For me, the recruitment process was extremely stressful, just as it is for most student athletes. Trying to get college coaches to notice you and then performing well when they do is difficult and creates a lot of pressure. The process itself is complicated, as there is a plethora of rules and regulations that the school and players must follow in order to stay out of trouble. Throughout the years, different coaches and players have been involved in interesting recruiting situations.
My junior season, I was being recruited by a school for baseball. The talks were fairly serious for this specific school (Team A), and it was one that I was very interested in attending. During the baseball season, my favorite team growing up (Team B) had beaten this school in basketball. I, stupidly, then preceded to retweet and tweet things on Twitter in favor of Team B. The next day before practice, my coach pulled me aside and told me a coach from Team A had called him, as they had noticed my activities on social media and were concerned about my actual interest in going to their school. From then on, the talks about my recruitment with Team A died down and eventually dissipated. It was a valuable lesson for me, as everything you put on social media is magnified and seen by everybody, including prospective colleges, and it is certainly not a mistake I’ll make again.
Skip Thibault: Social Studies Teacher
In 2009, Skip Thibault, the AVID coordinator at the time, experienced the intensity and persistence of a prominent Southeastern Conference (SEC) school. After graduating from Northwood, one of Thibault’s former students did not make eligibility requirements for college, so he spent a year at Hargraves Military Academy in Virginia. That’s when the SEC school first made contact with Thibault.
“The first time [the offensive line coach] called me, I was at school, and I gave him my personal cell, as I knew the kid really well,” Thibault said. “I knew he had taken online classes, and they didn’t count them properly in the clearing house. And I think the mistake was made here.”
After numerous phone calls to Thibault and Northwood, including some with choice words for the school, the online classes were counted.
“They were relentless; they just wanted to find a way to make the numbers work to get him [eligible],” Thibault said. “[The school] has to be able to justify admitting that kid to school. I would say I probably had six phone calls from the guy from the SEC school. And I was getting a kick out of it when I was getting calls from a coach at a big time school.”
Cameron Vernon: Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach
In 2011, Cameron Vernon had a player by the name of Shelby Wolfe. She had an extremely successful high school career, scoring over 1,100 points.
“I had been emailing and sending tape out to Brevard College, because I thought she had a chance to play there,” Vernon said. “Brevard [was] a Division II school.”
Despite the persistence from Vernon, Brevard did not show any interest. Wolfe had visited Bluefield College and was about to sign when the head coach at Brevard called Vernon.
“Right when she was about to sign, the Brevard coach calls me and says, ‘Is Shelby still available? I saw she was All-State,” Vernon said. “And I said, ‘Yes, ma’am, she is,’ and she said, ‘I just had a girl quit, and I have scholarship money available.’”
Wolfe took a visit to Brevard and fell in love with it. She eventually signed and played four years there, becoming the all-time leading offensive rebounder.
“It was almost like it was meant to be,” Vernon said. “It was crazy, almost fake.”
Alex Hart: Former New Hanover High School Assistant Boys’ Basketball Coach
During Alex Hart’s tenure at 4A New Hanover High School in Wilmington, the basketball team went to the Final Four three times and won the state championship once. The year they won the championship, the team had one very good player, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard. That is relatively small for a shooting guard, which is why there are few of them in college basketball. According to Hart, the student was not getting much attention from any college programs.
“He was a tough kid and a very streaky shooter,” Hart said. “For the three weeks of the state playoffs, he did not miss. He shot 61 percent from three in the playoffs; he was on fire.”
When recruiting, colleges tend to listen to recruiting services and third party reporters/ scouts that they trust.
“Dave Telleb, who was the biggest national high school basketball scout at the time, was the color commentator for the TV network when we played the game,” Hart said. “So nobody in Division I basketball has heard of this kid, and he caught fire once again in the championship game.”
After the game, Telleb tweeted that there was a Division I caliber shooting guard from New Hanover High School. Overnight, the student athlete had seven to eight Division I programs come to watch him work out.
“It was amazing because of the cache that Telleb had at the time, and people trusted his evaluations,” Hart said. “One tweet started a two-week recruiting cycle for him.”
Matthew Brown: Former Basketball Coach at Dutch Fork High School in South Carolina
“About five years ago, I had a senior about 6-foot- 5, 6-foot-6 who could have played football, tight end, anywhere [he wanted],” Brown said. “His senior year, he decided to stop playing football and pursue basketball. His dream was to be a Division I basketball player.”
The athlete was getting recruited by some Division II programs, but his dream was still Division I. After the team made a playoff run to the elite eight, he got accepted into Winthrop College.
“I called the coach [at Winthrop] and talked to him about it, and he got a preferred walk-on spot there,” Brown said. “His sophomore year, he earned a full scholarship. He played there for four years, and although he didn’t get much playing time, he fulfilled his dream of playing Division I basketball.”
– By Davis Palermo
