You almost HAVE to scout at D2 or D3.  In D3 you'll find that most really competitive teams have team overall ratings in the 560+ range and sometimes over 600.  Most of the time recruits for D3 school are rated below 450, occasionally up closer to or a little over 500 as freshmen, but only for very high prestige schools and even then that's not the norm.  In other words, in order to become really good D3 players need to grow hundreds of rating points.  In general I recruit based on potentials much more than current ratings.
8/21/2011 4:31 PM
One last question I hope before I start to really plan my strategy... I have a Soph SG with a WE of 1. Does that mean he won't improve at all? His other attributes seem ok compared to my other players though.
8/21/2011 5:06 PM
Posted by rxgambler on 8/21/2011 5:06:00 PM (view original):
One last question I hope before I start to really plan my strategy... I have a Soph SG with a WE of 1. Does that mean he won't improve at all? His other attributes seem ok compared to my other players though.
he will improve very slowly over the year and then likely lose it all (and maybe more) in between seasons. If you think his scores are good enough to contribute (even as a bench player) then keep him for that but don't expect any real gains. If he isn't good enough cut him.

ETA: I just checked him out. With your situation I think I'd keep him.

8/21/2011 5:27 PM
Posted by emy1013 on 8/21/2011 4:24:00 PM (view original):
With the amount of low potentials that D2 and D3 players have, I think it's imperative that you scout.  You don't want to get stuck with a guy for four years that has nearly all low potentials.  Just have to be a little cautious about how many and which states you scout.  Also, if you wait until after signings begin, the states become much cheaper to scout, thus allowing you to scout more states.  Of course, there will be fewer players available, but you may be able to find someone good that was overlooked.
This is impossible advice for me (I am too impatient) but it is great advice and a good strategy. Especially as a new coach starting out in DIII there will be plenty of players left over after signings begin that will be better than what you'll likely inherit. D III is great for team building because it is impossible to have the studs that excel at nearly everything that you find at D I and even to a degree at D II. You'll need to find guys to fill roles and that gives you flexibility. As you watch you're first couple classes that have high potential develop you'll really get a feel for it...
8/21/2011 5:31 PM

I'm playing it very cautiously so far with just a single phone call out to numerous local lower D2 players (as per the great help here) and got several that contacted me back so far.  The scouting is very expensive IMO with the amount of cash I started with.  My team is based in NH, so have several states within a 300 mile radius that I was using to look for players.  NY (1508), PA (1443), MA (578), NJ (546), ME (344), CT (312), VT (200) and NH (201).  I almost have to wait to see how much lower the rates go before using the scouting and then trying to recruit I think.

8/21/2011 5:48 PM
Being located in NH and the northeast in general allows you to scout yout home state for relatively little money. I would definitely avoid scouting NY and PA (especially with only 2 open schollies). I would scout NH for sure, and then if you don't find enough players you're interested in then scout VT too (since its the closest). Whatever you do, know that FSS is essential to recruiting. It's all about potential. One player might have decent ratings as a freshmen, but if he has low potential in key areas then he's pretty much useless. On the other hand, a player who doesn't look too attractive but has high potential across the board (and a decent work ethic) will be a stud by his Jr/Sr year.
8/21/2011 6:36 PM (edited)
use the search feature to find players in NH, VT, ME, RI, and CT that play the positions you need and have work ethics above 25 or 30. as a basic starting point search for bigs with rebounding over 40, and guards with speed over 40 and bh/pass over 30 or 35.

see how many you come up with for each state and scout the 2 or 3 states with the most players in that range so that you can see their potentials.  you'll get out of it without spending too much money and should have plenty left to recruit them given how close those states are to you. 
8/21/2011 6:52 PM
Well I messed up a bit but got two players signed. At 2pm both players stated something like "Daniel Webster has expressed interest but keeping open to other offers" but they signed at 8pm without any further recruiting. Both are low value but both have 7 high potentials, 2 avg, and 3 low so we'll see and learn from it. I've got most of my cash left, only spent maybe $3.5k including scouting of $9k so from what I understand I'll get to roll 25% of that to next year.
I really wanted to just pick one and grab a SF later on but it's done. Guess I needed to pull the scholarship offer from one of the guys. Thanks again for all of the friendly help I've gotten so far!!!
8/22/2011 9:06 PM
7 highs each? If those highs are in the right places then you're looking at some studs. Nice job for your first time recruiting! Oh, and if by "low value" you mean that both of your recruits are in the 430's, you shouldn't be worried. That's a good spot to start off, and remember that overall ratings can be swayed by *relatively* unimportant ratings like durability so don't get to caught up in them.
8/22/2011 9:17 PM
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