Well, I am thinking about making the next steup up to D2.  I think I had a pretty good handle on recruiting in D3 (pulldowns, visits, etc.).  Can anybody take a minute to inform me on what is some big differences in D2?  I know I am going to have more money, but as far as pulldowns, distances, etc. what are some things I should be aware of?

If anybody wanted to touch on ineligibles that would be great too!  Thanks!

I feel like I can write a lot more that I'm going to, because it would take some time.  

Generally I'd say DII is the same mindset as DIII, except you have more money.  Which means 2 main things, at DII you can actually afford to battle for players, but be smart about it, and you can be more aggressive about pull downs, both that you shouldn't be afraid to try it the 1st cycle if you think the player will give you a back up message and you can pull down from greater distances.

Also the quality of players and options out there are just better, and even though the top DIII players would all be great at DII, recruiting at DII you will have the opportunity for players who have better starting ratings and can make some impact right away.  But you also have to raise your standards.  For example, at DIII I'd play a player at guard with 60 speed, at DII I won't play a guard with under 70 speed.

And instead of writing all my DII strategies out, I may post some more for you later, I'll just finish by answering your ineligible question.  Ineligibles, if you sign them, will either go juco and you will have to take a walk on, or show up on your team and sit the first season with no practice and no growth at all, but then play 4 seasons after.  It's generally accepted that the more money you put into an ineligible, the more likely he is to show up.  So if you sign him for $110, odds are he's going juco.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.  I don't want to call myself the expert, but I have a few DII titles, and am consistently competitive.

Thanks Dan!

I've played a lot more D3 than D2, but the main difference, other than the different ratings standards, was battles with the next division up.  I think most people in D3 are far too scared to battle D2 schools; in many cases they may still be at an advantage, and in many other cases the D2 coach isn't willing to commit to the battle and may give up the recruit to a bit of stiff resistance anyway.  Once you get to know the coaches in your world, you can often guess well enough to sometimes make it worth the risk.  The money and prestige gaps are both far bigger between D2 and D1 than D3 and D2, though.  Some people have successfully battled D1 schools with D2 schools, but the circumstances need to be incredibly favorable, and in most cases if your pulldown target starts considering a D1 school, you just have to give him up.  So for sufficiently elite recruits, you may need to temper what Dan talked about - greater money to pulldown early - with the knowledge that you may not want to spend too many resources on a player who could become effectively unavailable to you at any time until signings.

At what time do recruits stop "testing" therefore if they are ineligible they have no chance of becoming eligible?

There's a round of tests after signings, which is why there is always a slight risk of promising an ineligible a start.  However, players rarely become eligible between signings and the season start, so the risk is very small.

Posted by darnoc29099 on 12/12/2015 7:45:00 AM (view original):
There's a round of tests after signings, which is why there is always a slight risk of promising an ineligible a start.  However, players rarely become eligible between signings and the season start, so the risk is very small.

Thanks darnoc!

I still have to spend decent money to get him to come to campus though, correct?  Or is that just D1?

There's a very loose positive correlation between money spent and likeliness of reporting to campus.