How Young is to Young

College basketball is a sport that is embedded into our culture. Many of us live and die with our teams in hopes that they can bring home the championship. When I think of College Basketball I think of the legendary giants that strolled the sidelines week in and week out. Coaches like John Wooden, Adolf Rupp, Dean Smith, and Don Haskins. Their legend and their presence have made an everlasting impact that will always define this sport. These coaches played the game by the book and through hardwork and dedication they are the most recognized figures when talking about College Basketball. Recently, though the old methods of coaching have been changed and transformed into something completely different. The new generation of coaches have unlimited access to text messaging, websites devoted to high school players, and AAU programs throughout the country. Coaches can recruit a player with the simple push of a button. The issue that has created a lot of controversy in the basketball world is the recruitment of middle school players. Before kids even taste the atmosphere of high school sports they are being looked at as future athletes that can compete on the highest level. The question is Should coaches be allowed to do this or is the media blowing this issue out of proportion? In many cases I think that the media creates to much controversy, but in in this case I think that recruiting middle school kids is the wrong thing to do. These kids have not grown into their bodies and you don't know how they will turn out. It is a risk that college coaches need to consider before they make their decision to offer. Why are coaches doing this? Is it because they want a leg up on the competition or do they seriously think that this kid can change my program. The two issues that I think will come about by doing this is the target that these kids will have and the ego that comes with it. One assistant from a Top 10 program said that "in recruiting, its all about being first. If you get in on the kid in eighth grade your first." This is true, but how many of us when we were in eighth grade held up to a commitment? All it does is give the kid a target. Before he sets foot on a court people will be gunning for him and if he fails how will he react. This kid is tagged as the next big thing and if he is getting shut down what will happen next. Along with the target comes the ego. Some kids may take this ranking as a privilege and they may get outworked by other individuals leading to a similar situation of failure. One story that encompasses this issue is Ryan Boatwright who is a 14 year old who committed to USC. USC coach Tim Floyd gave him an offer after he saw Ryan play at an AAU tournament. Ryan and his parents flew out to USC to see the campus and Ryan liked it so much he committed. What kind of message does this send? Young players commit, but are they committing to college or just for the game? He still has to figure out what Major he wants to take and this is all before he takes a high school class. Pat Forde; a writer for ESPN said "This is a child with milk on his breath already thrown into a whiskey world." It is up to him how he develops, but his road to success will be harder than ever.