How do they end up as Terriers?

Fellow blogger Zachary Levine wrote in Friday's Daily Pennsylvanian about how easily a kid like Malik Alvin -- from Philadelphia -- can end up at a school like UTEP.

It's worth considering how high school seniors are funneled into different programs, especially as Penn squares off against a microcosm of Division I basketball this weekend.

The Miners play third fiddle to Memphis and UAB in the new Conference USA. Syracuse is four years removed from a national title. OK, fine. But who in the world ends up at St. Francis, which needs an "NY" to distinguish it?

It seems to be those left behind by the current system of big-time basketball development.

Of the 14 players currently on the Terriers roster, no fewer than half either took a prep year (or two) or spent time at a community or junior college.

That can help some players get to where they want to be -- look at Penn's Ibrahim Jaaber. But too often, after overestimating their abilities, these players are forced to take more than one year before college, or to go somewhere they don't fit in. I highly doubt that St. Francis was a top choice for some of these players. Investing a year of one's life for the sole purpose of being a big-time recruit down the road doesn't always pay dividends.

Young men go to places like Syracuse because each wants the other.

They go to Penn or UTEP because the school wants them and can at least offer something in return.

Unfortunately, they often go to places like St. Francis because they have nowhere else to turn. That hurts the St. Francises of the world, too, because it's hard to build a stable recruiting base if you're taking kids from different jucos or prep schools every year, as opposed to networking with high school coaches. It can also lead to other problems -- Terriers freshman David Burton ran into serious problems after he took a prep year and still faces questions about his eligibility.

It's a shame that schools like St. Francis are forced to look for the kids that got left behind. Low-majors will not have a strong program unless they can effectively recruit kids straight out of high school, or out of established prep programs, along with the bigger schools. Unfortunately, for those who want more parity in college hoops, that day isn't getting any closer.