I talked to an experience coach, and he told me straight up : Under 30, I am not even considering the player. I took a player on one of my team, he had 7 WE, but all the good stats, all the blues in the right spot. He never really developped and lost points between seasons. The logic of the coach I talked to was, he won't get his IQ up fast enough to contribute, and he was right about that. He is still C+/C+ on defense and offense. While is stats are still really appealing, I Wonder how much he contributes really with that IQ of his.

I am presently recruiting in one league, I have a good prospect i'd like, this time he has 23 WE. He will develop both rebounding and lp¸(blues), key stats and his allright defensively. Would you recruit the player?

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I am willing to go down to 20 WE, but only on players that will truly be studs and I know that I he is decent enough to be a 4 year starter

I too don't like to go under 30...TrentonJoe will say otherwise, but I don't think his low WE guys ever really turn out that great.  They never max out and their progress is slow.

Posted by colonels19 on 12/27/2014 9:44:00 AM (view original):
I too don't like to go under 30...TrentonJoe will say otherwise, but I don't think his low WE guys ever really turn out that great.  They never max out and their progress is slow.

For me it's kind of a sliding scale.  30 is the low point for 4-year guys who might develop over a long period.  If they're really good already, I'll go down to 20.

But it also depends on how much I think they're going to play.  Here's my current starting PG who had a WE of 14 or 15 when I signed him.  He's a 2-year transfer and filled a massive need for me at his position.  It was a combination of desperation and convenience:

whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx

A big part of the low WE debate also depends on whether or not you can afford to redshirt the kid and/or start him from day 1.  If you're rebuilding and can afford to start freshman right away, then it's probably worth the gamble.  But if you plan on competing for a title this year and can only give the kid a few minutes each game, then you need to live with the fact he won't develop very quickly.

At D3, I had a big with an overall rating of 450 and WE of 18 when he signed.  Started him every game of his career and he finished at 670 overall, which included 75ath, 90+ reb, 90+ LP, 70def, 70sb.  No one fought me for the kid (likely because of his low WE), but I would have taken him on a D2 team, let alone a D3 team.  

Posted by colonels19 on 12/27/2014 9:44:00 AM (view original):
I too don't like to go under 30...TrentonJoe will say otherwise, but I don't think his low WE guys ever really turn out that great.  They never max out and their progress is slow.

Colonels, I don't tend to go myself on where they max out ... but where they finish.  If they are still a damn good player but have potential left on the table, so what ... they are still a damn good player, unused potential or not.
I have gone as low as 20, if it was a player with really high potential in only one or two categories.  The more distributed or spread out their potential is, the higher I tend to want their WE to be ...

Typically I look for 33+. I'll go lower (down to 20ish) if it's a bad rebuild and I can afford to redshirt and then start the guy right away. Even a guy in the mid 20s can still pretty much max out going into his senior year then, because that WE will get into the 50s.

You sir, have perhaps the best username in the history of man...rofl!

Posted by bathtubhippo on 12/27/2014 11:13:00 AM (view original):
Typically I look for 33+. I'll go lower (down to 20ish) if it's a bad rebuild and I can afford to redshirt and then start the guy right away. Even a guy in the mid 20s can still pretty much max out going into his senior year then, because that WE will get into the 50s.

Max WE gain is 7-8 pts a season at that low starting level so a 20 WE will most likely finish just under 50.

I won't go under 30 and prefer 35. I am a ratings growth guy, so I don't have the patience to coach low WE guys. I don't like starting a freshman because her's a low WE guy. I learned as a RL human coach your better off spending the majority of your coaching effort in your team from the top down, instead of the bottom up.

I can live with the 20+.  I am more likely to take a guy like that with my D3 press team, since it doesn't seem to matter as much who starts with press defense and so many players are getting PT.  Like darnoc, I have seen very solid growth and I will often start the guy from day 1 or redshirt and then start them after that.

Posted by mullycj on 12/27/2014 11:47:00 AM (view original):

Posted by bathtubhippo on 12/27/2014 11:13:00 AM (view original):
Typically I look for 33+. I'll go lower (down to 20ish) if it's a bad rebuild and I can afford to redshirt and then start the guy right away. Even a guy in the mid 20s can still pretty much max out going into his senior year then, because that WE will get into the 50s.

Max WE gain is 7-8 pts a season at that low starting level so a 20 WE will most likely finish just under 50.

yep, more or less. here's the one example i have on a current team. redshirted and then started right away on a really bad team. started at 26 WE, up to 54 WE now (was 48 at the beginning of the season) but going into his senior year he was effectively maxed out (only stamina remains black).  www.whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/RatingsHistory.aspx

Yeah maybe it has to do with the guy starting. If you start the guy, it's WE should go up... So it's not all true or false, you have to analyze your team's situation before you get a guy with low WE.

Have a D3 big that started every game as a freshman. Conference freshman of the year. WE was 12 when he started the season; 16 at the end--he is ready to start soph year. Picked up 23 points during the season, other than the gain of four in WE--and lost six during the summer.
Just have the feeling that HD has made advancement a little more dependent on WE in one of those unannounced tweaks, and will be paying even more attention to WE than previously. This guy may well make big strides in WE, but won't bet the ranch on it, though he may develop into a conference all-star at some point.

I just took a JUCO for a D3 squad who had a WE of only 1. He scouted well in my off and def and rated out as a D2 prospect. He is not really improving, as I expected him to not, but I was happy with where he already was. This is the only way I would take someone so low, if they were already at an acceptable level. I would never take a D3 Freshman with a WE lower than 25ish.