Recruiting... the good, the bad & the ugly

[Rerun92]

17 minutes ago, blazer1set said:

So does the TSSAA say publicly that recruiting will be dealt with just to make themselves look good, and then turn a blind eye to it?       Or are all the rumors of recruiting violations just that.... rumors?             What I was hoping to see in this thread is some EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE, not vague references to "this school or that school has been recruiting for years..."

So how about it sports fans..... PROOF or RUMORS?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzEt9cATWFw

Usually they the rumors are based on fact.  I've only heard of TSSAA ignoring evidence one time, and that was when they said the testimony of an athlete wasn't sufficient proof.  They want concrete proof, (photos, video, writing), and a member school has to turn it in. 

 

[osunut2]

9 minutes ago, Knoxemdown said:

Usually they the rumors are based on fact. 

That's a dangerous game to play. Anyone can start a rumor, especially in this "wonderful" age of social media that we live in.

[Rerun92]

7 minutes ago, osunut2 said:

That's a dangerous game to play. Anyone can start a rumor, especially in this "wonderful" age of social media that we live in.

I said usually.  But if you want to get mad about something, why don't you go jump JohnyUtah?  He's out here naming folks by name with no proof at all.

[osunut2]

5 minutes ago, Knoxemdown said:

I said usually.  But if you want to get mad about something, why don't you go jump JohnyUtah?  He's out here naming folks by name with no proof at all.

I'm actually pretty familiar with what Clark did at Powell in the 90s, particularly the early-mid part of that decade. The NCLB predecessor made that practice legal, from what I remember. I was there in the late 90s, and he was no longer getting those kids.

Edited October 21, 2021 by osunut2
typo

[Czar]

Just now, Knoxemdown said:

I said usually.  But if you want to get mad about something, why don't you go jump JohnyUtah?  He's out here naming folks by name with no proof at all.

Johnny is correct, however. Powell has been doing this since Matt was playing for Clark at Powell. Clark is best known for his recruiting prowess. Where do you think Matt learned it? If you can't see this... you need to open your eyes. It is critical to note that it is happening just about everywhere now. The places that don't do it are getting WAY behind. Look at West/South Doyle/Powell, etc., etc., they are crushing the surrounding schools with it. HVA, Bearden, Farragut are being crushed by it and throw in the private schools and it is just downright ugly for them and their records reflect it. Those three teams are a combined 6-18 this year. Tough to believe recruiting from the private sector and other Knox County High Schools isn't playing some type of part in it.

[JSamson7]

5 minutes ago, FilmCzar said:

Johnny is correct, however. Powell has been doing this since Matt was playing for Clark at Powell. Clark is best known for his recruiting prowess. Where do you think Matt learned it? If you can't see this... you need to open your eyes. It is critical to note that it is happening just about everywhere now. The places that don't do it are getting WAY behind. Look at West/South Doyle/Powell, etc., etc., they are crushing the surrounding schools with it. HVA, Bearden, Farragut are being crushed by it and throw in the private schools and it is just downright ugly for them and their records reflect it. Those three teams are a combined 6-18 this year. Tough to believe recruiting from the private sector and other Knox County High Schools isn't playing some type of part in it.

Nice, I'm still waiting on you to "enlighten me"...

[edwardblake]

2 minutes ago, FilmCzar said:

Johnny is correct, however. Powell has been doing this since Matt was playing for Clark at Powell. Clark is best known for his recruiting prowess. Where do you think Matt learned it? If you can't see this... you need to open your eyes. It is critical to note that it is happening just about everywhere now. The places that don't do it are getting WAY behind. Look at West/South Doyle/Powell, etc., etc., they are crushing the surrounding schools with it. HVA, Bearden, Farragut are being crushed by it and throw in the private schools and it is just downright ugly for them and their records reflect it. Those three teams are a combined 6-18 this year. Tough to believe recruiting from the private sector and other Knox County High Schools isn't playing some type of part in it.

Agreed. Matt is Kroger brand Clark Duncan. Although he recruits, Clark is a class act. You would never see him slide down the sideline. However to your point on recruiting in the county, I think kids know they get the most exposure by playing on teams that win playoff games. The harsh reality the big three West Knoxville schools face is that being in the same classification as Maryville there is a ceiling you hit after the second round. If you have gotten to the second round in 6A you've done something. 5A is a lot different. There is no boogeyman, no Greeneville, Alcoa, or Maryville. I think kids and parents are aware of this and want their sons to go to 5A schools. There is no doubt all types of recruiting takes place due to those 'uncontrollable' circumstances.

[Czar]

7 minutes ago, JSamson7 said:

Nice, I'm still waiting on you to "enlighten me"...

[Rerun92]

6 minutes ago, FilmCzar said:

Johnny is correct, however. Powell has been doing this since Matt was playing for Clark at Powell. Clark is best known for his recruiting prowess. Where do you think Matt learned it? If you can't see this... you need to open your eyes. It is critical to note that it is happening just about everywhere now. The places that don't do it are getting WAY behind. Look at West/South Doyle/Powell, etc., etc., they are crushing the surrounding schools with it. HVA, Bearden, Farragut are being crushed by it and throw in the private schools and it is just downright ugly for them and their records reflect it. Those three teams are a combined 6-18 this year. Tough to believe recruiting from the private sector and other Knox County High Schools isn't playing some type of part in it.

Bearden has only had two 8-win-seasons in the last ten years.  HVA has only had one since they existed. Farragut had 4 really good years but has also had some really bad.  I don't think that's down to recruiting impacting them.  

[Czar]

1 minute ago, Knoxemdown said:

Bearden has only had two 8-win-seasons in the last ten years.  HVA has only had one since they existed. Farragut had 4 really good years but has also had some really bad.  I don't think that's down to recruiting impacting them.  

I think it is pretty clear that the main private schools (Grace Christian is a wannabe) all being housed in West Knoxville have certainly hurt the main West Knoxville high schools in the player department from a recruiting perspective. Additionally, Pellissippi offers a quick way for people in West Knoxville to get their kids to Alcoa/Maryville if they so choose. If you can't see this obvious disadvantage, I urge you to study the geography of Knoxville, specifically the proximity of public high schools to the private schools (and Maryville/Alcoa) that can totally poach players. 

[osunut2]

1 minute ago, FilmCzar said:

Johnny is correct, however. Powell has been doing this since Matt was playing for Clark at Powell. Clark is best known for his recruiting prowess. Where do you think Matt learned it? If you can't see this... you need to open your eyes. It is critical to note that it is happening just about everywhere now. The places that don't do it are getting WAY behind. Look at West/South Doyle/Powell, etc., etc., they are crushing the surrounding schools with it. HVA, Bearden, Farragut are being crushed by it and throw in the private schools and it is just downright ugly for them and their records reflect it. Those three teams are a combined 6-18 this year. Tough to believe recruiting from the private sector and other Knox County High Schools isn't playing some type of part in it.

I would argue that Clark doesn't have to do things quite like he did in the early-mid 90s. There's actually quite a bit of talent in the SD zone that SD was losing for years, until he settled that program and convinced a lot of those kids to stay in the zone. Same is true at West. There is a ton of talent in that zone, and for years (before and during Scott Cummings tenure) those kids played elsewhere, or in some cases, just didn't play at all.

I obviously have no proof of anything, but any educated voter who pays attention to these school zones knows how they have been shuffled over the years. The Powell zone lost everything west of Clinton Hwy in the early-mid 2000s, but when HVA opened, they gained a very large portion of the kids that used to be zoned for West, which really changed their talent pool. 

In the 90s, schools like Farragut, Powell, Central, and others took full advantage of NCLB (and its predecessor), which legally allowed them to enroll student-athletes from all over the city. You can call that recruiting, but based on the law at the time, it was legal.

 

[edwardblake]

Something I have noticed in regards to recruiting in Knox County is that there are quite a few mechanisms to utilize to get kids from other zones. On the T everyone seems to be pretty divorced from reality, recruiting 100% takes place, it is just not in the salacious manner that some of the sleazeballs that coach in the county have chosen to do it. A few examples; West is an IB school so anyone can transfer in, Central is a flagship school so anyone can transfer there, Fulton has a radio station, any school with Drivers Ed where their zoned school does not have the program. Knox County only cares that they don't have to pick up the bill for transportation. Maryville and Alcoa are pretty widely acknowledged to be open to anyone willing to come. What the private schools do is a whole other bag of worms. Those are some low character people. The alphabet soups be it CAK, GCA, KCHS, or the W E B B school openly and disgustingly pry kids away from their communities they grew up playing in to serve their practice squad interests. I've seen them do it at youth league games like Ted Bundy trying to get a young girl in the back of his van. Disgusting! Because these privates will play the bluechip recruits they can get from other sources of recruiting. Of course you can trace back a lot of these west Knoxville private schools opening up to schools integrating but you all aren't ready for that conversation.