Shea is on the road tonight.....

[alexrgct]

There is a reason UConn tends to get kids it wants out of the Empire State. If she gets an offer, I would be suprised if she doesn't jump on it.

 

[UcMiami]

In recruiting there are always a few juniors (and younger!) who absolutely know where they want to go and as soon as that school offers, they give a verbal commitment, but the vast majority of them do not have that ultimate one school (or that school has not yet offered them.) Typically juniors wait until after their HS season is over, and a lot wait well into summer. Some, like possibly a certain gem stone, may be waiting till after the HS season so that other players on her team get maximum exposure during the season. Others may want to get past the season before they really look at where they stand and what they want.
We have been occasionally lucky with early commits, but we have also been unlucky a few times when those early commits changed their minds. I suspect having been burned a couple of times on high profile commits, Geno is more likely to say to a recruit 'We really want you and here is an offer, but please think about this carefully - do not make a commitment yet unless you are really positive we are the right choice for you. The deadline on this offer is September (or sometime in the future, or there is no deadline) of your Senior year, so you do not have to feel any pressure to commit right now. We want you to make the right choice, not a quick choice.'

 

[speedoo]

In recruiting there are always a few juniors (and younger!) who absolutely know where they want to go and as soon as that school offers, they give a verbal commitment, but the vast majority of them do not have that ultimate one school (or that school has not yet offered them.) Typically juniors wait until after their HS season is over, and a lot wait well into summer. Some, like possibly a certain gem stone, may be waiting till after the HS season so that other players on her team get maximum exposure during the season. Others may want to get past the season before they really look at where they stand and what they want.
We have been occasionally lucky with early commits, but we have also been unlucky a few times when those early commits changed their minds. I suspect having been burned a couple of times on high profile commits, Geno is more likely to say to a recruit 'We really want you and here is an offer, but please think about this carefully - do not make a commitment yet unless you are really positive we are the right choice for you. The deadline on this offer is September (or sometime in the future, or there is no deadline) of your Senior year, so you do not have to feel any pressure to commit right now. We want you to make the right choice, not a quick choice.'

IIRC, after Jackie Gemelos de-committed, Geno established a new policy that discouraged kids from committing early, pretty much along the lines you've written here. Most recently, the verbal KML gave early has been discussed and she clearly made her commitment only when she was absolutely certain and saw no point in waiting, especially since I think she wanted to try to sell UConn to other recent commits. So her verbal was not an exception to Geno's new policy. And I would assume that the early verbals from Tuck and Stewart were similar to Kaleena's.

 

[Joe6cats]

[Please refrain from direct pitches to recruits. We should assume we are all "boosters" under NCAA rules, who are required to avoid communicating with prospects. Only athletics staff is allowed to recruit. This is a conservative position as regards shout-outs to players who may or may not be looking in on us. But if we've learned anything in recent years, it's that these pages can show up in complaints filed by those who want to "clarify the rules" at UConn's expense. - - JS]

Is it just me, or is the NCAA policy here just a bit cryptic? Is-it-a-charge-or-a-block can be a tough call, but the criteria are absolutely clear. Not so with "communicating with prospects", or even "direct pitches to recruits". How can these distinctions not be judgement calls? When several Boneyarders post about why so-and-so would make a great Husky, who can say there is no hope that the prospect will read it and agree? Or conversely that the remarks are completely innocent? Certainly everyone must avoid remarks that could be construed as recruiting, but where does it end? Is it unsafe to say anything enthusiastic about a recruit? I loved Biff's rendition of the lovely Ms. Chong in his glamorous take on Nike's new Husky uni, but could a malicious rival complain it flatters her? If anybody understands the line not to cross, I hope they'll clarify it.