T. Hill, The Rick, Michael Carter and the gang

I don't follow recruiting all that much. If I heard that Brewster landed a top recruit, I'd applaud it and give it a preliminary judgement based on who else is recruiting the kid. Otherwise, a selected group of You Tube videos doesn't do much for me.
Pre-internet days it was different. One of my favorite newspapers of the year was when the Big 10 announced their signings. Unless Sid had mentioned a kid in his column, most of the kids were surprises. It was fun to read their bios and find out that yet again, my beloved Gophers beat out Western Illinois for another recruit.
I think what soured me was "The Rick." That's right, the golden boy from the Duluth East Greyhounds. I remember the recruiting battles and hearing about it. I saw him play in high school and thought he was going to be the next Mychal Thompson. Then, I saw a tape of him signing his letter of intent. He pulls out the Arizona hat only to put on a Gopher hat after that. Even though I was excited he was going to Minnesota, I thought it was bush league and I always had that in the back of my mind whenever I saw him play. True, he was a 17 year old kid that, probably in hindsight, wouldn't make that same decision. But, that's where parents need to rear their ugly heads!
Anyway, there have been many examples since. Michael Carter wore a WV hat at the Army AA game, only to change his mind later. Now, the kid from Wisconsin who originally said he'd be a Gopher decides to stick with Becky. And, how about Tayler Hill from Minneapolis South. She even has her friends with placards spell out ETATS OIHO. I thought it was kind of funny that all that staged stuff didn't even get pulled off.
In general, I'm tired of seeing these kids thinking of themselves as all that and a bag o' chips. I know it's a pipe dream that my kids could have a D1 offer in a major sport, but if they ever did.....I'd tell them to keep their yappers shut until they sign on the dotted line. Daddy's orders!

It's the price that we pay for society giving them so much attention for what amounts to being able to run fast and knock over another guy, putting an orange ball in a hoop, or being able to hit a ball really far with a stick. These kids think that makes them truly important to the rest of the world. And its not just the kids, its the parents too.

Personally, I don't get too hyped about what school a kid commits to or doesn't commit to. All I want is a straightforward, honest approach. But when kids make their college commitment a school-wide event (ala...Tayler Hill), it's too much. In this regard, college recruiting is much like being a sports agent these days. A kid wants to be told how great they are and how important they will be if they come to a certain program. That's what it really comes down to: Making a kid feel at home and also feel that they are the center of the universe.