SPRINGFIELD Mass. – The Hoophall Classic featured a long list of committed and signed prospects, so the loaded event was the perfect chance to get a retrospective look at the recruiting process from those who recently lived it.
Rivals.com was on hand for the event, and asked a number of standouts about the biggest lies college coaches tell to prospects. Their answers and explanations are below.
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Hoophall Classic Survey: Who finished in second place for top prospects?
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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The lie: You’re our top target.
The explanation: "It’s definitely, 'You're my No. 1 guy.' They say that, but they’ll tell three different guys they are the No. 1 guy. Of course they’re going to tell you that. They just tell everyone they’re the No. 1 guy. These days, though, you know it’s a business. Their jobs are on the line and they have families, so I don’t blame them for it. They have to do anything they can."
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The lie: We have other players ready to commit at your position.
The explanation: “I had a few schools that would try to rush me by telling me I needed to commit now because they had other kids ready to commit. You know that’s not true, but they just want you to hurry up and commit. They will tell you they are about to run out of scholarships.”
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The lie: You’ll start as a freshman.
The explanation: “I feel like my guys were pretty truthful with me, but some guys will say things. They’ll promise things they can’t keep. Like, when a coach tells you, 'You’ll come in and start as a freshman.' How can you promise that? You can’t be sure of that. You can tell that’s just to get you to sign.”
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The lie: You’re a great fit here.
The explanation: “I feel like they all have their own way of recruiting. They really don’t outright lie, but sometimes they’ll just tell you that the school is a great fit for you but not really tell you why or what they mean by it. They all have their own way, but of course they think their school is a fit.”
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The lie: How they plan to use you.
The explanation: “I have seen this one happen to people I know. They’ll tell you what you want to hear as far as how they want to use you in the system. Then, when you get there, you find out that’s not true. They use you in a different way. I know a guy that went to a certain place and had that happen to him.”
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The lie: You’ll start right away.
The explanation: “There are a lot, but the most common one is, 'You’ll come in and start right away.' Obviously, it’s relative for a lot of people. Sometimes, it’s not a lie, but a lot of times they tell anyone that.”
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The lie: You fit our style of play.
The explanation: “For me it was honestly just about play style. Obviously, I’m not a traditional big guy. I can shoot the ball and stretch the floor. They tell you that’s how they use guys like me. Then, you turn on the TV and watch them and it doesn't correlate at all. It was just stuff like that.”
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The lie: I’ll definitely be here next year.
The explanation: “They’ll always tell you they’ll be there next year and then either leave or get fired. You can see when a coach is close to getting fired because they’re losing, but they’ll still be the coach next year. You have to be careful with that.”
