A Couple of Quasi-Dumb Questions

[BigBird]

For those whose UConn WCBB knowledge exceeds my own (everybody):

1) If a recruit/ athlete knew, with high certainty, that they wanted to attend school "X," wouldn't the recruit do the best thing for their chosen school by announcing the decision at the earliest point that they are certain? I don't quite get the "I will announce on my granny's birthday," etc. By accepting the offer, the athlete lets her new coach plan and execute a strategy to get additional good players, future teammates, into the fold. And the 5-star kid then sends a useful message to other good players. "Join with me." She also says to other coaches, "I am no longer available to you."

2) What does any coach really expect to learn in a 75-point exhibition win? I am not being critical, but I just want to see what others seem to see in these contests. Is there risk in concluding too much?

These two things I don't know. Rest assured I know everything else. ;-)

 

[rford53]

For those whose UConn WCBB knowledge exceeds my own (everybody):

1) If a recruit/ athlete knew, with high certainty, that they wanted to attend school "X," wouldn't the recruit do the best thing for their chosen school by announcing the decision at the earliest point that they are certain? I don't quite get the "I will announce on my granny's birthday," etc. By accepting the offer, the athlete lets her new coach plan and execute a strategy to get additional good players, future teammates, into the fold. And the 5-star kid then sends a useful message to other good players. "Join with me." She also says to other coaches, "I am no longer available to you."

2) What does any coach really expect to learn in a 75-point exhibition win? I am not being critical, but I just want to see what others seem to see in these contests. Is there risk in concluding too much?

These two things I don't know. Rest assured I know everything else. ;-)

1. Giving a verbal commitment is not as easy as it may seem. There are about a dozen variables that may come into play.
How many scholarships are available that year? How many other players are already on the team to compete for playing time? Where is the school located + or -? Weather? Distance from home, school environment and fit with the academics and major; Who are the coaches and what affect will that have on playing at x school? What is the culture like in the team/school/region of the country/ conference? Those are just some of the most obvious variables from the student's point of view. If all these factors are good to go, committing as a rising junior might be a good decision, yet things can change in all the other factors in two years. I haven't even talked about what the school wants in a player and if a scholarship will even be offered. Lots more could be said yet there is a start.

2. Exhibition games allow the team to play a real game with a real team so the team practice can be worked on. Player match -ups, combination of players on the court, running various offensive sets, zone or man/man defense, etc. And in the case of UConn the opponent doesn't really matter much. They play to a standard, not for an opponent specifically. Lots more reasons but to summarize it's a more game like practice in the arenas they will play in the regular season. That's mostly it.

 

[sarals24]

I don't know about number 1, except to say that maybe setting a goal date to announce helps a kid make a decision. If they are wavering between a few schools, knowing that they have to decide by X date might make them sit down, list their priorities, pros/cons, etc. Kids who know they are going to a certain school (Stewie, Dangerfield, etc) usually announce quickly. For others it might not be so easy.

For the second, I don't think there is anything wrong with throwing in a few games before the season starts. Of course opponents will be overmatched. Heck, most D1 teams are overmatched. But it breaks up the monotony of practice, gives the new players time to adjust to playing in a game situation, allows the players to play in front of a crowd, etc. Of course injury is always a possibility, but that's true of practice as well.

 

[meyers7]

Both rford and sarals touched on some good points. I'd also add in the recruit can if she wants, let the coach know prior to actually announcing her decision. So the coach would know. Coaches can't comment on the recruits anyway until they actually sign, so the coach can't "give it away", if the player wanted to make a big announcement. But the coach would know ahead of time and could adjust their recruitment accordingly.

As for exhibition games, they play one at Gampel and one at the XL. The Freshmen now have that experience of game day under their belts (and it seems like Williams needed that ). Also after practicing for a few weeks against themselves or the guys who obviously know the offense inside and out by now, this gives them a chance to run the offense against someone who does not know it. See it will actually work. Also it's a cool thing for the Div II teams to get to play against the best team in the land. Pretty unique opportunity. Probably a decent payout too.

 

[Adesmar123]

There are no questions - just dumb people.

 

[BigBird]

There are no questions - just dumb people.

As an educator, I always tried not to think of questioners as dumb.

However-

Years ago, I was staying at a B&B in Gettysburg. At the evening's tea, I was joined by a couple of park guides who were also staying there. I asked them to cite the worst questions they had been asked by the tourists. Guide one: "How did the generals arrange for all the battles to be fought in national parks?" Guide two: "I think I can top that." "If there really WAS a battle fought here, why are there no bullet scars on the monuments?"

As to the questions offered above, thank you for responding. Please bear in mind that I posited that the recruit has already decided on a school, but delays the announcement. The silent verbal that Meyer7 addressed makes the most sense to me.

 

[Aluminny69]

Stupid Lawyer Questions

 

[Zorro]

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

For those whose UConn WCBB knowledge exceeds my own (everybody):

2) What does any coach really expect to learn in a 75-point exhibition win? I am not being critical, but I just want to see what others seem to see in these contests. Is there risk in concluding too much?

These two things I don't know. Rest assured I know everything else. ;-)

There is value in exhibition games, but probably no more so than in scrimmages against other D1 opponents, which are closed to the public. I'm not sure if you can scrimmage only once or twice, but it is in lieu of an exhibition game; no stats are reported and often the public doesn't even know about it. Rutgers has scrimmaged against Drexel several years, I don't know who else. They haven't done exhibition games in years.

Coaches are not naive, there is value for the coach in seeing how certain things progress, but, yes, you can conclude way too much. It is like "fall ball" for Softball, basically exhibition games against community colleges. A good introduction to the team, but to extrapolate (as a fan) what the team will be like in the regular season is rather a stretch. The coach, OTH, knows what he is seeing.

 

[UcMiami]

In a practice, when things get really screwed up the coach is going to stop and get things straightened out. Doing exhibitions against DII as opposed to scrimmages against D1 means you get the whole game day atmosphere - fans, bright lights, game day prep, official scorers, shot clock, clock, time-outs, etc. Its like theater rehearsals vs. previews - nothing you do in an empty theater is close to the experience when there is an actual audience to perform in front of.
The reason for doing a scrimmage or a exhibition game is to work as a whole team against a different team, system, and coach. After a month of practice you know your teammates and practice players pretty well and you are all running the same offenses and defenses so there are no surprises. Playing another team is full of surprises even if they are not as physically gifted as you are.

On the announcement thing - just personal preference. Some kids choose a specific day (Dangerfield was going to do it on her grandmother's birthday I think until she did her visit and then just decided to get it over with) because it has a special meaning. Usually when a specific day is chosen it is only a few weeks out and most recruiting doesn't really have that short a window for coaches/teams/players. It is fun for the recruits to create a little anticipation probably and it seldom if ever has any real impact on a coaches recruiting plans during the 'delay'.

 

[msf22b]

With regard the 2nd question
Perfect spacing, crisp, pin point passing, rebounding positioning, fast break execution, among many other aspects,
are virtually unaffected by the level of competition… are goals for perfection in themselves, regardless of the opposition.
Many of the conference games, may very well resembling these two blowouts.
But Geno finds ways to make use of whatever opposition to hone skills, thereby improving his team's performance.
Perhaps this is one of his (undiscussed) greatest traits as a coach.
There are takeaways regardless of whom you play.

 

[iamcbs]

There are no questions - just dumb people.

If there's no such thing as a stupid question, then what kinds of questions do stupid people ask?

 

[bertieboy]

In my opinion I think it is bad for Div I basketball and football teams to play Div 3 or 4 teams. These blowouts are just ugly and do nothing good for the reputation of the Div I school. They should play better competition.

 

[Icebear]

In my opinion I think it is bad for Div I basketball and football teams to play Div 3 or 4 teams. These blowouts are just ugly and do nothing good for the reputation of the Div I school. They should play better competition.

Division 4 teams, especially.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

In my opinion I think it is bad for Div I basketball and football teams to play Div 3 or 4 teams. These blowouts are just ugly and do nothing good for the reputation of the Div I school. They should play better competition.

It is ok in exhibition games, because, after all, you can't play another D1 team, then it would just be an "extra" "prohibited" game.

However, I agree that the occasion regular season game against a lower division (usually, FCS in Football, and DII/DIII in WBB) are not desirable. However, remember, if you play a non D-1 opponent in the regular season that win does not count towards your record, RPI or any other factors when post-season berths are being considered.

 

[Husky1964]

Prior to some years ago there was no signing of a NLI. Kids were recruited UNTIL they showed up on your campus and enrolled in classes. Not only do we now have a NLI but there are even periods when, except for some small instances, you must sign. Most do but there are exceptions.