is it possible for a d- team to recruit 3 star players? if i am battling a B+ D1 prestige team from the same distance; would i have to spend 2, 3X as much?   thanks for the info. just moving up to d1 and appreciate any tips on the level of players that may show up on my recruiting list when recruiting begins.

Not possible. I don't even think you'll be able to sign 1-star players.

To answer your other question (D- vs. B+), I would say at least 3X as much, and probably more.

If conventional wisdom - that a grade is 2x - is true, then you're looking at a 4x disadvantage against a B- and something like a 5x against a B+.

Do NOT get in fights with that prestige.

i also think its about 3x

in the old days it was possible to do alot of things that just won't happen today. About season 20 or so in Crum,,, I signed a kid who was 3 or 4 stars with a D prestige (from NY)  and he ended up DI first team All American PG his SR season...
Today with much fewer talented guys to go around... a 3* kid probably will treat you like a DII school and not even talk to you.
as Dan mentioned,,, 1*'s may not even talk to you.

Landing a 3 star player with D- prestige is pretty much impossible.  A 2-star player is a reach, but not impossible.  A 1-star is extremely difficult as well... But what's important to note is that there are no star players who may not be better than some of the 1-star/2-star players are now, but have the potential to far exceed said players.  I signed a no-star point guard on my Texas, San Antonio team (which has D- prestige) who isn't anything special, but is turning out better than some 1-star/2-star point guards I've seen signed by other teams.  

Keep in mind that the star rankings don't mean what they used to. A couple years ago, I signed a bunch of guys rated in the 50's at their position and they were generally 2-stars (and occasionally 3-stars). Now someone ranked in the 50's at their position is guaranteed not to have a star. So it's not an apples-to-apples comparison ... a D prestige school can still sign a player rated the same at his position, but there are fewer starred players.

(And as a result, sol, I think it's literally impossible for a D- school to sign even a 2-star player.)

Not impossible.  I signed a 3 star player as a d- prestige a few seasons back.  He was only like 30 miles away, and he was in Canada which I think helped my chances in that the bigger schools couldn't use future stars to see how high he was considering me.  I did however, spend quite a bit of money to land him too, like 35k or something.  

Of course, your point that star rankings don't mean everything is a good one. Although he is now a very solid PF/C on my team, he has only improved moderately and is certainly not a top line player (758 overall).

thank you all for the tips. happy holidays