Spring Break
The Daily OrangeWhy wait?
In search of 'can't miss' talent, colleges target commitments from recruits as young as 14 years old
By John Clayton
Posted: 10/28/07, 11:18 PM EST Section: Sports
From there, Waiters attended Syracuse summer camps for the past two summers. After the second, Syracuse offered him a scholarship, which Waiters promptly accepted.
Verbal commitments are non-binding, and it's no guarantee a player will end up at the school he originally chooses.
Despite the commitment's lack of finality, there are obvious benefits for the early bloomers who make a decision so quickly. Recruits benefit from the national exposure they receive as pre-high school phenoms.
Others, including Waiters, are eager to forgo the bombardment of letters, phone calls and visits that make up the recruiting process.
"The average kid would love to have that attention," Abbott said. "In his situation, I think that could have been a distraction. … So now he just has to focus on being a better kid and a better student."
As for the schools dishing out offers to kids that can't yet drive a car, they strengthen a bond with a touted recruit at minimal risk. At any point, a school can rescind its offer if it feels a recruit isn't academically or athletically good enough.
It's that sort of scenario that Martelli fears could repeat itself in the new recruiting atmosphere.
"Suppose a program has to pull (an offer)," Martelli said. "Yeah, you committed, but we found out you're not good enough. That's going to be a public relations nightmare."
The earliest a player can officially sign is during a one-week "early" signing period during the fall of his senior year of high school. That means Waiters won't be able to formalize his future at SU until November 2009.
Before Waiters actually inks his national letter of intent, there's little doubt that a slew of other suitors will come knocking. Abbott said Waiters has received some sort of contact or interest from almost every major program in the country.
College coaches are not permitted to make "direct contact," which includes phone calls, with a recruit before he starts his junior year. For that reason, when Baylor coaches called last April to offer a scholarship to Waxahachie (Texas) High School point guard Jamison Sterns, they couldn't even talk to him directly.
Verbal commitments are non-binding, and it's no guarantee a player will end up at the school he originally chooses.
Despite the commitment's lack of finality, there are obvious benefits for the early bloomers who make a decision so quickly. Recruits benefit from the national exposure they receive as pre-high school phenoms.
Others, including Waiters, are eager to forgo the bombardment of letters, phone calls and visits that make up the recruiting process.
"The average kid would love to have that attention," Abbott said. "In his situation, I think that could have been a distraction. … So now he just has to focus on being a better kid and a better student."
As for the schools dishing out offers to kids that can't yet drive a car, they strengthen a bond with a touted recruit at minimal risk. At any point, a school can rescind its offer if it feels a recruit isn't academically or athletically good enough.
It's that sort of scenario that Martelli fears could repeat itself in the new recruiting atmosphere.
"Suppose a program has to pull (an offer)," Martelli said. "Yeah, you committed, but we found out you're not good enough. That's going to be a public relations nightmare."
The earliest a player can officially sign is during a one-week "early" signing period during the fall of his senior year of high school. That means Waiters won't be able to formalize his future at SU until November 2009.
Before Waiters actually inks his national letter of intent, there's little doubt that a slew of other suitors will come knocking. Abbott said Waiters has received some sort of contact or interest from almost every major program in the country.
College coaches are not permitted to make "direct contact," which includes phone calls, with a recruit before he starts his junior year. For that reason, when Baylor coaches called last April to offer a scholarship to Waxahachie (Texas) High School point guard Jamison Sterns, they couldn't even talk to him directly.
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