When did recruiting become about being famous instead of being ready?
That’s the question every coach, parent, and player needs to ask. Rankings have hijacked the recruiting process.
What should be about fit and future potential is now about clout and clicks.
The recruiting process used to rely heavily on relationships, development, and consistency.
Now, too many decisions are made based on a snapshot, one highlight video, one weekend, one placement on a ranking site.
It’s not just lazy, it’s dangerous.
Good players fall through the cracks every year because they weren’t “known” soon enough.
Late bloomers, kids in small towns, or those who develop at a steady pace instead of peaking early, they all get ignored.
Rankings don’t measure trajectory; they measure who’s hot right now. That’s not projection, that’s hype.
Meanwhile, ranked players often get recruited regardless of whether they’re a good fit.
Schools waste scholarships chasing names instead of needs. Then transfers happen.
Development stalls.
Coaches get fired.
And players suffer the most because they were recruited for buzz, not basketball.
Even worse, rankings reinforce privilege.
Players with access to elite camps and expensive travel teams get the exposure needed to rise in the rankings.
Those without the same resources often never get a shot. That’s not fair, and it’s not smart scouting.
Recruiting should be about character, potential, fit with the program, and long-term growth.
Rankings rush that process.
They encourage shortcuts.
A kid who needs two more years of development gets rushed into the spotlight because he’s “ranked.” Then what? Burnout.
Missed expectations.
Transfer portals.
Conclusion:
Rankings are damaging the very thing they claim to help.
They’ve warped recruiting into a chase for validation instead of a search for the right player.
It’s time to return to real evaluation.
Go watch the practices.
Talk to high school coaches.
Look at the body language during bad games.
That’s where recruiting truth lives, not in a number next to someone’s name.
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