Beary Manilow wrote:
UpandIn913 wrote:
How is he going to bring in the type of players we need whenever he has no experience in recruiting at even a D2 level. Either way go bears..good luck...very dissappointed
And I'm disappointed that they made the Internet easy enough for you to figure out.
Recruiting is basically the same at any level. Identify good talent, approach good talent, build a relationship with that good talent, sign good talent. The end. If anything recruiting is easier as you move up in level because you don't have to sell it as hard. Kentucky probably doesn't recruit nearly as hard as UAM because it's bigtime D-I and is associated with greatness and people want to play there. They basically get to select.
Similar deal (though to obviously a lesser extent) with hiring a guy like Corliss. He's got NCAA and NBA championship rings and had a good, long career and is popular/recognized by everybody from kids who watched him in the NBA to people who followed him from his time as a high school/AAU star through his run with the Razorbacks. He's got a ton of name recognition and it's all positive. Kids will
want to play for him. Maybe people in their 50s sitting at home on their keyboards don't get it, but he's a better hire to prospective players than some old dude they've never heard of.
Recruiting should be the least of your concerns. It's not like you have to read a bunch of books and study up to know how to go to an AAU tournament or high school games, see good players and then start recruiting them. And maybe you're concerned he won't be able to recognize Division I talent ... which I'm not the least concerned with since he was surrounded by it every day for three years as a player, then went on to see what NBA talent is up close and personal. "Game recognize game" as the kids say. Players know as well as anybody what it truly takes to be successful and can recognize those traits in others.
And recruiting is about being likable. I've never heard anybody who has met the guy have negative things to say. I think, by all accounts, he's a pretty likable guy. And he has credibility. Lots of it. Those aren't many things more important in recruiting than those two things. People have to like you and believe in you. Recruits believe in championship rings and being in the NBA.
Is every great coach a former player? No ... but a whole helluva lot of them are. Is every former player going to be a great coach? No - but some have the traits to succeed in that capacity and others don't. Allen Iverson ... probably doesn't have it. Corliss Williamson does.
It's not necessarily easier as you move up because while you have more to sell at a bigger school, you aren't competing against Jucos anymore. You have to sell them that you are better than schools that are similarly situated to you, not the school you left. You also typically inherit stricter academic standards and rules as you progress upwards.
Corliss is liked and respected as a player and he will be known to the recruits' parents (but to be the devil's advocate as some have already, see Moncrief, Joe Kleine, etc.) and may very well be a great coach one day. You can't tell me that he was at the top of anyone's list going into the search though.
There will be a modest bump in interest with the hire and the first of the season but he will have to win and win relatively quickly for it to work. He will be under more of a microscope than a more experienced and lesser know coach would have been. Think Danica Patrick.
It all comes down to money and I don't mean salary. With the right resources, Corliss might lure some kids away from a UALR type program, but without them it will still take a lot of work.
Just have to wih him luck and hope for the best. There will be a honeymoon period that will be a lot of fun.