[Amun-Ra]

Now he is making it where we can't get early commitments.
Here is the story from ESPN.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- If college basketball coaches have their way, Michael Avery would be the last eighth-grader making a college commitment.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches said Thursday it strongly opposes accepting commitments from students who have not yet completed their sophomore season in high school. The decision comes a little more than a month after the 15-year-old Avery said he would attend Kentucky, and cites NCAA rules that prohibit coaches from contacting athletes before mid-June after their sophomore season.
"If the current rules state coaches cannot offer scholarships or accept commitments from students earlier than June 15 following the conclusion of the sophomore year, it certainly makes sense that this should apply to anyone in lower grades," said NABC president Tubby Smith in a written statement released by the association.
The board of directors said the decision was made, in part, because younger athletes had not yet demonstrated either "sufficient academic credentials" to be admitted to school. The board also acknowledged it was too difficult to project how refined their basketball skills would be by graduation.
College basketball has recently seen an increase in the number of young players making early commitments.
Last year, then-eighth-grader Ryan Boatright accepted Tim Floyd's offer to play for USC. In 2006, Floyd also offered a scholarship to eighth-grader Dwayne Polee Jr. Both were 14 when the offers were made, and Boatright committed to USC before deciding where he would attend high school.
Avery's decision last month reignited the national debate about how young is too young for coaches to be recruiting players.
It's not a new phenomenon. Indianapolis native Cordell Passley committed to Tennessee, where his older brother played, during his sophomore season. Eventually, he withdrew the commitment and wound up playing at Vincennes University, a junior college in southeastern Indiana.
And the high-profile early recruitment of former Indiana Mr. Basketball and Hoosiers star Damon Bailey was detailed in a book during the 1980s.
In addition, players such as Derrick Caracter and O.J. Mayo, were invited to national all-star camps as eighth-graders. That gave them a chance to play in front of dozens of college coaches making the recruiting rounds.
Mayo, who spent one season playing for Floyd at Southern Cal, is expected to be one of the top picks in this year's NBA draft. Caracter, however, has been declared academically ineligible at Louisville and has been advised by coach Rick Pitino that he should transfer.
Smith, the coach at Minnesota and Billy Gillespie's predecessor at Kentucky, believes the unknowns of how well a player will develop in the classroom and on the court are the biggest reason coaches should wait to make offers.
"The academic and athletic profiles of these younger students are still very much works in progress," Smith said. "Coaches and athletes need to respect the process and allow development to occur in both areas prior to making commitments."

I hate Tubby. I honestly believe he has done this just because UK now has a coach that can get in done in the recruiting department.

[OffTheHook]

I agree though. IMO getting commitments from such young kids is just flat crazy.

[RedSeal]

yea thats so stupid in IMO!

[kyrifle]

Now he is making it where we can't get early commitments.
Here is the story from ESPN.com



I hate Tubby. I honestly believe he has done this just because UK now has a coach that can get in done in the recruiting department.

I think Tubby's right. Any coach that recruits 8th graders are grasping at straws on a sinking ship.

[Braves_Fan_26]

I completely agree, recruiting players so young is stupid. Tubby is doing the right thing and its not a jealousy thing as you might think Amun-Ra. Tubby is not that kind of guy, he wouldnt make a decision like this just because it might effect how his former team recruits and just because he didnt recruit as well. Get over it already and quit hating on Tubby, the man who should still be coach at UK if not for a bunch of racists and an idiotic AD.

[Amun-Ra]

I dont see the harm in getting a kid who has potential, interested in your team early. Letting a kid know you are looking into them, keeps it in their mind that if they play well enough they might get a scholly down the road. I see no harm in that.

As for Tubby doing this in spite of UK, yes. Nothing was ever said before about recruiting young players, untill UK lands some. OJ Mayo is a prime example. Schools were lined up for him as an 8th grader and a Freshmen.

Bravesfan really? Racists? How's that? His color had nothing to do with him being a poor coach.
Your posts usually get a laugh out of me because they are so way off base, but now it is getting annoying.

[UKCAT5FAN]

I think Tubby's right. Any coach that recruits 8th graders are grasping at straws on a sinking ship.

I don't agree. Yeah, it's a gamble but I feel like recruiting is getting so competitive that you have to take some risk. Big risk= Big reward. It's definately a gamble but this kid may turn out to be a Top 5 prospect in his class and a Top 100 at worse. I think you have to take it case by case. I'm sure that BCG has evaluated the risk, determined his intelligence, looked at his grades, looked at his homelife, checked on his parents. I'm sure BCG has done all of this and I definately trust his judgement and if he's willing to gamble on this kid being a great player than so am I. JMO!

[letthebighogroot]

Did anyone really think Tubby would say anything else? If he had it his way nobody would be eligible to be recruited until March of their Senior year. That way he, his top notch team of recruiters, and his "put you to sleep offense." To go along with his yearly promise of "playing faster" would at least stand a chance against the teams and coaches that get out and evaluate and recruit!

[NIKE2010]

I agree that he should not try to get 8th graders. He should wait untill they are a junior to get them a scholarship.

[Brooks4Prez]

Now he is making it where we can't get early commitments.
Here is the story from ESPN.com



I hate Tubby. I honestly believe he has done this just because UK now has a coach that can get in done in the recruiting department.

Oh yeah I'm sure that's why he did it.

[alfus21]

Oh yeah I'm sure that's why he did it.

:thumpsup:

[RavenBoy]

I completely agree, recruiting players so young is stupid. Tubby is doing the right thing and its not a jealousy thing as you might think Amun-Ra. Tubby is not that kind of guy, he wouldnt make a decision like this just because it might effect how his former team recruits and just because he didnt recruit as well. Get over it already and quit hating on Tubby, the man who should still be coach at UK if not for a bunch of racists and an idiotic AD.

I think of Tubby the same as your comments.
:ban:

[letthebighogroot]

I completely agree, recruiting players so young is stupid. Tubby is doing the right thing and its not a jealousy thing as you might think Amun-Ra. Tubby is not that kind of guy, he wouldnt make a decision like this just because it might effect how his former team recruits and just because he didnt recruit as well. Get over it already and quit hating on Tubby, the man who should still be coach at UK if not for a bunch of racists and an idiotic AD.

Correction, he would still be here if not for his inability to motivate players, evaluate players, and recruit players. If you haven't already seen a big change in all three thus far under BGC, I really don't know what to tell you.

[PC_You_Know]

I think you can recruit anyone you want to. People say, oh you don't know how good a kid is going to be in the 8th grade. People, everyone knew how good OJ Mayo was going to be while he was in the freaking crib. Gillespie is not going to recruit talentless players, he has an eye for basketball talent, look at the team he has put together for this year.

And I totally agree about Rub a tub tub, he's just so freaking jealous of BCG it isn't funny. Tubby can't recruit, we all know it, and if you can't see that you need to take off the Tubby Smith $4.95 sun glasses and look at the real world.

[Panther Thunder]

And I totally agree about Rub a tub tub, he's just so freaking jealous of BCG it isn't funny. Tubby can't recruit, we all know it, and if you can't see that you need to take off the Tubby Smith $4.95 sun glasses and look at the real world.

Is us who are wearing the glasses, or is it you?
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/c...20999#rank
Not too shabby.

This past senoir class recruited by Smith had three NBA players in it. One who was the PG for the Champs.

[Brooks4Prez]

I think you can recruit anyone you want to. People say, oh you don't know how good a kid is going to be in the 8th grade. People, everyone knew how good OJ Mayo was going to be while he was in the freaking crib. Gillespie is not going to recruit talentless players, he has an eye for basketball talent, look at the team he has put together for this year.

And I totally agree about Rub a tub tub, he's just so freaking jealous of BCG it isn't funny. Tubby can't recruit, we all know it, and if you can't see that you need to take off the Tubby Smith $4.95 sun glasses and look at the real world.

Why would he be jealous of Billy Gillispie?

[Brooks4Prez]

:thumpsup:

I mean seriously, they might as well blame him for the melting ice caps and the price of gas while they're at it.

[RavenBoy]

I dont care how many players Tubby got in the NBA, they all sucked in college and couldnt get the job done. Just face it, Tubby sucked!

[FBALL]

Some of you really need to get over it already. Tubby Smith was run out of town and is no longer part of the UK basketball program. Let it go!

[RavenBoy]

Some of you really need to get over it already. Tubby Smith was run out of town and is no longer part of the UK basketball program. Let it go!

Yea I know, Thank God!

[blackcat_mvp6]

Tubby is right on this one. It is ludacris to recruit and 8th grader. I've known kids who were amzing in middle school, but when they got to high school never got any better. Saying that Tubby is doing this because he is jelous is an insult. Tubby is not that kind of person. He is just telling the truth and that is these kids are to young to recruit.

[crazyfan4]

alrite now hold on all of you! Coach G is just doing what it needs to do to get ahead of every other school in the nation. You start looking at the young kids when they are little and when they develop it will be a no brainer where they will attend college. I do not agree with the commitments but He is doing a great job at recruiting. And as for Tubby Smith, he is just still jealous that he lost his chance in the bluegrass state and is trying to make it harder for recruits to commit to Kentucky. There is nothing wrong with looking at kids when they are young, but there might be a problem with the verbal commitments.

[dadawgs]

Coach Smith (I haven't earned or met him personally. so he is Coach Smith to me) done a pretty good job at UK. Recruiting could have been a heck of a lot better in his last few years and should have IMO. Do you recruit a kid for 1 year? Coaching, I'll take Coach Smith over any coach in the country.
As for recruiting a kid to early, Didn't Bobby Knight recruit Damon Bailey when he was an 8th grader? OJ Mayo was phenomenal when he was a 6th grader. Billy Donovan just recruited an underclassman after the NABC came out with this. I hope BCG is half the coach everyone expects him to be. I would like to see a few more banners in RUPP.

[Brooks4Prez]

Coach Smith (I haven't earned or met him personally. so he is Coach Smith to me) done a pretty good job at UK. Recruiting could have been a heck of a lot better in his last few years and should have IMO. Do you recruit a kid for 1 year? [B]Coaching, I'll take Coach Smith over any coach in the country. [/B]
As for recruiting a kid to early, Didn't Bobby Knight recruit Damon Bailey when he was an 8th grader? OJ Mayo was phenomenal when he was a 6th grader. Billy Donovan just recruited an underclassman after the NABC came out with this. I hope BCG is half the coach everyone expects him to be. I would like to see a few more banners in RUPP.

:thumpsup: :thumpsup: