How big of an impact does work ethic have on player improvement?

When I look for players, the only criteria I set up is WE>50.  That is the definition of Work Ethic.  Anyone under 10 may improve only 5-10 pts a season.

I think the only other parts that go into that is time practiced and playing time on the court for motivation. 

there's a huge group of stars who have WE between 30 and 49 that I'll take if you don't want them

You would know better than I.  What I do know is under 30 is pretty sketchy.

In a player who still has room to grow, their improvement will be based solely on WE.  Playing time will (slowly) improve WE, but don't expect a hell of a lot of growth.

I don't recruit anyone with a WE less than 15-20 anymore, all they do is frustrate me.

Posted by raucous on 8/12/2013 9:03:00 PM (view original):
When I look for players, the only criteria I set up is WE>50.  That is the definition of Work Ethic.  Anyone under 10 may improve only 5-10 pts a season.

I think the only other parts that go into that is time practiced and playing time on the court for motivation. 

50 is way too high of a minimum IMO.  You should strongly consider changing your searches to include players in at least the 30's.

If I redshirt an incoming freshmen, how much should I expect his work ethic to drop?

Posted by jd1234 on 8/13/2013 5:56:00 PM (view original):
If I redshirt an incoming freshmen, how much should I expect his work ethic to drop?

That all depends.  If you inform him during the recruiting process, and he still signs, his WE wont drop.  You can also apply a redshirt without warning him, and he may respond negatively (and his WE would drop) or me may not.  If his WE drops and you don't want the lower WE , you CAN pull the redshirt and it will go back to where it was.

Also, I believe WE will determine how fast a player reaches his ceiling.  Potential (gleaned from scouting reports) tells you how high that ceiling is.

Posted by jc1796 on 8/13/2013 6:34:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jd1234 on 8/13/2013 5:56:00 PM (view original):
If I redshirt an incoming freshmen, how much should I expect his work ethic to drop?

That all depends.  If you inform him during the recruiting process, and he still signs, his WE wont drop.  You can also apply a redshirt without warning him, and he may respond negatively (and his WE would drop) or me may not.  If his WE drops and you don't want the lower WE , you CAN pull the redshirt and it will go back to where it was.

Also, I believe WE will determine how fast a player reaches his ceiling.  Potential (gleaned from scouting reports) tells you how high that ceiling is.

Assuming that you didn't inform during recruiting, then there are some factors that determine whether he will have any WE drop:  Is he a freshman or in a later class?  Are there upperclassmen listed at the same position, only a sophomore (for example) or none?  Is his OVR rating at the lower end, if not the lowest on your team?  

If you have a freshman, that is behind a couple seniors at his listed position and his OVR total is the lowest on your team, then he'll probably accept the shirt with no drop at all.   The same factors probably contribute to the likelihood of smaller (3-7 point drops).  If you are trying to redshirt a freshman that is your only listed SF and is close to your team average OVR, then you are less likely to avoid a drop.   Again, I think the amount is a random, but may be based on the same factors.  

I'll take guys with a WE of 20 or above. I've been very successful with 20-29 WE guys if they come in with enough talent, and I can play them early. Obviously 40 and above WE is what I am looking for - but I also often find gems between 20 and 40. 

I agree with clouse, bbunch, etc. I'll even search down to a WE of 15. At less than 15, the returns are probably too slow to justify recruiting the player, unless his starting values are so good that improvement doesn't matter... I currently have a guy on my D3 Elmhurst squad who I recruited with a WE of 15, 4 seasons ago. He has pretty much started every game for the past 3 seasons and begins his Sr year with a WE of 28, having improved each year by 4 or 5 points... He will leave plenty of points on the table, but despite the low WE, his overall total has improved by 40-50 points per year and he should end up 180-200 points overall from where he began 4 seasons ago.  whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx Not sure if that link will work... With that being said, he would have come much closer to maxing out if his WE began over 30 or 40, although I suspect he would have been much more sought after during recruiting