on CNN, dont you think that would be a major advantage over other schools?

No it would not be a major advantage.

 

[BUConn10]

I would like to see a University invite the heads of Fortune 500 companies to practice and invite ESPN to televise. The CEOs can conduct interviews afterwards. The NCAA would come down on them so fast.

What UK is doing reeks of professionalism and should not be allowed to be televised. It is a direct and obvious recruiting advantage to have it on ESPN.

"Where do you guys come up with this stuff? UConn has had scouts on campus before in the past so we basically do the same thing"

 

[BUConn10]

No it would not be a major advantage.

I really can't tell if your trolling or not when you say something like televised practices with 90 pro scouts in attendence, something that currently only 2 of 351 D1 programs do isn't a recruiting advantage.

 

[Kmoney]

"Where do you guys come up with this stuff? UConn has had scouts on campus before in the past so we basically do the same thing"

It's not the scouts. It's the TV. Maybe our brains are wired differently, but i am shocked that some don't see this as an unfair recruiting advantage. You can bet Cal was on the phone to every 2017, 18, and 19 target.

 

[7774]

When did UConn ever televise a practice on ESPN? Us having scouts at practices isn't even in the same ballpark as having nationally televised pro combines. You know you don't have to always be a staunch contrarian.

I'd say I'm less contrarian and more capable of rational thought. College basketball is not, and has never been, a socialist endevor. It's always been unfair. Nothing happening with Kentucky or Duke today is destroying the competitive landscape of college basketball any more than the unfairness occurring in the past destroyed it.

25 or 30 years ago there were only a handful of games put on national TV, and it was the same small group of teams that participated in those games. The large majority of teams were never shown. That gave a far greater competitive advantage to those teams than Kentucky gets by having some practice broadcast on ESPNU in October. Somehow college basketball survived.

It's totally comical to think the NCAA should regulate this stuff when every team is free to invite as many scouts to their practice as they want, and every team is free to try to get ESPN to broadcast that practice. I'm sure if this was 1985 you'd want the NCAA to force the broadcast networks to show every team an equal amount times in the interest of "fairness".

 

[7774]

I really can't tell if your trolling or not when you say something like televised practices with 90 pro scouts in attendence, something that currently only 2 of 351 D1 programs do isn't a recruiting advantage.

He asked if Kentucky having their career fair broadcast on CNN would be a competitive advantage.

 

[gtcam]

I don't give a crap about the 90 scouts
But that sleaze bag Larry Brown-OMG

 

[Paesano]

While it is true that the landscape will never be truly fair, the answer isn't to completely stop trying to make it as fair as possible.

For example, if we want to completely throw away any attempt at fairness, why not do away with limiting the number of official visits a recruit can take at a given school? If each school has the same non-limit, what's the problem? They can all have a kid visit the same 100 times if they want, right?

It is clearly unrealistic to have every D1 team on national TV the same number of times. So Kentucky and Duke will, unfortunately, have to be allowed to retain this advantage. But does the NCAA HAVE to allow practices to be televised in order for college basketball to survive? Do they HAVE to allow that many scouts to attend practices for college basketball to survive? Hell, does the future of college basketball depend on allowing scouts to attend practices at all? Can't they just attend games?

Do what you can.

 

[BUConn10]

It's not the scouts. It's the TV. Maybe our brains are wired differently, but i am shocked that some don't see this as an unfair recruiting advantage. You can bet Cal was on the phone to every 2017, 18, and 19 target.

Believe me I'm with you, my post was in reference to what someone else said.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

You guys are hilarious. UConn has had tons of scouts showing up at our practices for years now. Not 90 at once, but certainly in the double digits. Why have you never complained about that? Isn't that anti-competitive for the teams that can't get any scouts to show up?

I think the complaint is about making it newsworthy by ESPN covering the event.
Thats free PR for Cal.

 

[7774]

I think the complaint is about making it newsworthy by ESPN covering the event.
Thats free PR for Cal.

Yep, it is. Are other teams not allowed to have ESPN cover their events?

 

[auror]

I'd say I'm less contrarian and more capable of rational thought. College basketball is not, and has never been, a socialist endevor. It's always been unfair. Nothing happening with Kentucky or Duke today is destroying the competitive landscape of college basketball any more than the unfairness occurring in the past destroyed it.

25 or 30 years ago there were only a handful of games put on national TV, and it was the same small group of teams that participated in those games. The large majority of teams were never shown. That gave a far greater competitive advantage to those teams than Kentucky gets by having some practice broadcast on ESPNU in October. Somehow college basketball survived.

It's totally comical to think the NCAA should regulate this stuff when every team is free to invite as many scouts to their practice as they want, and every team is free to try to get ESPN to broadcast that practice. I'm sure if this was 1985 you'd want the NCAA to force the broadcast networks to show every team an equal amount times in the interest of "fairness".

I'm with you.

It probably is a competitive advantage. It is not an unfair competitive advantage. The opportunity exists for any other team to do it. Marketing is a skill and in this case utilizes a team's own earned resources (fan enthusiasm in the form of ratings and business relationship acumen).

Should the Phoenix Suns' medical staff be limited to the level of other teams?
Should the Patriots have to stop teaching line play because Dante Scarnecchia knows too much?
Should the San Anotino Spurs have to give up championships because they made relationships and scouted international prospects better than anyone?

All legal earned competitive advantages. If someone wants them to change the rule to make it illegal, fine. I'd disagree because I like to reward skill of all types, but that's the league's prerogative. But until then, certainly don't whine that a team is better at running their organization than we are.

 

[FartMan69]

Stop whining, it is what it is. Schools/conferences have been able to sell their own content for 40 years now and if the demand is there some body is going to exploit that. UConn plays on ESPN and CBS while CCSU plays in a high school gym in front of parents/friends because we have more muscle, but do you think they should have the same opportunity for exposure? It's a free market, has been forever. Don't like it go to Russia.

 

[FartMan69]

I think the complaint is about making it newsworthy by ESPN covering the event.
Thats free PR for Cal.

Um that's what ESPN is for

 

[Huskyforlife]

Isn't it more unfair that teams in the G5 probably get less of their games aired nationally in-comparison to P5 teams? Of course this is an advantage to Cal, but in a week nobody but the scouts is going to think, or care about what they watched that day.

As @7774 said, college sports have been unfair since television networks started broadcasting certain games. There will always be an unbalanced power in college sports. It's up to teams like UConn to keep winning, staying relevant makes ESPN cover us the same as any other top team during the season. The reality is, teams like Kentucky will always win the off-season in the eyes of the media. That's how it will always be.

 

[polycom]

Players get paid to go to the combine...by agents. If the NCAA is going to basically allow a televised combine they need to pay people for their time.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Um that's what ESPN is for

Shilling for UK?

 

[7774]

Shilling for UK?

They're not actually trying to shill for UK though, they're just trying to make money. They would do the same thing for any team with a large/crazy enough fan base and a good enough collection of players to get the ratings necessary to make it profitable.

 

[FartMan69]

Shilling for UK?

Reporting sports news/events that people will watch. ESPN didn't become a billion dollar company being stupid. This isn't a conspiracy, get over it.

 

[Stainmaster]

I sense that people don't have a problem with systemic inequality, rather they're upset (jealous, even) that the inequality doesn't benefit UConn. If we had a combine at Gampel with 90 scouts and had Drake and World Wide Wes show up at first night, the same people would be overjoyed.

 

[7774]

I sense that people don't have a problem with systemic inequality, rather they're upset (jealous, even) that the inequality doesn't benefit UConn. If we had a combine at Gampel with 90 scouts and had Drake and World Wide Wes show up at first night, the same people would be overjoyed.

Not only would they love it if we were doing it, but if NCAA actually did try to put a stop to it, the same people here who think the NCAA should do something about it now would be the first people to freak out and complain that the NCAA was unfairly targeting us. It's a joke.

 

[BUConn10]

You guys are too funny!

 

[TitleTown]

If you are good enough ,you will be found. It's more hype than anything else. Hope the high school kids don't drink that Kentucky Kool Aid. Lillard,Curry,George, Dunn and a host of others as examples.

If the past recruiting classes at Kentucky are any indication they have been chugging the "Kool Aid"!

 

[mauconnfan]

I sense that people don't have a problem with systemic inequality, rather they're upset (jealous, even) that the inequality doesn't benefit UConn. If we had a combine at Gampel with 90 scouts and had Drake and World Wide Wes show up at first night, the same people would be overjoyed.

That's not it, but you did get 7774 to agree with you and that's always a good thing!