In the time of the coronavirus pandemic, recruiting for players must be done differently

Recruiting in the age of coronavirus is … different.

“I’ve never watched this much film in my life,” Barry University men’s basketball coach Butch Estes said of his new normal. “We’re watching this much film because we can’t see the players in person, and we want to be sure we’re recruiting the right guys.”

If there’s a previous relationship with a recruit — and the coach has already seen that player in person — that’s one thing.

But if, for example, a player is transferring and sends an email with a highlight reel, then the vetting by the coach has to be thorough.

Estes said he gets up to 500 e-mails per month from high school and college players, and he has advice for those athletes:

▪ Send a highlight reel.

▪ Send one or two full games. (If you are a college transfer, this is not as vital because there are services that provide coaches with video on all possessions by any particular player.)

▪ For best results, it’s best if you have a coach who will endorse you, especially someone your would-be college coach knows and trusts.

Estes said he misses going on the road to recruit.

“There’s nothing like watching a player in person to gauge his height, weight and speed and also to talk to him and see his personality a bit,” Estes said.

Without that in-person scouting, Estes and his staff will watch the highlight reel. If that is not impressive, that’s the end of the recruitment. If, on the other hand, they see potential, they will watch video of an entire game played by the recruit and continue to the next steps as warranted.

Estes said this coronavirus-forced pause has led to a tedious routine of endless videos to watch and calls to make. The normal recruitment is at least broken up car or plane trips, lunches and dinners on the road and in-person games.

But this isn’t just a struggle for the coaches.

Some players — such as Toledo transfer T.J. Smith, who chose Barry sight unseen — are having to make this major decision without visiting campus or meeting their potential teammates.

“I feel for them,” Estes said.

As for the players currently on his roster, Estes meets with them individually, through Zoom, two or three times per week. Once a week, the entire team gets on Zoom.

“Not all of them have the same type of home gyms to work out,” Estes said. “Once they get back on campus, we’ll see who is in shape.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Miami Dade College basketball standout Daliyah “Dee” Brown, a 5-9 guard, has signed with Division I Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Brown, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, led the nation’s junior-colleges in scoring (26.2) and finished second in assists (7.3). She tied a state-tournament record with a 41-point game and became MDC’s first All-American (first or second team) since Danielette Coleman in 1992.

She is also the first person in her family to go to college. She is one of five generations of women in her family still alive, including her 98-year-old great, great grandmother Essie Glass.