I typically try not to make promises, but on occasion they can really assist recruiting.  I had a player a few seasons back who was promised 30 mpg and a start and I got him.  I had typically thought 80% of promised minutes would be OK, so I planned to play the kid 24 mpg.  Well, he complained until he got to 27 mpg (90% of promised).  Now, to me if he had demanded the full 30 mpg he would be entitled to it, but my questions are to the larger group of coaches as follows:

 1.  Do individual players have differing expectations of what is a fulfilled promise (ie: for a 30 mpg promise player A wants 30 mpg, player B will accept 27 mpg, and player C will accept 24 mpg)?
  2.  Will a player transfer if his WE drops just 1 point due to not being fully happy with a promise, or is there a "threshold" for WE drop where the transfer risk drmatically increases.

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated, with emphasis on more recent experiences (I know last October a "loophole" was closed so players were more likely to complain, so maybe the 90% I cited above was a result of the change from the conventional wisdom that 80% was good enough?).

I currently have a battle for the last target on my list--I have an acceptable back-up available, but the kid I'm targeting would really set me up for next season.  I feel I can work him in with a start and minutes (usually you can suck up 1 frosh in the lineup) and since my target appears to be a fall-back for a higher prestige program from a bigger conference I think I have a real shot at the kid.  I'm fine if I end up losing the kid and even if the back-up I have is taken away I'd be fine with a walk-on.  But, I also feel my team can have a good season and don't want to needlessly jeaporadize the season by trying to grab a kid who at the end of the day I don't need until next season.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts / experiences / opinions / feedback.

1. I believe that different kids do respond slightly differently, meaning there is a small randomness to the level at which player promises are considered met.

2. I am not sure if WE loss is tied in to the transfer decision at all. They seem to be independent to me, in other words the WE loss is randomly determined and at the end of the season it is randomly determined (probably based on certain pre-existing conditions within the make up of the player) if he will transfer.

I'm a big believer in promising starts and minutes, so I've dealt with this a lot. 

1.  Absolutely.  I believe the message you sometimes see in SVs can clue you in to this.  There's definitely a positive one about him cheering on his teammates in the 4th Q..not sure if there's a negative message like that.  But players definitely vary some on what they expect.  I think of 80% of the promise as the average, but some want more..some will tolerate less.

2.  The first WE drop doesn't put you in danger imo.  Typically you'll get a mildly upset email maybe 5-10 games into the season if you're shorting him, accompanied by a WE drop of a few points usually.  At that point, I'll always try to do something about it (assuming I want to keep the player) before it gets worse.  Most of the time it gets corrected and he gets his lost WE back, though you still miss out on the WE he would've been gaining instead. 

If you keep ignoring it, eventually you get a 2nd email that will sound much angrier and he'll probably threaten to transfer.  I think that is the point where your risk really shoots way up.  You need to majorly increase his minutes at that point to feel good about him coming back.  I don't think the specific number they lose in WE impacts the transfer decision.  I think you just have to a) avoid getting that 2nd email, or b) get the WE moving positive again after that email.

Is it still the case that promises don't apply to NT games?  CT?  Thanks.

point_piper yes that is still the case.

Thanks l_eustachy.