How to Appraise a Recruit

I thought I’d write a piece on how I appraise recruits. It may not be sound scientifically but having watched people for 60 years it works well enough for me to write write this. LOL

Positives to look for

• The obvious thing to look for is Basketball skills. The ability to drop kick a 3 pointer ranks at the bottom but is part of my Basketball skills list.
• Grades. Given the skills level of players I want to play for Kentucky I rank grades the second most important thing. I don’t want a player who doesn’t have the ability to do two things at once.
• Family. One parent or two parents not important. Closeness very important. Educated athletic parents even more important.
• Social skills. This is a hard one to judge since we are talking teens. Given two players with the same skills I’d be prone to pick the one with the better social skills. I know its not fair given the background some kids come from but its a good indicator of a kids confidence level.
• Potential. Does a player have another growth spurt. Can they add weight and strength and still get better.

Negative things to look at

• Still trying to pass a SAT or ACT in May.
• The “my people” syndrome. To much baggage.