One of the best parts about my job is hearing about the little, seemingly random stories from the recruiting trail and how they led one program and one player together.
One example? Delaware head coach Monte Ross was looking for a shooter at a tournament. As he was walking past a court to a different gym, he saw a kid hit a three. By the time they reached the end of the court, the kid had hit another three. He ended up going for 40 points in the game. Delaware ended up offering him and signing him. His name was Kyle Anderson, and while he didn’t have a profile on Rivals or ESPN, he started 30 games and averaged 8.9 points as a freshman.
Another example? Jae Crowder. Buzz Williams went to see him play in a Junior College game. Crowder had three first half fouls and finished with three points and four boards. He was awful. But he also spent evert second on the bench cheering on his teammates, leading them off the bench to dole out high-fives during timeouts. He was a great teammates. And that is why Williams offered him a scholarship, which netted him a Big East Player of the Year.
Why do I bring this up?
Because Mike Rothstein of ESPN.com wrote an intriguing story on Michigan’s recruiting system on Monday. They way they do things is a bit odd. All of their assistants evaluate and recruit all of their targets. They have a scoring system that they refuse to divulge. They’d rather recruit players that aren’t ranked all that highly than the guys that every scouting service loves. They won’t offer a player a scholarship until they’ve taken an unofficial visit to the school, until head coach John Beilein has seen them play in person and until June 15th after their sophomore season.
The most interesting nugget, however, can be found here:
When [assistant coach Bacari] Alexander visits a player’s school, he searches for “indicators” about a player. To do so, he seeks out three people: the academic advisor, who can often give a broader-based picture of a player’s academics and family situation; the cafeteria worker; and the custodial staff.
More than any other people in the school, the latter two often silently observe prospects among their peers. They see a player interact when no one is watching. Alexander’s best example: Mitch McGary at Brewster Academy (N.H.).
Alexander spoke to Brewster’s groundskeeper and was told a story about a freshman bawling when his parents dropped him off the first day of school. McGary spotted the kid from a distance, stopped his conversation and ran to him, consoled him and brought him into school with his group of friends.
“Now if that is not a testament to a young man’s character,” Alexander said. “Where he’s the life of the gathering and is unselfish enough to notice somebody is in need of comfort. To do that was very telling to the groundskeeper.
“As a result, it was very telling to us.”
How about that?
McGary was a revelation during the 2013 NCAA tournament, making everyone remember why he was, at one point, a top two player in the Class of 2012.
And you have to wonder: if it wasn’t for that groundskeeper’s story, does he end up at Michigan?
You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.
