Summer Schedule Changes Help College Coaches

Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/article/20120707/SPORTS06/207070403/Summer-schedule-changes-make-recruiting-easier-on-college-basketball-coaches

As college basketball coaches continue to tinker with their rules and restrictions, the summer schedule has changed.

July won’t require long stretches on the road. Instead of the previous two 10-day stretches, this year coaches will travel July 11-15, July 18-22 and July 25-29 to evaluate prospects in AAU tournaments.

“It’s going to be interesting because it used to go to 10 days, you had your schedule and everybody got beat up in 10 days, but you just stayed on, U-M coach John Beilein said. I’m really looking forward to leaving on Wednesday, come home Sunday night, regroup, coach our (current) guys on Monday and Tuesday.

“Monday and Tuesday will be our skill development time, then we’ll do (the recruiting) again. It gives you time to come back, regroup and do it again. There were days in recruiting where you say, ‘I just need a day at the office right now to find out that (prospective) kid’s grades. But I can’t miss this game.’ Now there’s two days to do that every week.”

In addition to the evaluations, now coaches may contact players more freely via e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and Twitter.

“It’s still hard to believe, said Beilein, who didn’t flood prospects at midnight when the rule went into place June 15, instead waiting until later in the day. It’s much easier to communicate. We will do everything we can to keep it (realistic).

“When we recruit kids, we ask, ‘How do you want to be recruited?’ Want us (to) text every day? We’ll text every day. You want us to call every day? We’ll do that. If they don’t want that, we don’t want that. So this is a great chance for men’s basketball, all the coaches, to demonstrate how well we can handle this freedom that we have now to recruit without worrying about how many phone calls we made or charting every phone call. And compliance, it was time consuming for them as well.”

Summer Schedule Changes Help College Coaches

Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/article/20120707/SPORTS06/207070403/Summer-schedule-changes-make-recruiting-easier-on-college-basketball-coaches

As college basketball coaches continue to tinker with their rules and restrictions, the summer schedule has changed.

July won’t require long stretches on the road. Instead of the previous two 10-day stretches, this year coaches will travel July 11-15, July 18-22 and July 25-29 to evaluate prospects in AAU tournaments.

“It’s going to be interesting because it used to go to 10 days, you had your schedule and everybody got beat up in 10 days, but you just stayed on, U-M coach John Beilein said. I’m really looking forward to leaving on Wednesday, come home Sunday night, regroup, coach our (current) guys on Monday and Tuesday.

“Monday and Tuesday will be our skill development time, then we’ll do (the recruiting) again. It gives you time to come back, regroup and do it again. There were days in recruiting where you say, ‘I just need a day at the office right now to find out that (prospective) kid’s grades. But I can’t miss this game.’ Now there’s two days to do that every week.”

In addition to the evaluations, now coaches may contact players more freely via e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and Twitter.

“It’s still hard to believe, said Beilein, who didn’t flood prospects at midnight when the rule went into place June 15, instead waiting until later in the day. It’s much easier to communicate. We will do everything we can to keep it (realistic).

“When we recruit kids, we ask, ‘How do you want to be recruited?’ Want us (to) text every day? We’ll text every day. You want us to call every day? We’ll do that. If they don’t want that, we don’t want that. So this is a great chance for men’s basketball, all the coaches, to demonstrate how well we can handle this freedom that we have now to recruit without worrying about how many phone calls we made or charting every phone call. And compliance, it was time consuming for them as well.”