Team—Family—Believe: How to Recruit Basketball Athletes to a Winning Program

 

Recruiting is probably the most important piece to creating a successful collegiate basketball program.  Coaches have to go out and scout talent that fits into the system of the program.  The recruiting process is important because it is how your team stays relevant, it is what gives your team the chance to compete at a high level, and above all it sets the ground work for your program.  As a coach, I believe that when recruits come to visit campus it is important to let them know the code that the team lives by; for my team that code is – Team.Family.Believe.  This code is what draws our recruits in and seals the deal.

 

Team. The first part of the code is team which explains that we are one.  We play together on the court and we help each other off the floor.  It means that we hold each other accountable for our mistakes and we don’t point the finger at one another when someone messes up.  It means we practice and play in the same uniform, socks, and shoes.  We travel to games in the same travel suit and sit with each other during games.  It means we eat our pregame meal together.  We truly believe in the team concept!

 

Family.  We have your back!    If a teammate is down we support them and try and lift them up.  If one of them is struggling in a class we go out of our way to help them succeed.  If one of us needs someone to talk to then we are there for them and we listen.  If someone is needs groceries or a ride to the grocery store then we lend them a hand.  Above all, whatever happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.  We don’t let people outside this family know about our problems. We protect each other; we protect the family!

 

Believe. There is power in believing in a teammate and in the family.  We believe that if we work together we can conquer any task.  We believe that if we work hard and dedicate ourselves to practice and getting better then we can’t be stopped. It is our belief that if we take it ‘one game at a time’ and win then we can ultimately hold up the NCAA Tournament trophy at the end of the season.

 

When we break the huddle, we always say: “123, Team.Family.Believe! We remind ourselves every day that we work as a team, play for one another as a family, and believe that we can conquer all.  The passion behind this code is what attracts top notch players to come and be a part of a winning program.