USC can finally stop recruiting 13-year-olds
Posted: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 8:51 PM
Filed Under:
Recruiting
Buyer’s remorse seems likely when a 13-year-old commits to your hoops program. But it turns out Tom Floyd’s ouster gave USC a chance to re-think things.
Ryan Boatright says USC is no longer recruiting him, which re-opens his school prospects. And that’s probably a good thing. After all, a lot can change between 13 and 17, especially where a prospect wants to play and who he wants to play for.
Boatright was just 13 when he attended a Trojans summer camp and Floyd considered him talented enough to offer a scholarship. The move attracted loads of media attention at the time, mostly in the form of “is it OK to offer a scholarship to a 13-year-old?” Back then, Floyd characterized the move as simply being aggressive.
“We have a responsibility to get the best players we can find and know what the competition is doing,” Floyd said. “And when they target an eighth-grader ...
“In a perfect world,” he continued, “we’d all wait until spring signing date when these kids are high school seniors. But that’s just not the world that we live in in college basketball. Am I supposed to wait until Duke or Kentucky offer, and then it’s OK?”
Then again, Floyd’s recruiting methods weren’t always looked up favorably.
Now it’s back to the drawing board for Boatright. One report says it won’t be long before coaches and scouts are recruiting him. Who knows? Maybe someone will nab him before Duke or Kentucky do…
