UK Coaches have off-season to reflect on past  recruiting - game planning for 2008 - 09

The typical off-season calendar for a big-time Div. 1 NCAA football and basketball coach is not filled completely with rest and relaxation or fun and games on the lake and golf course, there are several periods of evaluation-type recruiting, but nothing very demanding physically because they don’t have to worry about practicing or preparing their own team on campus.  

However, don’t believe a word about that common phrase many college coaches preach, “we recruit everyday or we get behind.” The NCAA has several (dead periods) in place for all sports throughout the calendar year. This means an NCAA-member scho-ol’s coaching staff can’t bring a prospect on campus or visit their home during these periods and they are sacred and very seldom abused even by the Kelvin Sampsons of the college coaching fraternity. Also, you’re only allowed one phone call per week in most sports from the college coach to a recruit once they enter their senior year of high school. The recruit however can call each coach recruiting him or her whenever they desire as many times as they desire each week. 

Make no mistake, recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful college sports team but it’s not done 24 / 7, like most in the business portray it to be. The NCAA sees to that for the benefit of the high school recruit and the college coach as well as to hopefully maintain a level playing field for the not-so-lucratively funded recruiting budgets of mid-major schools. Now, with all the above established concerning the off-season it is common for most schools on this level of college athletics to require contractually for their head coaches, especially in the two major sports of football and mens’ basketball to attend several social functions or fundraisers for their respective sport, or the athletic department in general. These are the type of events that most coaches literally hate to attend, but it’s part of that lucrative financial package that most receive for their services, so they come with a smile on their face and deal with all those corporate sponsors, season ticket holders, and alumni who will berate and chastise them come next season.   All in all the off-season for a college football and basketball coach is a nice blend of work and play, especially for the compensation they all get for their services. It’s a pretty good gig compared to most any other profession. But you better win or it won’t last long. 

Rich Brooks is coming off the best two-year run that any Wildcat football coach has had since the ancient yesteryear days of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Wildcat teams of the 40s and 50s. Two consecutive eight-win seasons, both ending with bowl victories against the football factories of Clemson and Florida State will be hard to top this fall. With the spring evaluation period starting in the next few days Brooks and his staff will be laying the groundwork across the Commonwealth and the south preaching to recruits that opportunities await those who come to Lexington, especially at the skilled positions, and no longer can the rest of the college football world claim to a recruit that you can’t win football games in Lexington.  

Not many high-profile recruits come on board after 2006, there were still many skeptics out there saying UK was a one-year wonder. After 2007, nobody can refuse the fact that Brooks got UK over the proverbial hump that many failed to do in the past. With several graduating seniors drafted onto NFL rosters, look for UK to reap the dividends of the last two years in this years recruiting class.  

Here’s one item UK can throw at a recruit that you thought never would become fact. The 2008 NFL draft now being in the books, can anybody ever recall UK having five players drafted in the first seven rounds, Vanderbilt two players, and Alabama none. 

After witnessing one of the most competitive Blue - White games in memory last week it’s quite obvious Brooks has stockpiled several quality lineman on both sides of the ball the last two years and mainly needs a couple fleet-footed wide receivers on offense and maybe another quality pass rushing defensive end to get the Cats to the major bowl level of winning in the SEC.

Expect the Cats to pull in a few high-profile recruits at those impact positions this coming fall.

Even after Billy Clyde Gillispie turned in a quality coaching performance in getting the maximum out of a power forward-center type player in young freshman phenom Patrick Patterson last winter, he is still having the same problem “Tubby” Smith had on the recruiting trail getting big inside-oriented players to commit to UK for the future.  

One could understand a little skepticism going into last year by a recruit not knowing how Gillispie would use a player of this type in his system, but after witnessing how Patterson was featured in Gillispie’s offense I’m totally confused as to why any quality recruit at the power forward-center position would not jump at the opportunity to play at UK with the minutes that are available for that position on this roster as it stands going into 2008-09.  

Not many impact-type players remain for this spring signing period, but the two or three that are still available have UK in serious consideration. The most prized recruit still on the board at press time was 6′ 10″ 220 lb. Ater Majok of Martinsville, Va. a 5-star player who was born in the African country of Sudan but just a couple years ago came to America. Majok reportedly is down to UConn, UK, Kansas, and Baylor. The first three schools are quality high-profile programs that this type of recruit normally considers.  

Baylor on the other hand, well, one can’t help but wonder if things have really changed since the Dave Bliss days for this type of recruit to be considering playing basketball in Waco, Texas.