Recruiting game: Colleges chasing prospects much earlier than in the past

Like nearly everything else in life, the recruiting of high school athletes has changed over the years.

Particularly with high school basketball, the way players are observed, judged and wooed has been reshaped. Cell phones and Internet communication, the extension of basketball season through Amateur Athletic Union competition to a year-round endeavor, and the general elevation of high school athletes' status have changed the landscape.

Four Sacramento-area blue-chip players – Rocklin High School forward-center Brendan Lane, Sacramento swingman Chase Tapley, Pleasant Grove point guard Xavier Thames and Franklin shooting guard Julian Welch are facing the new rigors of being top-notch recruits. None of these student-athletes has reached his 18th birthday, and three are juniors, but soon each will be asked to make life-altering choices about his academic and athletic future.

In the meantime, they play with high expectations – their own and others' – and try to balance school, basketball and their social and family lives, while pressure increases on several fronts.

T.J. Otzelberger is in his second season as an assistant coach at Iowa State University. Otzelberger was in Sacramento last week to recruit Thames.

"Recruiting certainly has changed over the past few years," Otzelberger said. "I think the Internet has played a major role in that happening. Information is so accessible for the students as well as the schools and coaches.

"Then the AAU stuff blew up, and coaches are aware of kids and their talents so much earlier. Coaches feel like they have to get kids (committed to their colleges), and that speeds everybody else up."

Lane, Tapley and Thames have been on the national radar for years, and Welch has emerged during the past two seasons as a prime-time scorer.

As their on-court stock has risen, so has college interest in them. They are learning first-hand how recruitment affects them, their families, coaches and teammates.

Despite opportunities players receive, at least one parent says it's not all good.

Pierce Welch, Julian's father, says the recruiting process has been a tough learning experience.

"I've learned that (college) coaches will tell you anything," the elder Welch said. "What you are dealing with in recruiting are assistant coaches. And the interest in a kid can vary according to the assistant's status."

Of the four players, the 6-foot-10 Lane will be recruited the hardest because players capable of performing at center and power forward are so highly valued.

Lane, 17, said he has received scholarship offers from Stanford, Cal, Arizona State and Virginia. Every Pacific-10 Conference school has expressed interest. Among his suitors, Lane unofficially visited Stanford, Cal and USC.

Many people may believe such a weighty decision and the accompanying high-profile recruitment would shake a young person. Lane, though, says it hasn't rattled him – at least not yet.

"It's not that bad right now," Lane said. "Some people say it's hectic, but it's been OK. Coach (Rocklin's Steve Taylor) is handling a lot of it."

NCAA rules prohibit a player from making an official visit to a school until his senior year has begun, a regulation that might be reconsidered as younger players are recruited and making commitments.

Otzelberger referred to high-profile examples: Duke freshman Taylor King, before entering high school, committed to attend UCLA. Ryan Boatright, now a high school freshman in suburban Chicago, promised to play for USC when he was in eighth grade.

"(Iowa State) took a commitment on a 2010 kid who is about 6-(foot)-8, 6-9 and wears a size-19 shoe," Otzelberger said.

A notable local player who was pursued hard and made up his mind early was Sheldon High School graduate DeMarcus Nelson, who committed to Duke during his sophomore year while attending Vallejo High.

Nelson's father, Ron, said his son initially had no intention of committing to Duke or any other school so early.

"His favorite school was Arizona," said Ron Nelson, who has another son, Darius, playing varsity as a Sheldon freshman. "Arizona told 'Markie' that he was their No. 1 target. Then we found out they had offered (a scholarship to) another player that also played his position."

Ron Nelson said DeMarcus' playing with an AAU team in a Memorial Day tournament following his sophomore season had an impact.

"DeMarcus didn't like Duke, but he went to play in this Bob Gibbons Tournament at Duke," Ron Nelson said. "He met 'Coach K' (Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski), and I've never seen two men meet and hit it off so naturally as these two did. So with Arizona telling us something that was different than it really was, DeMarcus decided to go to Duke.

"Once he verbally committed, other schools kept coming at him, but DeMarcus is the kind of kid who is extremely loyal. Once he said he was going to Duke, that was it."

High school ball is not the only showcase for potential recruits. Virtually all top high school players participate on AAU club teams, providing even more exposure.

"You get to see a lot more about a kid's talent in AAU ball," Otzelberger said. "The competition is better, and you see the best players against the other best players. The games are more wide open.

"In that AAU competition, there are more opportunities to see talent go against talent, and also there are chances to see deficiencies exposed."

Tapley and Thames are veterans of the elite AAU circuit. Welch received a late and dissatisfying introduction to the competition last summer.

"I felt I should have played more," Welch said. "There were too many politics involved."

Thames' father, Ray, says his son started receiving attention while playing with the Compton Magic AAU team in Southern California as a high school freshman.

"He began playing well against players who were highly regarded on the national level, and then his AAU coach put him in some high-profile camps, and once again he performed well," Thames said.

But whether in AAU or high school competition, these players are being closely watched. How they do and how they are judged will mean a lot to them and the people doing the judging.

It's all part of the game now.

About the writer:

• Contact The Bee's Martin McNeal at mmcneal@sacbee.com.