Posted by shoe3 on 2/1/2022 9:34:00 AM (view original):
Tex is right, it is almost entirely dependent on what coaches are in the world with you, and where they are. Recruit gen does play a part, because the quantity and quality of the no-star guys in your backyard you can summon up for cheap does matter, but the truth is that D1 scouting and recruiting budgets are large enough that you always have to assume there are other guys keeping an eye on your gems, and it is really no problem to come in from more than 500 miles away.

Every location is going to have advantages and disadvantages based on geography and recruit gen, magnified by the specific world population. The key is always going to be figuring out how to effectively battle those around you *when you need to*, and what rocks to turn over to find the hidden gems in your world.

This 100%. You may be in a competitive area (midwest and northeast are very dense with D3 schools) but you just have to get creative with where you recruit in those situations. For example, knowing that the Northwest and Florida aren't going to have a ton of local competition at the D3 level, it can be a place where you can throw some resources when scouting.

You still have to be smart with your $$$ - knowing at D3 you won't be able to throw a dozen home visits and a campus visit if you're 800+ miles away but you still may discover a gem that the better teams just don't have openings to sign. When I've coached schools in the northeast in the past I almost always scouted Florida and oftentimes I'd scout Canada too and wind up grabbing guys from far over in the northwest provinces that schools out there overlooked.

I always thought Colorado got an absurd amount of quality D1 recruits. It seems like CU is usually an A+ prestige in the worlds that I play in, despite not having an elite baseline prestige. There's also some really good coaches there too. Same with the Texas schools (UT, A&M, TTU).

Posted by mlitney on 2/1/2022 11:30:00 AM (view original):
I always thought Colorado got an absurd amount of quality D1 recruits. It seems like CU is usually an A+ prestige in the worlds that I play in, despite not having an elite baseline prestige. There's also some really good coaches there too. Same with the Texas schools (UT, A&M, TTU).

I agree with this 100%. They treat the state Colorado as if it's the mecca of basketball in HD!

some other things to add..... 1) I agree with cub that Nebraska isn't horrible at all. It is in a remote area, but i see decent recruits in the area. 2) the random state of Iowa seems to get elite talent compared to what I personally would expect Iowa to produce. 3) Alabama is similar. I think the case with the State of Alabama is that they have lots of low D1 schools. So the more players produced in a state, the higher the odds are that there will be some elites mixed in.

Those are the ones that stand out to me.

I coached in Colorado for 10ish seasons. Its definitely a nice place to recruit. That said, I think its alittle overblown how many good recruits are generated there which is typically 1 or 2 elite guys a season. What is a HUGE advantage is the nearest elite schools are 900+ miles away (UCLA, Zona and Kansas) and there are no big 6 schools within 700 miles. You are also often the closest big 6 school to elite recruits in WY, UT and MT which is also good for one a season-ish. A good Utah team can be a pest, but theres enough for 2 elite teams in that region. So I think the advantage lies in once Colorado gets to that A range they have the clout to scare away basically anyone in a major conference with a distance (and therefore significant pricing) advantage.

This assessment brought to you by the dumb dumb who left Colorado as soon as he got in that A range.

Posted by texashick on 1/31/2022 3:40:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hockey1984 on 1/31/2022 3:37:00 PM (view original):
Why is everyone so big on Colorado and PBAU in D3?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&mid=1kbUc9t84nFETwawUWsgUbU02QXQ&ll=37.97723816789904%2C-95.610838&z=4

Are there similar maps for D1/D2? Would be interesting to see

Posted by baseball4309 on 1/31/2022 10:11:00 AM (view original):
I'm at UNC Asheville with one of my teams. I've noticed North Carolina is especially hard to recruit. I find myself battling for in-state recruits with the southeastern teams, northeast teams, and it seems there are more D1 schools in NC than in other states.

On the flip side, are there any states that are easier to recruit?

Just think about all the ACC schools alone that are in North Carolina - UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State. Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech (ACC) and South Carolina (SEC) are very close. There are five North Carolina schools in the Southern Conference. Competition is extremely difficult for any local recruits, especially if you have great coaches at those ACC schools. Props to anyone who can build a school like UNC Asheville to a perennial 20-game winner. I think North Carolina has to be the toughest state to recruit in.

I've had experience recruiting from schools in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida. It's definitely a challenge to recruit in PA. Even if you're at Penn State, like I was, if you have good coaches at Syracuse and Maryland you're going to be in a fight for every top PA recruit. But, I was able to take Robert Morris, a team from the Pittsburgh suburbs, to the Final Four, so it's possible. Florida is very tough to recruit if you have good coaches at Florida, FSU and Miami. Texas can be a challenge for the tip-top recruits in the state, but there are so many recruits there that you can build a good team with the leftovers.

The area between California and the Mississippi River can be really good recruiting grounds, as long as you don't have too many human coaches nearby.

Posted by keeper24 on 2/1/2022 8:45:00 PM (view original):

Posted by texashick on 1/31/2022 3:40:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hockey1984 on 1/31/2022 3:37:00 PM (view original):
Why is everyone so big on Colorado and PBAU in D3?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&mid=1kbUc9t84nFETwawUWsgUbU02QXQ&ll=37.97723816789904%2C-95.610838&z=4

Are there similar maps for D1/D2? Would be interesting to see

https://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?topicID=486314

Posted by ja_tbfl on 1/31/2022 8:44:00 PM (view original):

Posted by baseball4309 on 1/31/2022 7:56:00 PM (view original):

Posted by ja_tbfl on 1/31/2022 7:33:00 PM (view original):

Posted by baseball4309 on 1/31/2022 5:29:00 PM (view original):

Posted by ja_tbfl on 1/31/2022 4:14:00 PM (view original):
Not that WIS will do this (or even can without throwing a huge wrench into things), but it would be interesting to see schools realigned into their current divisions. The PBA advantage just made me think about that again.

I've been thinking this as well. My college was NAIA when they made HD but are D2 now. It'd be cool if they were added and the conferences were realigned. It would create a major stir though for sure.

Where did you play?

I played baseball at Emmanuel College in GA. They have an excellent D2 basketball program.

Yep, I remember when Emmanuel (along with a fair amount of others) were making the NAIA-to-D2 transition. I've worked at both NAIA and D2 schools so I've always had an interest in basketball at those levels. In fact, I believe the last athletic department I worked in played Emmanuel in men's basketball a few years ago.

What was the last athletic department that you worked in if you don’t mind me asking?