does academics hurt us with recruiting

[JerryLH]

I mentioned this a while ago and one person responded stating that he didn't think it had any effect. I think it has an effect big time. Georgetown has an Ivy League feeling. If you were a one and done person, why would you want to come here?? I do believe that Noel's mother liked us, and I believe that academics played role in his turning us down. I suspect he plans to go to the NBA after one season. Why would he want to work hard in the classroom?

Afterall, you could go to a large university, take some gut courses and slide through. Gut course are hard to find at Georgetown. Obviously, no recruit who turns us down is going to admit it, but I believe that it is going to continue to be a problem for us.

Look at Northwestern. they have excellent coaching, but are never going to be able to recruit top level players because of their academics.

The exception, sort of, is Duke. Even they are limited as to who they can recruit. However, they have a storied history and a famous coach.

I suspect that it is highly unlikely that a one and done player will ever matriculate here.

What do you guys think??

[blueandgray]

If a kid has absolutely no interest in academics...it hurts. If a kid is a sure fire one and done and has no interst it academics, it hurts even more. That said, 90% of the kids we are recruiting fall outside this category. That number may go down however if we get the new IAC built as we are likely to get more interest from 5 star talent.

[JerryLH]

I really wonder if your 90% number is correct. I don't believe that a recruit is actually going to admit that he is intimidated by our academics or that he really doesn't care about academics.

[Ro]

Feels kind of like a "chicken or egg" type of question. As a counter to your thought, if you know you going to only come for one year for sure why would you bother to or care about working hard in the classroom? Does it matter? Do you actually have to work hard in the classroom? If anything, it may be easier to argue that a tough academic environment hurts with recruits who intend to stay multiple years. It really wouldn't be too difficult for a one-and-done to find 4 fairly easy intro classes to take in the fall and 4 to register for in the spring. It becomes increasingly more difficult once you enter your junior and senior year's. Intro to Psych/Sociology/Theology/Anthropology isn't exactly a horribly difficult fall semester, and are intro classes at Georgetown really that much more difficult than at other schools? Perhaps they are, I didn't study elsewhere. Throw in a spring semester with Public Speaking, US Political Systems, Nutrition and Health, and another Sociology class and I don't think anyone is really having a mental overload.

But again, if you are only planning on coming for a year and then leaving, how hard do you really have to work in the classroom to stay academically eligible? As for Noel, I think the fact that Kentucky just won the National Championship and the person playing his position is about to be the #1 choice in the NBA draft had everything to do with his decision as opposed to any perceived academic difficulties he or any other one-and-done player would have in a semester and a half on campus.

[gahoya]

If we don't get any one-and-done's, it's not because of our academics.

[hoyas big supporter]

I'll take Hollis and Domingo, thanks.

[skyhoya]

stanford compete at a top national level in many sports, it is the second hardest school to get in. The number one pick in this year's draft is from Stanford. Where did tiger Woods go to school. Any the good and bad Lopez twins?

[staggerlee]

Georgetown has its share of classes for athletes to ease through, if that's what they want.

[hoyainspirit]

We'll get some, but we'll lose more because of the University's academic reputation, IMO. But that's OK. It's who we are.

[alleninxis]

in my opinion, no.

[nashvillehoyas]

I don't think that any big time programs can use academics as an excuse for not recruiting well, and winning. Vanderbilt once used academics as an excuse for not being competitive. They are going after the same athletics as UTenn, Florida, and other programs.

[HoyasAreHungry]

Facilities

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Not an impediment at all. Just an excuse. More often than it being a detriment it's a boon.

[jgalt]

The image of college athletes as allergic to academics is over blown. There are some who couldnt care less about it, but they often couldnt care less about hard work either. And Georgetown doesnt lack these players. I know of one specifically that wasnt hitting the books (I was in a few of his classes) and it translated to the practice court too. He transferred out because he wasnt going to get playing time or didnt want to work for it.

And as we know most of our guys graduate or come back to finish like Jeff and Greg, who was tweeting today about getting his summer school figured out. But that happens at other schools too, even ones we dont associate it with, like Kentucky: John Wall has gone back for classes in the summer.

[NCHoya]

It is hard to make this argument when Greg Monroe was the #1 recruit in his class for quite a long time and was widely considered a one and done player. That example alone kind of ends this debate.

Does academics hurt us with other one and done type players? I really think it comes down to many other factors before academics like coaching, exposure, development opportunities, competition, location, level of comfort with teammates before consideration is even given to academics. Like Ro writes, it is not that hard to find easier classes for one year.

If this is a direct reaction to losing Noel, I would not say academics had much to do with it. Kentucky is "the" place to play right now if you want to be a 1st round pick in the NBA. If that is Noel's goal (which it should be) then he made the least risky choice by going UK.

[TC]

Jun 13, 2012 13:58:59 GMT -5 JerryLH said:

I mentioned this a while ago and one person responded stating that he didn't think it had any effect. I think it has an effect big time. Georgetown has an Ivy League feeling. If you were a one and done person, why would you want to come here?? I do believe that Noel's mother liked us, and I believe that academics played role in his turning us down. I suspect he plans to go to the NBA after one season. Why would he want to work hard in the classroom?

In the words of Bryce Harper, "That's a clown question, bro". Why should Georgetown want that kid you are describing that doesn't want to do any schoolwork whatsoever - even gut class level schoolwork, which you can find at Georgetown?

I don't think academics had a role in Nerlens Noel turning us down, and if it did, he's better off where he is or at Syracuse. I do think our facilities, relatively small size, media footprint, and fan base did play a giant role in Noel choosing Kentucky.

[JerryLH]

Thanks for the responses guys. If a recruit was put off by our academics, he certainly would never admit it. The reason I posed this question was that when I had some time on my hands, I looked at the recruiting history of Duke. I was intrigued by the recruits who ended up at Duke and the recruits who ended up at let say Kentucky and before that Memphis. I don't think we will ever know the answer, but it appears that the majority of you don't feel academics play much of a role in our recruiting.

[hoyas big supporter]

Jun 14, 2012 10:55:36 GMT -5 JerryLH said:

Thanks for the responses guys. If a recruit was put off by our academics, he certainly would never admit it. The reason I posed this question was that when I had some time on my hands, I looked at the recruiting history of Duke. I was intrigued by the recruits who ended up at Duke and the recruits who ended up at let say Kentucky and before that Memphis. I don't think we will ever know the answer, but it appears that the majority of you don't feel academics play much of a role in our recruiting.

why wouldn't he admit it? I know quite a few athletes that would be willing and have admitted not picking a school over another because of more daunting academics. But let me make this clear so im not attacked, I think the notion of good academics scaring away recruits is overblown.

[calhoya]

I think that the one and done kids are focused on the coaching staff and the ability of that staff to get the kid to the next level. A secondary factor is the exposure that the kid will have during the season--which makes the television contract critical. To the extent that academics are a factor I believe they are far down the list and more likely to influence kids who are not one and done. Lastly, every school, including Georgetown, has classes for atheletes to take.

[hoyatables]

Depends on the type of student-athlete. You framed the question in a prejudicial way -- limiting it to "one and dones" who, by definition, only view college ball as a stepping stone. I don't think academics will help us there, though I can't quite understand how they hurt us (unless the kid can't even qualify in the first place).

But there are three other types of student-athletes: those with pro aspirations but plan to/need to take more time to develop their game, those who are good and love to play but do not view an NBA paycheck as a given or an endgame they want, and those who have no professional aspirations. I think our academics are neutral to helpful with these categories -- all of these student-athletes are looking for something more than a stepping stone, and I think a competitive and challenging environment that prepares them for life beyond their sport is a definite good.

Put another way, for the vast majority of student-athletes, across all sports and even in basketball, our academics are a very very good thing. We're not just a place with a D1 program or even a big-conference competitive Top 25 D1 program (though we are that). We're a place with a competitive, big-conference, Top 25 D1 program that also gives you an elite education.