SWeberCat02 said:
CDAGRIZ said:
Sure, just get those Utah high schoolers to have elite DI talent out of HS, and I’m positive that the elite schools will build the 7-year model into their recruiting.
In reality, few Utah high schoolers have that talent coming out of HS, but if you build your hometown recruiting with 7 to play 4 in mind, you can have a decent set of 25 year olds in a few years. Long game.
Coach K does recruit the best Mormon athletes, he just tells them that they aren't coming to Duke if they choose to serve a mission. Current NBAers Jabari Parker and Frank Jackson are both practicing members that would have served missions but chose instead to play at Duke. Chris Burgess before them. Coach K and these athletes know that a mission is usually a career killer and doesn't benefit a program. None of the best Mormon athletes have served missions. Steve Young, Dale Murphy, Danny Ainge, Jimmer Fredette, Bryce Harper, Tony Finau, and the above mentioned Parker and Jackson. Two of the most highly recruited Mormon athletes ever, Shawn Bradley and Ben Olson, served missions and their careers suffered for it.
I think some people are arguing two different points. I think everyone agrees that a Mormon mission, in and of itself, is not an advantage. You could forget how to play, get fat, get zika, or get eaten by a hippo. The point is that having a 25-year-old (whose career wasn't derailed by the mission) on the field/court
is an advantage. I think people are getting hung up on the mission aspect when the point is age and eligibility.
Regarding Coach K and others, I have been told first hand by a coach with multiple Final Fours that it has more to do with recruiting timelines and essentially holding roster spots. When a program has that allowance built into its system, it is better suited to handle the situation.
All time leading scorer in BYU basketball history? Tyler Haws. IDK what he did during his two years. It might have been a mission, or it might have been prison, but he came back a F'ing man. Kids who weren't even born during his first semester at BYU were rising second graders by the time he left.