College basketball recruiting enters halls of middle school

BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com A warning to expectant mothers: Don't be surprised if college basketball coaches start asking for copies of your ultrasound films. Recruiting is getting that crazy.OK, maybe not that crazy, but the NCAA Legislative Council has lowered the grade-level age of ''recruitable'' boys' basketball prospects from ninth to seventh. The intent of the new rule, put into place last week, is to prevent overzealous college coaches from overstepping bounds and getting a leg up in the recruiting process as they solicit middle school students.By implementing the rule and getting younger players on the NCAA radar, the organization can now monitor and regulate college coaches' contacts and visits with seventh- and eighth-graders, as they do with high school students. It had become a concern because of the increasing exposure young players are getting through AAU youth tournaments and elite summer camps, which college coaches attend. ''The recruiting wars are so competitive that you are going to have schools start evaluating seventh-graders now because they're afraid other schools are doing it,'' said University of Miami coach Frank Haith. ``Most coaches have a ninth-grade list, and now they'll have an eighth-grade list and a seventh-grade list. That means sending more mailings, and letting them come on official visits. You won't see me ever doing that. I just don't believe I could tell if an eighth-grader will be ready to play in the ACC four years from now. How can you project that?''
for the full story go to the Miami Herald link....great story.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/884969.html