Recruiting is not the same

It may be the hardest decision a highly touted high school basketball player ever makes. When the opportunity is presented to him, he must decide between a top-notch education and the opportunity to play in one of the nation's premiere basketball programs. This choice once never even existed. Once, the Ivy League was not even able to vie for the nation's best recruits. Once, every highly touted high school basketball player received an athletic scholarship. It was a forgone conclusion. But now, the Ivy League no longer just competes with itself. The automatic NCAA tournament bid that goes to its champion is not simply a courtesy to the intellectually gifted, but athletically deprived. Now, the Ivies are able to compete with the best conferences around the nation. Now, the Ancient Eight recruits the same caliber athletes the Pacific 10 and Atlantic 10 try to entice to go to their schools. This is not the same academics-only league it once was. "When we go out and recruit, we try to go after kids who the Big East would want," Brown coach Frank Dobbs said. "We always go for the best. I think if you look at some of the Ivy League teams, they have some pretty good top players on their lists." Proof of this is abundant throughout the league. Penn captain Jerome Allen turned down numerous scholarships. Ira Bowman and Matt Maloney both left scholarships to come to the City of Brotherly Love. Yale freshman Gabe Hunterton was the 1994 Las Vegas Player of the Year. Cornell's DeShawn Standard is considered one of the top 100 recruits in the nation. This was not the case just a few years ago. The Ivies used to be dominated by the likes of Peter Moss, Larry Lawrence and Darren Burnett. Don't feel bad if you don't recognize these names, because very few do. After their four years in the Ivy League in the '80s, they've gone on to nine-to-five jobs. But with the recent classes, this trend figures to change shortly. "It's a whole different type of player now, as compared to just eight years ago," said Dobbs, who was an assistant at Dartmouth from 1984-88. "It's different -- they're much more athletic. You can see it at Penn. Dartmouth is bigger than any team has ever been. Even though Columbia is struggling, the guys they do have are very athletic. That's never been in the league. It's changed. You used to be able to predict what you could get in the Ivy League, I don't think you can do that any more." Part of the credit for this change must be given to the increased exposure the league has gained in the last couple of years. After Princeton nearly knocked off some of the best teams in the NCAA tournament, Penn finally accomplished that goal last year, when the Quakers topped Big 8-champion Nebraska 90-80. And now this year, the Ivy League will gain even more national publicity. Penn will play at least four games on ESPN, including at Michigan and Massachusetts. Princeton also will play one game on the all-sports network. "I think it helps the league as a whole," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "Any time any one of us can get national television exposure, it helps our league. The long-term effect is that it helps our program enormously. Does it help us specifically in recruiting? Yeah, I think it does. Can it be measured right away? Well, that's hard to say. The residual effect can be nothing but good." Even with this increased exposure, the challenges that face an Ivy coach recruiting top-caliber athletes are tremendous. The two most important issues always have been, and still remain, academics and the socio-economic background of the recruit, since the Ancient Eight does not offer athletic scholarships. Trying to improve the quality of athletes in the league without compromising academic integrity is never easy. The process begins in July, scouring over hundreds of films and forgotten names. Then after calling and talking to uncountable numbers of high school coaches across the nation, the list is slowly trimmed. Cornell coach Al Walker estimates his list starts at more than 500. After getting it down to 50 prime candidates who he thinks would be a good match for the Big Red, then the real struggle begins. The Ivy League coach, some way, must persuade the recruit to forgo scholarships to celebrated universities. This 18-year-old high schooler, who has seen Syracuse on television and envisions wearing the orange, must be convinced to enroll in a league known more for its foliage than its athletics. "I always stress the future," Walker said. "When you have an Ivy League education, that label is good for the rest of your life. You're part of an elite club. The opportunities that arise from being at an Ivy League school, other schools simply can't even imagine them. They could not touch the possibilities offered here.?It's our obvious asset. You can either invest in your future now, or pay the consequences later." This is the sale's pitch. This is the line used to recruits across the country. Al Walker and his counterparts wish it would work more often. It takes a special person, however, to be willing to take that chance. Not everyone wants, or can afford, an Ivy League education. Some see a nationally recognized basketball program as a better way to the NBA. This is why every single televised game is so important. These obstacles still exist. And as if they aren't menacing enough, Ivy coaches must face the fact that while recruits can commit to other schools, there is no binding agreement in the Ancient Eight. Instead, the coaches must wait. And wait. Only in September do they finally feel confident. "It strings out the process," Walker said. "It takes a lot of energy to stay on people for a longer time. But when they finally do commit, you already have a tremendous relationship." "It's a special relationship that develops. It's different than at scholarship schools. It's better, because you know the kids are coming because they love the situation," Walker continued. "They have to. They're not coming for money or a scholarship, they're coming because they feel that the school is the best place for them to be." Unfortunately for Ivy coaches, many times it's hard to convince 18-year-old high school students that Brown is better for them than Seton Hall. Beyond the academic edge, it's still not easy to discount the financial difference. Not to mention the opportunity to play in front of millions of fans on national television. It always comes back to this decision. Academics or scholarship. Academics or ESPN. Ivy League or Big East. Ivy coaches realize this is not an easy decision, so they must extend their recruiting lists. Since their pool of candidates is already dramatically reduced because of academics and finances, they must search further to find that special person. That person who wants to play in Jadwin Gymnasium and Newman Arena, rather than the Carrier Dome and Cameron Indoor Stadium. "Being in the Ivy League makes you more national," Dobbs said. "Right now, there are a lot of good schools in the Northeast. The Ivy League is really more respected in the West and away from the East. The academic reputation probably means a lot more out there." And that trend is obvious. In 1987, Dartmouth had just four players on its roster from outside of the Northeast. Seven years later, the Big Green has eight. This is becoming more common every year. Cornell attracted Standard, a top recruit from Kentucky. Yale grabbed Hunterton from Las Vegas, Emerson Whitley, an all-state honoree from Arizona, and Matt Ricketts, an honorable mention all-stater in Kentucky. "They're out there," Walker said. "We just have to go out and find them. Some are easy -- their scouting report mentions they have good grades and lots of money. But more often than not, you have to dig around and hopefully get lucky."