Basketball Recruiting: A July Primer

Chris just masterfully covered how Villanova recruits performed throughout the duration of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League's (EYBL) Peach Jam as well as the Reebok Breakout Challenge. Two of the premier outlets for players on the AAU circuit to gauge their talents as well as put their abilities on showcase for coaches.

And the coaches migrate en masse to these events; it is the major AAU circuit of Summerball. There are few opportunities throughout the year where the concentration of elite high school basketball players is so prominent; and when those evaluation periods are in progress, many coaches and their entire staffs are laying ground work to build the future of their programs.

For the second year, these coaches are performing their recruiting during three 5-day "evaluation periods" in the month of July to watch recruits. Previously, there were two 10-day periods. The new rules "lessen the number of days that coaches can be on the road recruiting, but they are now broken up into three five-day live periods in consecutive weeks."

But Arizona head coach Sean Miller is speaking up on behalf of many coaches, and players at the craziness of the schedule.

If everybody needs a break then make the break 7-10 days long. But this 2,3 day break is senseless.

— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) July 15, 2013

Recruits and their families are criss-crossing around the country playing in the events hoping to upgrade their scholarship situation.

As a review, here are the 2013 July Evaluation Period Dates

• Wednesday, July 10 (at 5pm) through Sunday, July 14, 2013 (at 5pm)
• Wednesday, July 17 (at 5pm) through Sunday, July 21, 2013 (at 5pm)
• Wednesday, July 24 (at 5pm) through Sunday, July 28, 2013 (at 5pm)

Aside from the compressed schedule on coaches and athletes, the NCAA has the following rules on Basketball Recruiting in the month of July. The National Association of Basketball Coaches neatly provided the following as a reminder to coaching staffs across the country...

Now, you can understand the recruiting challenges that coaches are facing thanks to the NCAA...

Prohibited Contact [Bylaws 13.02.5.2, 13.1.6.2.1 (b)]:

During a certified event, Division I coaches are prohibited from having face-to-face contact at any location with:

• Prospects
• Family members of prospects
• Prospect's coaches (nonscholastic and scholastic)
• Individual associated with a prospect (IAWPs).

Notes

• There is no pre-existing relationship exception to the no-contact rule.
• The fact that a Prospective Student Athlete (PSA) has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) does not make it permissible for contact to occur while the PSA is participating in an event.
• If the event operator is also a coach or person associated with a PSA, Division I coaches may discuss administrative details concerning the event (e.g., gym locations, game time, etc.) but they are prohibited from any discussion related to recruiting.
• Unofficial visits are prohibited during July (See Bylaw 13.7.1.1 for exception for prospects who have made commitments).

Coaches should educate all prospects and involved persons on the no contact restrictions prior to the start of the July evaluation period.

"During a certified event" defined [Bylaws 13.02.5.2]: In-person contact with a prospect or the prospect’s parents or legal guardians is prohibited. .

Definition of a "contact" [Bylaw 13.02.4]: Any face-to-face contact by a Division I coach will constitute an impermissible contact during the July evaluation period if the encounter is prearranged or if the coach positions himself in a location where contact is possible (e.g., near gym entrances, designated paths for prospects, etc.). A coach, who is innocently approached by a prospect, parent or someone associated with the prospect, will not be charged with a violation of the contact rule provided the encounter is not prearranged, the coach does not engage in any dialogue in excess of a greeting and the coach takes appropriate steps to immediately end the encounter. Division I coaches are expected to sit in designated sections reserved for NCAA coaches. Any face-to-face encounter that occurs after a coach has placed himself in a location where contact with a prospect is possible will be deemed to be an impermissible contact or "bump" regardless of whether conversation occurs.

Telephone Calls and Electronic Correspondence [Bylaws 13.1.6.2, 13.1.6.2.1-(b), 13.4.1.2.1]: Division I coaches are not allowed to make a telephone call to a prospective student-athlete who has reported on call for competition or competition-related activities until he has been released by the appropriate authority.

• For prospective student-athletes traveling with teams, the telephone call prohibition starts from the point the team meets for initial travel and until completion of the team’s final competition of the road trip and the team returns home or until the prospect is released to travel separately from his team.

Division I coaches are allowed to send general correspondence, including electronic correspondence (e.g., text message), to a prospective student-athlete while he is on call and not at the competition site, or while he is at any location, once released by the appropriate authority. Division I coaches are allowed to make a telephone call or send general correspondence, including electronic correspondence (e.g., text message), to a prospective student-athlete’s parents or legal guardians while the prospective student-athlete is on call for competition or competition related activities. Such communication may also occur with a prospective student-athlete’s parents or legal guardians while the prospective student-athlete is participating in a certified event. All forms of communication (e.g., telephone call, text message, email, etc.) with a prospective student-athlete’s coach or any individual associated with the prospective student-athlete as a result of the prospective student-athlete’s participation in basketball, directly or indirectly, is prohibited during the time period in which the prospective student-athlete is participating in a certified event.

Telephone contact with high school coach [Bylaw 13.1.6.2.1.1-(a)]: In general, Division I coaches may have telephone contact with a prospect's high-school coach (or high-school administrator) while the prospect is participating in a summer certified event, provided the high-school coach or administrator is not in attendance at that certified event.

Televised games during certified events (Bylaw 13.10.3.1): It is permissible for a network to broadcast games during certified events. However, it is not permissible for Division I coaches to be analysts or to provide interviews during the broadcast.

Open gyms/pickup games [13.1.7.8.1 -(c)], [13.1.7.8.3-(a)]: Division I coaches are not allowed to attend noninstitutional, nonorganized activities (i.e., pickup games and open gyms) during the July evaluation period. Therefore, it is not permissible for coaches to attend non-scholastic team scrimmages or open gyms.

Baton Rule –replaced coach [Bylaw 11.7.4.3.1] During the July evaluation period, a replaced coach is not required to return to the institution’s campus before engaging in additional recruiting activities, provided no more than three coaches engage in off-campus recruiting activities each day.

ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR JULY RECRUITING VIOLATIONS: Penalties imposed for recruiting violations committed by Division I coaches during the July evaluation/dead periods will result in enhanced penalties (a four-for one basis) regardless of intent. For example, one impermissible contact by a coach in July could result in a loss of two contacts during the upcoming academic year and two days off the road in July the following year for all members of the coaching staff.