From intense daily training sessions to studying game movies to traveling around the country, competing in exhibitions and tournaments on a weekly basis, Tre Johnson’s schedule does not allow for a nap.
“It’s just not something I have a lot of time for,” Johnson said. “I always work; especially now that school is over. ”
However, he plans to take a break today for an afternoon nap in preparation for what will likely be an early morning circus after the clock strikes midnight.
NCAA rules allow college basketball coaches to make unlimited calls and text messages to rookies on June 15 after the second year, which means that leading prospects like Johnson will have to keep their cell phones fully charged while coaches reach out in hopes of make lasting impressions.
“I will relax and calm down [little] take a nap to get ready, ”says Johnson, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Lake Highlands, Dallas. “I can’t wait to experience it, because it’s something that all the boys in my class knew had been coming for a while. It’s pretty crazy that he’s here now. “
This is an opinion shared by most top-level players in the class who have put the date in a circle on their calendars for most of last year. The NCAA has a rule in place to establish a phased approach to recruitment and limit early recruitment.
In 2012, as social media became more popular, the NCAA changed its rules to allow coaches to send unlimited text messages, direct messages to social media channels, and make unlimited calls to rookies entering their season for junior.
The old rule only allowed one phone call a week, and the abuse of that rule was the main reason current Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson was fired as Indiana’s head coach in 2008.
“This is the day we’ve all been waiting for because most of us have heard of it from older boys,” said Isaiah Elohim, a guard at the Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California). “They all talk about how cool it is to be able to hear coaches about change directly. Even though you speak through your coach, it’s as if you’re finally getting a chance to start a relationship with different coaches. ”
And that’s where the goal lies, according to Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel.
Under NCAA rules, coaches cannot talk about future employees until they sign in one of two periods during their senior year; however, Capel said June 15 serves as a basis for what coaches hope will grow into a deep relationship.
“It’s exciting to have a chance to build a relationship,” says Capel. “Now we can call a child and tell him we want to take him to campus, we can send him text messages and follow all this. This is really where the relationship grows. Here we cut the middleman. It’s always a really fun day for us too. “
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As a consensus top 10 player in the class, Elohim has already built a list of who is one of the heavyweight heavyweight colleges such as Gonzaga, Kentucky, Baylor and Kansas, among many others; his excitement is rooted in the belief that consistent communication will organically make his final decision clearer.
College coaches like John Calipari will be up late to talk about the best prospects for 2024.
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“Being able to talk to coaches more and more will show me who I’m really clicking with,” says Elohim. “You can just get a lot of regular conversations with someone and I’ll be able to see what it’s all about. I will just have fun with it and accept everything. I don’t see it as something you create or break. ”
Yes, even if the coach doesn’t step in right away.
“I wouldn’t hold him against anyone,” Johnson said. “The night is busy; I understand it.”
For the wing of Johnson, Elohim and John Paul (Plano, Texas) Liam McNealy, staying in communication for free for all will be short; on Thursday, the trio will travel to Colorado Springs to try out for the U.S. U17 basketball team, which will compete in Europe from July 2-10.
“I’m ready to see how June 15 will go and all that, but I won’t be on my phone long after Thursday,” said McNealy, who helped the U16 win gold last summer. “This is one of the things I will probably say to the coaches when we talk. I was told it was cool at first, but after a while it may strike you a little. I don’t want to get to that point, so we’ll talk to them about it from the beginning. ”
Leiden Blocker “fully” supports McNealy’s idea of strong borders after testing the entire court press over the past year.
He vividly recalled being dizzy at the time last year at the thought of texting early in the morning with countless college coaches, but said that just like a hardwood press for an entire court, chasing a cell phone can sometimes be overwhelming.
“It’s a stressful process and we’re all just teenagers at the end of the day,” said Blocker, a rising senior security guard at Sunrise Christian Academy (Belair, Can.). “It’s going to be fun right now because it’s new and you want to see who will offer you and what they will say and all that.
“But it can also be a distraction. You just have to remember that all the hard work brought you here. You have to balance it to keep the work as your focus. ”
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