Basketball recruiting coordinator?

Submitted by ThadMattasagoblin on

I wonder if Hackett would consider bringing on a recruiting coordinator for basketball to complement Beilein and our three assistants? This isn't meant to be a slight at Beilein. We have one of the best coaches and coaching staffs in all of college basketball. Their ability to find diamonds in the rough and turn them into stars is trememndous. Adding an individual solely in charge of recruiting would take our staff to a whole nother level. They could spend countless hours scouring high school basketball film for the next Caris Levert freeing up Beilein to spend more time with the current team and they could help potentially close the deal with guys like Jaylen Brown and Derryck Thornton. If Hackett is willing to provide the money for Harbaugh to assemble a support staff army I wonder if we could do the same for Beilein.  

814 East U

May 1st, 2015 at 11:34 PM ^

I think it would be awesome but not needed. We offer less than 10 guys each year and the staff probably knows who to target from various camps when these kids are in 8th grade. Finding the diamonds in the rough is definitely something else, but basketball recruiting is nothing compared to football. It is also a lot more shady though.

Pinky

May 1st, 2015 at 11:39 PM ^

I don't know about that, but I do think they really need to reevaluate their overall recruitng strategy.  It seems like we started targeting top-25 guys too quickly after our recent run of success instead of continuing to build with top-100 guys like Burke, Stauskus, and Hardaway.  That, or the interest in Michigan just isn't there right now, which would obviously be a much bigger problem.

OccaM

May 1st, 2015 at 11:40 PM ^

It seems like Beilein gets in on recruits super late in the game... like didn't Brown have to contact Beilein? 

 

When does that ever happen... 

It's like he's too passive when it comes to going toe to toe for the big time recruits. 

Pinky

May 1st, 2015 at 11:42 PM ^

I don't really know what the problem is, but when a shitty, irrelevant program like Cal is landing two top-5 recruits and Michigan is hauling in boatloads of three-stars, that's an issue.  I love Beilein, but it just is.

MichiganMAN47

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^

Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina also have serious recruiting deficiencies. A couple recruits missed does not define a program. You are choosing to focus on one missed five star when the truth is that Beilein has recruited a National Player of the year in Burke, a Big Ten player of the year in Stauskas, and a couple other first round picks all in the last five years. He's about to have a few more guys leave for the NBA in the next couple years.



Can we please stop with the idea that Beilein is somehow a deficient recruiter? It's ridiculous. He's probably been one of the best recruiters in the country in the last five years. One mediocre class, with Wagner, who could be really good, is not an indictment of Beilein.

lilpenny1316

May 2nd, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^

...and being a good recruiter are two different things.  He's a good talent evaluator, but he has not shown an ability to recruit four/five star talent consistently.  Amaker was able to recruit 3 star talent.  Even Ellerbe was able to recruit 3 star talent.  The difference is that Beilein is a far superior coach.  

Beilein is great, but not perfect.  And the area where he could use improvement is in recruiting battles for top flight talent.  Even if it means getting the basketball team their own chef.  I'm good with anything that's between the lines.

93Grad

May 2nd, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^

it is 2 straight and a serious chance 2016 will be as well.  We are striking out on all of our top targets and recruiting has gotten worse, not better, since our NC appearance.  That is cause for concern going forward until JB can stop the trend.

Tater

May 2nd, 2015 at 6:40 AM ^

When you run a clean program, you are playing a different recruiting "game" than other schools are.  It's just the way it goes.  One year of Jaylen Brown isn't going to make or break the University of Michigan, nor does his decision indicate any shortcomings in the coaching staff in regards to recruiting.  

It just means a 17 year-old kid decided to go somewhere else.

Sac Fly

May 2nd, 2015 at 7:48 AM ^

There no such thing as a clean basketball program. It's not 1950.

Players get paid regardless of what the coach wants and there is nothing JB or any other coach in the country can do about it. See: Nevin Shapiro.

Jinxed

May 2nd, 2015 at 2:31 AM ^

“You’ve got to recruit the best players that you can get," Beilein told guest hosts Larry Lage and Rico Beard. "If a guy is like a Kobe Bryant, and he comes and says, 'I’ve dreamed my whole life of going to Michigan, but I’m only going to be there one year,' that is a different thing to us than we’re in the top-10 list of this guy who’s a sure one-and-done.

“You can lose really good players slotted right behind him chasing that one. So, we try to choose our battles very carefully, as to who we’re going to recruit with the really super prospects.

“It’s Michigan. We should be recruiting the best players we can get. That Michigan brand is huge, so we can get really good players, but same time, you have to be really careful how you balance it.”

ThadMattasagoblin

May 1st, 2015 at 11:43 PM ^

I didn't say they needed to reevaluate their recruiting stategy. Having someone else also working on recruiting seems like a net positive even if your coach is John Wooden. It minimizes the work that each individual needs to do. Just look at Harbaugh hiring Partridge, Mama Gwen,  the colonel, the St. Ed's guy etc.

justingoblue

May 2nd, 2015 at 1:38 AM ^

I'm all for anything that helps the team win (exploiting that money advantage is vital), but I don't know if the football analogy works.

Basketball has 15 guys on roster, football 115. I don't know how well it translates on the administrative side, but basketball has a coach for every 3.75 players, football the numbers are one for every 10.5. Like someone said above, football sends out 100+ offers, with basketball usually around 10% of that and some years less.

His Dudeness

May 1st, 2015 at 11:42 PM ^

He didn't mean to make you cry.
With sparks that ring and bullets fly.
One empty rings around your heart
The world just screams and falls apart

His Dudeness

May 1st, 2015 at 11:46 PM ^

Sweet communist
The communist daughter
Standing on the sea-weed water
Semen stains the mountain tops
Semen stains the mountain tops
With cocoa leaves along the border
Sweetness sings from every corner
Cars careening from the clouds
The bridges burst and twist around
And wanting something warm and moving
Bends towards herself the soothing
Proves that she must still exist
She moves herself about her fist
Sweet communist
The communist daughter
Standing on the sea-weed water
Semen stains the mountain tops
Semen stains the mountain tops

Edit LyricsEdit WikiAdd Video

His Dudeness

May 1st, 2015 at 11:47 PM ^

If you go down to the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to the woods today
You'd better go in disguise.

For ev'ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Ev'ry teddy bear who's been good
Is sure of a treat today.
There's lots of marvelous things to eat
And wonderful games to play.

Beneath the trees where nobody sees
They'll hide and seek as long as they please
Cause that's the way the teddy bears have their picnic.

If you go down to the woods today
You'd better not go alone.
It's lovely down in the woods today
But safer to stay at home.

For ev'ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday.

See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout;
They never have any care;

At six o'clock their mummies and daddies,
Will take them home to bed,
Because they're tired little teddy bears.

alum96

May 1st, 2015 at 11:56 PM ^

Do you really believe John Beilein is losing top 30 recruiting battles because he is holed up in his office watching tape of 2 stars to find a jewel?  You hear his name at all the same camps as other coaches, and at these top kids HS games.  Some guys are just better salesmen than others - it is what it is.  There are very competent people in every organization who are damn good at their job but not as good selling themselves.  Then there are people who are great at selling themselves but quite average at doing their jobs (that is more like a Thad Matta type IMO).

I don't think John is stressed for time because he'd rather watch film on player #380 in the country.  This is not football - its a very small pool we target.

A better question to me is would it be better for UM basketball as a whole if 1 of the assistant coaches is let go, and traded for a guy who is a Thad Matta jr type personality.  (Not Jordan IMO but one of the other 2).  Meyer is supposed to be a good recruiter - but who knows.  You might get a wash or a small step back in game development or player development from that 1 coaching position but you have Jordan and Beilein for that ....and then you get a better level of raw material brought in by said salesman assistant coach.

 

ThadMattasagoblin

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:03 AM ^

I have no doubt Beilein will be fine without it but there are really no disadvantages to actually having one. Supposedly Trey Burke was the one who alerted Belein to Levert and we may have missed on him if Trey didn't come here. If you have someone hauled up working on this stuff, you'll find more diamond in the rough players. Having somebody look at thousands of high school bball players in the midwest could help find even more under the radar players.

Mr. Yost

May 1st, 2015 at 11:50 PM ^

In fact, I don't know of one team in the country that has a recruiting coordinator. Most schools just have a coach that primarily recruits.

If you find one for basketball, let me know (honestly, because I don't know of any).

Usually you have your head coach and his assistants, then you have your DOBO and Video Coordinator. Then some teams have a special assistant to the head coach or assistant DOBO. 

Never seen a recruiting coordinator - only in football. Like I said, in all other sports it's an assistant coach.

Marley Nowell

May 1st, 2015 at 11:55 PM ^

This was not a $$$ issue otherwise he would be at UK. For whatever reason he felt most comfortable at Cal and this in on way reflects poorly on Beilien.

Frank Booth

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^

I wouldn't go that far. there are plenty of reasons he may have chosen Cal. 1) Michigan's rotation is really deep, 2) awesome weather in the Bay Area, 3) Berkeley being so close to San Francisco and Oakland, 4) solid academics.

Jaylen Brown is going to be a lottery pick regardless of which team he chose tonight. I'm also bummed he chose to go somewhere else, but at least it wasn't Kentucky.

Jimmyisgod

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:04 AM ^

Love our team and our coach, but it takes sustained success to reel in top recruits regularly and even then you will lose some. Brow went to Cal for who knows what reason, but you have to be in on several of the top recruits to land 1 or 2 a class. We made a Final 4 and a Final 8 in the last few years, but that hardly makes us a national power. Big season coming up, compete in the conference and make a good run in the tourney and we'll be that much closer to being a power again.

DISCUSS Man

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:05 AM ^

why are you always so concerned with such ridiculous shit?

spring practice attendance, game day locker rooms that are used 8 times a year and now 'crootin starz even though John Beilein has gone 83-27 and 40-14 in the B1G since 2011 when everyone and their brother aren't injured?

They had one top star recruit during the time period and he wasn't even the best player on the team. it's called coaching. be thankful Michigan has it in Football and Basketball for the first time since the mid 90s.

ThadMattasagoblin

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:18 AM ^

I don't lose sleep or anything. We'll be fine. Look at what the national champions do to get to where they are. Ohio State and Alabama have had ridiculous amounts of people at their spring games for years and pull in 4 and 5 stars at their spring game weekends. There are no downsides to having lots of people at a game in April when other schools nearly fill their stadiums. It looks good to a prospective football player. Alabama has fountains in their football development buildings and recruits like it I guess. Again. No downside to gaining a small advantage like that. Recruiting coordinators and support staff? Harbaugh has added like 6 people in this capacity and I think he knows something about winning. Again no disadvantages . You gain every small advantage to win where you can.

ThadMattasagoblin

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:28 AM ^

I didn't say that Beilein doesn't what he's doing. I suggested a way that we could be even better. Harbaugh could probably win a lot of games here coaching out of a van but he surrounds himself with an army of guys each with a specific job to increase the chance of winning slighly even if it's a minute improvement.

Frank Booth

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:10 AM ^

I wouldn't mind hearing more of an explanation on Bacari Alexander's bizarre Twitter activity in the past few days. I don't think for one moment that Alexander was the reason that Brown decided on Cal, but I do find Coach Alexander's tweet and unfollowing of Jaylen Brown somewhat strange.

LSAClassOf2000

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:28 AM ^

Someone who knows more than me can probably answer this a little better, but I think the staffing levels for basketball are - by NCAA definition - lower and for most teams it is easier to have one of the assistants handle this particular function, if indeed we're talking about a full-time coordinator as most football teams seem to have. 

Honk if Ufer M…

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:36 AM ^

The bigger a superstar you are and the younger that starts, the easier it is to get a big head, be an arrogant dick, be prior to Madonna, or be a headache one way or another. Beilein doesn't like dealing with that, he has said so.

That means that he's limiting himself to a smaller percentage of the obvious top talent compared to what other coaches do. I'm sure if he was targetting bunches of top guys every year he'd get his share of them, but he's only going after the guys he thinks fit in with the other guys and fit what he wants and fit his system. That's a lot of constraint on who he goes after.

That's on top of having the higher academic standards than most top programs and trying to be clean. It's just not a recipe for bringing in Kentucky style classes. Only Duke has been able to do what we want to do here on a consistent basis.

To get more of these guys we'd have to go after more of them and Beilein isn't willing to do it.

Baceo Maston

May 2nd, 2015 at 12:55 AM ^

By NCAA rules only the head coach and 3 asst coaches can have contact with recruits.  So a recruiting coordinator wouldnt be allowed in basketball unless you want to give up an asst coach.

Roc Blue in the Lou

May 2nd, 2015 at 1:50 AM ^

The coordinator would be helpful if he can A)  Dissuade kids from 1 and done NBA-itis; B)  Change the focus of recruiting to the worth of the DEGREE and not the Final Four; and C)  Convince kids that AA is Cali-lite.  Oh, so we really need a hypnotist...

Froop

May 2nd, 2015 at 8:57 AM ^

Can someone post a thread for me? I just received this off of the wire, and it should be hitting news outlets within the next 30 minutes.

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