Do players commit to a coach or a school? They never announce I'm happy to announce I've committed to Bob Motzko...it's the school.
He's also a coach who always claimed the Gentleman's agreement meant something to him...guess not.
He's a snake to me because IMO those kids were Husky recruits...not Motzko recruits.
Does not matter what school he's poaching from either. Once they commit....back off.
I had a similar conversation with a former college hockey coach (our kids play hockey together and there's a lot of downtime). He described recruiting as:
- Selling the kid mostly on the hockey aspect (coaching staff, where he'd fit in the depth chart, some x's and o's, etc..) and what campus life would entail for him. Education would be a smaller part unless the kid was really interested in knowing more about specific programs.
-Selling the parents was mostly on the education aspect. What the school can do to help their kid get a useful degree. There was some hockey stuff but mostly on how the coaching staff would help the kid off the ice as much or more than on the ice. There was always a few parents that had NHL dreams for their kid, but most knew this would be the last bit of competitive hockey for their kid, and they were looking for the life after hockey stuff.
- He also said it's the coach's doing almost all the work to get a kid to come to their school. They are the ones making a personal connection with a kid. The school isn't what forms the bonds. The instructors aren't the ones getting to know the kids; and they could really care less if they ever see any of these kids on campus. I doubt you could find a prof that is sad he didn't get to teach Kunin at UW (for instance).
Most kids still in high school have no real clue on what they are going to major in. They might say a certain thing, but for most it's not usually set in stone and they end up changing their mind somewhere though their college career.
Most athletes aren't having their door beat down for their academic prowess. They might get into the same D-1 schools with the test scores and GPA, but they likely wouldn't be getting a full ride because of it. Really outside of the Ivy League and certain specialized degree programs a diploma from one B1G school isn't going to get you any hiring preference over someone with a degree from another B1G school (as an example). All that really matters is they get a degree in something somewhat useful.
All kids are different. Some have their hearts set on going to xyz school for whatever reason. Most just want to play their sport and have fun in college, and it doesn't matter which college it is.