Looking for a few good men (who can dunk)

Victoria Sun

Friday, July 26, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.

Marquette coach Tom Crean made a striking impression on Brandon Jenkins the day he visited him at Southeastern High School in Detroit.

Crean handed Jenkins a replica of Marquette's Bradley Center and asked him to open it.

Inside was a surprise Jenkins will never forget.

"He had a doll of me with my number on it," Jenkins said before bursting out laughing. "It popped out of the stadium and hit me in my face.

"It was a good idea. That stood out a lot."

Nevertheless, Jenkins committed to Louisville.

The 6-foot-3 point guard is one of many high school basketball players coveted by the multitude of college coaches here this week at the adidas Big Time Tournament, which concludes today.

With 324 Division I men's basketball programs and a much smaller number of elite players, the battle to land a prized recruit is fierce.

Tennessee sent guard Omar Wilkes a huge poster depicting Wilkes and coach Buzz Peterson with the caption, "My top priority is Omar Wilkes."

While Wilkes, son of former UCLA and Lakers star Jamal Wilkes, said he was impressed with the gesture, his top schools remain Kansas, Stanford, UCLA, Cal and Southern Cal.

"Kansas sends a lot of funny stuff," he said. "They send pictures of me and (friend Reno High senior center) David Padgett.

"They send me mock box scores of me scoring 23 in the 2005 NCAA Championship game, mock articles, stories of how we won. It's really great."

UNLV recruit Michael Umeh of the Houston Superstars 3 Stripes was pleased when he opened a letter from Tulane filled with cut out No. 3s, his jersey number.

Similarly, 6-foot-7 forward Terrence Roberts of Tim Thomas Playaz Gold and Olumiuyiwa Famutimi have been bombarded with all sorts of mail.

Famutimi said Missouri, his top choice, has sent him the most letters.

"It's a good thing," he said. "It has boosted my confidence a lot. Knowing that all these coaches want me makes me work harder and harder every day."

The pitch

A well-known Division I head coach and his assistant step out of their rental car in the Green Valley High parking lot.

As they shut the doors, one says to the other, "We should stand by the baseline so he can see us."

He, being the recruit.

At the Big Time and every other tournament, coaches wear shirts emblazoned with the school name or logo with the same objective: to be seen, because they can't be heard.

NCAA rules stipulate coaches aren't allowed to talk to players, their parents or AAU coaches at summer tournaments.

Coaches must distinguish themselves from their colleagues in other ways because they're only allowed to visit and call a recruit a limited number of times.

A lot of times, that means winks and smiles for a particular player.

"I think you want to try to be as visible with recruits as you can possibly be and at the same time creative," Crean said. "I think the moment you forget you're dealing with 15-, 16-, 17-year-old young men is the moment you're going to be left behind a little bit in recruiting.

"You want to be factual and you want to be resourceful, but you also want to have a little bit of fun with it."

Missouri coach Quin Snyder likened the early stages of recruiting to marketing a brand where you must identify and convey your school's strengths.

Snyder believes the most creative thing a coach can do is recognize prospects before anyone else. He also believes establishing a solid relationship with a player and his inner circle is the most important part of recruiting.

"To me, more than anything, you can over analyze the business side of it, but it still comes down to trust," he said. "I want to get to know what the kid is like as a person. That's most important.

"Kids get tired of talking about basketball. Part of coaching them is knowing who they are as people. So to have a conversation and never bring up basketball for an hour, that's about as creative as it gets."

North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty owned up to being one of the more resourceful coaches when it comes to attracting a recruit's attention, but refused to share any secrets.

"I've always wanted to have fun in recruiting because I enjoy my job," he said. "I think you've got to make your personality show through in recruiting."

The parents

The phone rings all hours of the day at the Roberts' home in Jersey City, N.J.

Terrence's mother, Consuella, sounds like she's talking about pesky salesmen when describing phone conversations with coaches who hope her son will attend their school after graduating from St. Anthony (N.J.) next year.

"They're all very polite," she said. "Of course everyone says the same thing. 'He's a good boy. Tell him to keep his marks up. We're going to be watching him. Do the best he can on the SATs.' "

One coach had the nerve to tell her, "I get what I want." Needless to say, she wasn't impressed.

What she wants for her son, who said Syracuse, Florida, UConn, Maryland and Villanova are his top schools, is an education.

"I love basketball, but to me, books come first," she said. "I'm looking for a school that's going to provide him with first academics. Second, a home feeling where he feels comfortable with his coaches and teammates. And also be comfortable with the campus that he's on."

Trevor Ariza's mom, Lolita, and stepfather, Arthur Kirksey, made the trip from Los Angeles to watch their 6-foot-8 son play for Pump N Run. They get so much mail that they've stopped opening it.

Ariza has a strong idea of where he'll go to college, but his parents aren't telling.

Front-runner Florida, UCLA, USC, Cal and UNLV are on his list.

"I'm looking for a coach that can develop him, one who is honest and is going to give him a fair shot," Lolita said. "I don't want any coach to give him anything because I know he's capable of handling himself.

"It's going to be hard to let go if he goes away for school, but he has to grow up and (college) is a great experience."

For Donna Ford, the recruitment of her son, 6-foot guard Khalif, has been exciting and sometimes stressful.

She's happy thinking of her son receiving a free college education, but helping him choose what school to attend won't be easy.

Ford said instinct will play a big part in the process.

"One coach came to the high school and we had a talk with him and for some reason, we just connected," she said. "He seemed very sincere.

"Khalif asked him how do you get along with your players and he seemed to be telling the truth."

All three moms plan on accompanying their sons on their official college visits.

Decision, decisions

The questions enter Famutimi's mind constantly.

What am I going to do?

Where am I going to go?

He can't help but wonder.

"All I want is to go to a school where I can succeed," he said.

It's such a big decision, Famutimi said he may wait until next spring to sign a national letter of intent, foregoing the November signing period.

Roberts has enjoyed the gimmicky mail he has received, but a clever poster or postcard won't influence his decision.

He has done his own research and will select a school based on how he gets along with the coaches and players, and how he enjoys the campus environment during his visit.

"It's going to be a big decision because there are a lot of schools out there that I like," Roberts said. "I would definitely want to commit early before my season starts, but if it doesn't happen, it won't bother me."

Others would rather make a decision early.

Once Jenkins verbally committed to Louisville, he felt like a weight had been lifted.

"It was a relief (when I decided), Jenkins said. "I'm glad it was over with.

"I like coach (Rick) Pitino a lot. I also like their style of play, up and down, shooting 3s and I think I fit in."

Before Memphis Grizzlies rookie Drew Gooden, the fourth overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, chose to attend Kansas, he said USC showered him with about 500 hand-written notes.

He advises high school seniors to sign with the coach they trust and feel they can learn the most from.

"It's not just what you're going to do on the basketball court," Gooden said. "It's what you're going to do off the court and to help you on the court.

"It was me picking coach Williams as being my second father. I felt most comfortable with him so that's the way I went."

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