<p>At the suggestion of a parent on another thread, I am starting this thread in the hope that other parents would learn from my mistakes in the recruiting process. All of what follows is, of course, free advice worth what you paid for it.</p>
<p>To give some context, S came very late as a basketball player (didn’t receive his first letter until after a tournament following the summer of his junior year) and I knew nothing about the process. He eventually did a PG year at a class B school in New England (I would be happy to answer any PMs about that experience). Had significant DII interest and some low DI interest, but is now playing at an academically rigorous school where basketball is taken very seriously.</p>
<p>My impressions:</p>
<li><p>The first invaluable resource is someone who knows the college basketball scene and will give you a brutally frank assessment of your child’s prospects. Such an assessment will allow your child to target his efforts at the appropriate level.</p></li>
<li><p>That having been said, I would avoid paid recruiting services like the plague.</p></li>
<li><p>While any exposure is good exposure, my feeling is that camps (including camps where only DII and DIII coaches are allowed) are generally better recruiting fora than AAU tournaments for players at my son’s level. When you are going the AAU route, do not necessarily choose the best team that will accept your child; the practices help, but you don’t get exposure sitting on the bench. One thing that we did not do enough is to call the coaches at targeted schools to see if he could work out with the players there.</p></li>
<li><p>Tape EVERYTHING. You’re not trying to generate a highlight film, but an 8-10 minute actual game segment that showcases your child at his best.</p></li>
<li><p>For DIII schools in particular, your child (not the parent) should call the coach, express interest, and tell the coach where he can come to see the child play. Follow with a tape.</p></li>
<li><p>Peak exposure times are in March and July, and there are many camps and tournaments going on at that time. If I had it to do over again, I would insist that S follow an unorthodox schedule. playing in exposure camps only in the first and last weeks of the July open period and hitting the gym real hard in between. By the end of July, everyone else will be worn by all the traveling and playing during that month, and your S will be fresh and eager to play in that last week’s tournament.</p></li>
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