The times they are a-changin.
Whether talking to old-school coaches and fans who once descended on Morris in the late 1980s or 1990s for the high-profile Morris Shootout, or those who frequented the local shootouts at Riverside-Brookfield or Ridgewood in recent years, when there was an opportunity for college coaches to evaluate talent at an Illinois event, they came in droves.
The start of the June Live Periods to evaluate players with their high school teams began in 2019. This was a significant shift in the NCAA recruiting calendar. For many years prior, offseason evaluations were done by attending events on the AAU/club circuit in April, May and July.
When the doors initially opened seven years ago to watch players at high school/scholastic events, college coaches at all levels — from low-major Division I programs to high-major ones — flocked to the high school events here in Illinois.
That wasn’t the case last month.
The number of college coaches attending the Illinois “live” events was considerably down over the six days at the two local events, first at Riverside-Brookfield from June 12-14 and then at Ridgewood from June 26-28.
The sense of urgency in recruiting high school players has changed drastically. There is almost a laissez-faire approach to it now. Time sensitivity in recruiting is gone, and the importance of even getting it right with a recruit seems to have even subsided.
The whole process, compared to decades of previous experience, just seems bizarre and outlandish as a result of several factors.
First, roster management has never been more up in the air for college coaches. They truly are not sure of what their needs will be.
The constant movement of players via the portal is an obvious hindrance in roster construction from year to year. But the advent of the new age-based eligibility model, allowing Division I student-athletes up to five years of eligibility, really throws roster management for a loop.
While many coaches know players will again be on the move using the transfer portal next spring, they also head into this season knowing that they potentially could return nearly every player on the roster due to NCAA’s eligibility overhaul.
That’s the first reason for a slower-paced recruiting process for the current Class of 2027.
Another is college coaches simply aren’t fired up for the high school basketball player. This began five years ago when thousands of players started entering the portal when the NCAA allowed transfers to play immediately at their next school.
When talking with many, it’s almost as if some are reluctantly filling up roster spots with high school recruits. They simply want older, more mature and seasoned college players over incoming freshmen.
And finally, the Class of 2027 in Illinois simply has fewer Division I prospects than what we’re accustomed to in this state historically. Without a surplus of Division I seniors, the college coaches are choosing to spend time elsewhere.
Plus, with such a small number of high-major prospects in the class, the amount of coaches attending from high-major conferences were miniscule. However, that would have been much different if the likes of former local stars Davion Thompson, Jaxson Davis and Devin Cleveland had not left for prep schools.
What’s also been displaced is evaluating younger players. Unless you’re a surefire high-major prospect as a sophomore or junior, laying eyes on underclassmen is becoming obsolete for college coaching staffs, especially the head coach.
Thus, with the senior class scarce of Division I talent, and it’s become frivolous to spend time watching underclassmen, the number of college coaches attending events this past June was bound to be smaller.