Have Cinderella runs helped in recruiting

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WhenHampton(Ga.)Lovejoy'sJustinTuoyoupdatedfriendsandclassmatesabouthisrecruitmentlastyearandmentionedtheschoolhefavored,the6-foot-8forwardoftenheardthesameresponse.

Who'sVCU?

Tuoyoisn'thearingthatnearlyasoftenanymore.

VCU'sstunningmarchtotheFinalFourlastyearassuredthatevencasualbasketballfansafewstatesawayfromcampuswerefamiliarwiththisColonialAthleticAssociationprogram.There'snotevenanyneedtorefertotheschoolasVirginiaCommonwealthanymore.Justtheinitialswilldo.

"Noweverybodyknowsaboutthem,"Tuoyosaid.

Tuoyo,whosignedwithVCUinNovember,hadtheRamsatophislistlongbeforetheymadenationalheadlineslastMarch.HebelievestheFinalFourrunwillhelpwinoversomerecruitswhoweren'tevenfamiliarwithVCUbeforehand.

ButhowmuchdoesadeepNCAAtournamentrunbenefitamid-majorprogram'srecruiting?Theansweriscomplicated.

"I'mnotgoingtosaythatbecauseoflastyear,allofasuddenourrecruitingprofilehaschangedorthelevelatwhichwe'rerecruiting,"VCUcoachShakaSmartsaid."It'snotlikewe'regoingoutthereagainsttheFloridasandKentuckysandpeoplelikethatandbeatingthemforkids."

Thedifferenceinsteadismuchmoresubtle,thoughasuccessfulpostseasondoesindeedmakeatleastsomeimpact.PerhapsthebestwaytomeasurethechangeistolookattherecentrecruitingclassesofButler,whichreachedtheNCAAchampionshipgameoutoftheHorizonLeagueeachofthelasttwoyears.

Butler'smostheralded2011recruitwasO'Fallon(Ill.)forwardRooseveltJones,thenation'sNo.129prospect.Butler's2012classincludesthenation'sNo.141recruitinPendleton(Ind.)HeightsguardKellenDunham.TheBulldogs'2010classfeaturedtwoRivals150recruitsinPembrokePines(Fla.)FlanaganforwardKhyleMarshall(No.118)andIndianapolis(Ind.)HerronguardChrishawnHopkins(No.124),thoughbothcommittedbeforetheBulldogsmadetheirfirstmagicalpostseasonrun.

Beforethisthree-yearstretch,ButlerhadsignedjusttwoRivals150prospectssinceRivalsstartedcoveringcollegebasketballrecruitingin2002:NickBrooks(No.124)in2003andMattHoward(No.91)in2007.

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"WefindourselvesmoreandmorerecruitingagainstBCSschools,"ButlerassistantcoachMatthewGravessaid."Fourorfiveyearsago,you'dseedifferentMACschoolsanddifferenttypesofMissouriValleyschools.Nowwhenwe'rerecruitingkids,you'relookingatkidsthatmightlistNorthwestern,Virginia,Michigan,BostonCollege.Soyou'reseeingadifferentmixofschoolsthatyou'rerecruitingagainstthanyouwerethreeorfouryearsago."

VCUoftenhadrecruitedagainstmajor-conferenceprogramsevenbeforethisFinalFourrun.NowtheRamshopetowinmoreofthosecontests.VCUrecruitingcoordinatorWillWadediscussedthepossiblechangeinfortunebymentioningascenarioinwhichtheschooltargetsfiveareaplayerswhofittheRams'profilebutalsoarereceivingfeelersfrommajor-conferenceprograms.

"Maybeinthepast,wecouldgetoneofthosefive,"Wadesaid."Nowmaybewecangettwoorthreeofthosefive.Itincreasestheodds,withourprofilebeingraised."

Butitisn'tasiftheseschoolsarenowcompetingregularlyfortop-50recruits.

Butler'sclosestcallwithaneliteprospectcamewhenitpursuedWashington(Ind.)forwardCodyZeller,theNo.15overallprospectinthe2011class.Butlerwasoneofthreefinalistsforthefive-starprospectalongwithIndianaandNorthCarolina,butZellerchosetheHoosiersandwasnamedtheBigTen'sco-freshmanoftheyearthisyear.

TheBulldogshadnoregretsaboutgoingafterZeller.Theybelievedtheyhadalegitimateshotathim.Becausehelivednearby,recruitinghimheavilydidn'tcomeatamajorexpense.

"Withhisrecruitment,youweren'toutalotoftimeandenergybecauseyouweren'tspendingalotofmoneyflyingalloverthecountry,"Gravessaid."Hewasakidwhowasinourownstate.Itwasoneofthosecalculatedrisksthatjustdidn'tworkout.Certainlyyouhavetotryandgoaftersomeofthosetypesofrecruitsbecausehefitthecorrectprofileofthetypeofstudent-athletewewanthereatButler.We'dbesellingourselvesandouruniversityshortifwedidn'tattempttogoafterkidsthatfitourprofile.

"It'sacalculatedrisk.Youtakethesamekid,andlet'ssayhe'sinCalifornia,whereyoucan'tgettoseehimasmuch.You'reprobablynotgoingtospendasmuchtimeandresourcesifyou'reinanuphillbattlewithfourorfivehigh-majortypeschools.Butforalocalkidinthearea,itcertainlywasworththerisk.''

TheattempttolandZellerdidn'tsignalapermanentchangeinButler'srecruitingstrategy.AsmuchasButlerwouldliketopursuetop-50prospectsonaregularbasis,theBulldogsaremoreintentonmakingsuretheyfindguyswhowillworkwellwithintheirsystem.

Forexample,Butler's2008recruitingclassdidn'tincludeasingleRivals150player,yetitproducedanNBAlotterypick(GordonHayward),asecond-rounddraftchoice(ShelvinMack)andafour-yearstarter(RonaldNored).Allthreewerestartersonthe2010NCAArunners-up,whileMackandNoredplayedmajorrolesonthe2011team.

Butler'scoacheswilltalktoaprospect'shighschoolcoach,hisschoolcounselorandevensomeopposingcoachestogetthebestsenseofwhetheraplayerisworthpursuing.Nomatterwhereaguyisranked,Butler'scoacheswanttomakesurehe'saproperfit.

"We'reverybigonwatchingkidsduringtimeouts,theirinteractioninhuddlesandonthebenchwhenthey'renotplaying,"Gravessaid."Whenthey'reinagameandthey'reup20,howdotheyact?Andwhatifthey'redown20andthingsaren'tgoingwell?We'rejusttakingintoaccountallthosethingsandcomingupwiththebestanalysisthatwecan.There'snoperfectformula,butIthinkwecanmakeanargumentthatwe'vedoneaprettygoodjobsofar."

Dunhamrepresentsoneofthelatestexamples.

Thethree-starprospectlivesabout30milesfromIndianapolisandwasconsideringButlerevenbeforetheBulldogsbeganeitheroftheirFinalFourruns.HecommittedtoButlerthesummerbeforehisjunioryearofhighschool.Henowhasboostedhisstockwithaspectacularseniorseasoninwhichhehasaveragednearly30pointspergamewhilemaking94percentofhisfreethrowsandnearlyhalfhis3-pointattempts.

"Hewasalreadylookingatthemasoneofhisstrongcontenders,"PendletonHeightscoachBrianHahnsaid."Thetournamentsuccessjustpusheditoverthetopandmadeittheobviouschoice."

TheFinalFourrunsalsocouldenableButlerandVCUtobroadentheirgeographicreach,thoughbothschoolscontinuetofocusprimarilyonrecruitswithintheirownarea.

ClickHeretoviewthisLink.ButlerhadlandedMarshalloutofsouthFloridabeforeitsfirstFinalFourrun,buttheBulldogsreturnedtoFloridathisyeartogetacommitmentfromtwo-starguardDevonteMorganClickHeretoviewthisLink.ofTampaPrep.VCUalsonowshouldhavemorenamerecognitionoutsidetheEastCoast.

"Itcertainlyraisedourvisibility,"Smartsaid."There'smuchmorerecognitionwhenwecallrecruits.Wegetmorecallsback.Probablythebestthingaboutitisthey'veallseenusplay,sowhereaseveryoneinrecruitingtypicallysays,'Hey,weplayfast,wepressandyougettoshootalotofthreesandgettoplayyourgame,'somepeoplebackthatupandsomepeopledon't.Wedon'tevenhavetosaythat.They'veseenthat.They'veseenitonthebiggeststage.

"That'sprobablythebestpartofwhathappenedlastyearasitrelatestorecruiting."

YetSmartremainsunsureabouthowmuchonehugeNCAAtournamentruncanaffectateam'srecruitingfortunes.Hewondersiftop-levelrecruitswanttoseealongerperiodofexcellence.

HecitedGonzagaasanexample.Gonzagahassignedsixtop-100recruits-including2007five-starprospectAustinDaye-overthelastsevenyearstoprettymuchsheditsformerstatusasamid-majorprogram.Butthatflurrydidn'tcomeuntilseveralyearsafterGonzagaburstontothenationalscenewithaCinderellaruntoaregionalfinalin1999.

Ontheotherhand,GeorgeMasonoftheCAAhasexperiencedamodestupgradeinrecruitingbuthassignedonlyonetop-150player(ErikCopesin2011)sincereachingthe2006FinalFour.GeorgeMasonhasearnedtwoNCAAbids(in2008and2011)andhaswononlyasingletournamentgamesincethatFinalFourappearance.CopeswassignedbynewGeorgeMasoncoachPaulHewittafterJimLarranaga-thecoachwhohadledthePatriotstotheFinalFour-leftforMiami.

"Idon'tknowifoneyeardefinitelymakesadirectimpactwhereyou'renowgettingsignificantlybetterplayers,"Smartsaid."Ithinkasustainedrunofexcellence-ifyoulookatwhatGonzagahasdonethelast10-15years-thatobviouslyhasaneffect.Ithinkaprogramlikethatisnowabletorecruitsignificantlybetterplayersthantheywerebefore.''

ThatmakestheupcomingNCAAtournamentparticularlynoteworthyforVCU.JustasButlercementeditsstatusasanationalprogramlastyearbyprovingitsruntothe2010championshipgamewasnofluke,VCUwouldlovetoshowitcanwreakhavoconabracketinback-to-backseasons.VCUalsomusttryhangingontoSmart,whoisconsideredaprimecandidateforIllinois'coachingvacancy.

OnetriptotheFinalFouralreadyhelpedVCUraiseitsprofileamongrecruits.Asecondstraightproductivepostseasoncouldhaveanevengreaterimpact.

SteveMegargeeisthenationalcollegecolumnistforRivals.com.Hecanbereachedatsmegargee@rivals.com,andyoucanclickheretofollowhimonTwitter.

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