You Can't Possibly Fall For This Recruiting Pitch If You're A 5-Star

[Indy Star] - “I had a coach tell me that I could pick the players they recruit to come and play with me,” Stewart said. “I’ve heard a lot of coaches say a lot of things, but that was different.”

Stewart wouldn’t dish on which coach gave him the proverbial keys to the car, but Indiana, Washington, Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky, Villanova and Michigan State round out his top seven schools.

“That’s flattering for the recruit and it’s obviously said to influence the decision,” ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi said. “It’s creative as long as it’s kept in perspective because there are no guarantees that the school can get who he wants. Coaches are very aware of who kids want to play with and when you’re at that level, it’s likely that the coach is already recruiting most of the kids he wants anyway.”

I saw this story pop up over the weekend and I couldn’t stop laughing thinking about this approach. Listen, Isaiah Stewart is a hell of a player. He draws a ton of comparisons to DeMarcus Cousins coming out of high school and there’s a reason why he’s a top-5 recruit.

Now, imagine you’re sitting there and get told that you can pick the players to come play with you. That’s asinine. That doesn’t work in college hoops. It’s not like the NBA where you have cap space and know free agents and can enforce trades. This is all luck and trying to convince kids to come play with you.

We don’t know what school did this. Let’s say it was Washington because I want to use that as the example. What if Stewart wants to play with a bunch of dudes from the middle of the country or east coast? They all going to agree to go play out west? Are there even enough scholarships – Washington does have a young team. That’s what makes this all so hilarious.

I know the recruiting world. It’s all about whatever you can say to keep the interest high and convince a kid to join your team. It’s why it doesn’t work out we hear stories like Wendell Carter speaking out against K and how the offense was going to go through him and how they were done recruiting only to then bring in Marvin Bagley and make him the go-to guy. That’s not the first or last time we’ll hear such a story and Duke is no way the only school to recruit like that.

So, don’t fall for this trick, Isaiah. Just go to wherever you want to keep your stock as high as possible. When you’re a top-5 recruit that’s what’s it all about. Go wherever you can have the most success, not ruin draft stock and win. Here’s your obligatory mixtape: