7 Things College Coaches Hate
When Recruiting Players

We interviewed 5 college basketball coaches and asked them about the recruiting process. Here are a few things that drive them crazy you should avoid…

Being allergic to D

Some things fluctuate game to game and college coaches understand this. But effort, communication, and pride defensively aren’t on that list. Actually, taking pride in defense will get you noticed and could be a separator when compared to your comp.

Bad teammate, uncoachable, poor body language

Your words talk to me, your actions scream at me.”

There are a lot of good players out there & most coaches will move on to the next one when they see you sulk, yell at teammates, or roll your eyes when getting coached.

No attention to detail

Spelling a coaches name wrong when writing back to them, putting the wrong school name in your email to them, ignoring text messages, missing deadlines…

Coaches are getting to know who you are in the recruiting process. If you show them a lack of attention to detail they assume this is what they can expect from you as a player in their program. Coaches don’t want players who are high maintenance, miss deadlines, and don’t communicate. It causes them more work and on court they anticipate you will be a player they can’t rely on to execute the little details in a big moment.

ISO Ball

College teams rarely ISO for 1 guy, coaches want to see if you know how to play. If you are at an AAU/Showcase event and over dribble, are selfish & take bad shots it is a red flag. Be aggressive, make plays, make shots, but also share the ball & create for others.

Getting ghosted

Coaches invest months into recruiting/building relationships and then instead of having a conversation or sending a message to tell them you are going elsewhere, you simply stop responding. Remember coaches are friends with coaches and reputation travels.

“Hey coach, actually I am interested.”

Coaches hate when recruits brush them off because the school “isn’t a high enough level” and then a few months later that player reaches back out because they didn’t get any other offers. Keep your options open.

Helicopter Parents

When a college coach sees a parent coaching from the stands or complaining about the coaches, they assume that will keep happening for the next four years. As surprising as it seems, helicopter parents stunt recruitment more than you think.

One college coach said,

“We want players who can stand on their own two feet and who have been empowered to do that by their parents. If we see the parents fighting all their battles in high school then we assume that hasn’t happened.”

Another coach said,

“I hate when the parents talk over their son the entire recruiting visit. It is a pet peeve of mine because we need to know what the player thinks and wants. 7d/ “We also want to feel confident that we won’t be dealing with the parents for the next four years, but the player. College is about each player growing into their own person. The helicopter parents disrupt this.”