New trend great tool for recruiting

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Michael Beasley is already being called the savior of Kansas State basketball, and he won’t step on the court for the Wildcats for six more months.

When he does, it won’t be the first time he plays at Bramlage Coliseum.

The nation’s top-ranked prep player and his Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep team face IMG Academy today on the Kansas State campus, where thousands of Wildcat fans will get a peek at the most heralded recruit in school history.

The game, promoted by Princeton, N.J.-based Gazelle Group, is part of a nationwide trend of bringing together the nation’s top talent on college campuses, often players who have signed with or are considering those schools.

That has some college administrators concerned.

SMU president R. Gerald Turner, co-chair of the Knight Foundation Commission on Athletics, has been investigating college recruiting. He said games like the one at Kansas State can create problems.

The travel schedule – IMG and Notre Dame Prep will each travel about 1,500 miles – can interfere with class work. Players can be exploited by event organizers. And the game can give the host university an unfair recruiting advantage.

“The welfare of student athletes has really gotten our attention,” Turner said.

These games rose to prominence when LeBron James burst onto the national scene. He led St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from Akron, Ohio, in several nationally televised games. The exposure helped assure his spot as the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft.

A new rule says players must be at least one year removed from high school before entering the NBA. That means prospects like Beasley, who experts say would be a certain first-round pick, are becoming a prized possession for college coaches.

Beasley signed with Kansas State in November after new coach Bob Huggins helped land him at Notre Dame Prep for the season. Huggins is already counting on the 6-foot-9 forward to help revive a mediocre team.

“Mike can do everything,” the former Cincinnati coach said.

Beasley’s team often plays in college arenas. Gazelle Group spokesman Mike Flanagan said it was just a matter of putting a game together at Kansas State.

“We thought it was a good fit,” he said. “We called the university and got together, got their interest level, and they thought it would be kind of neat.”

Flanagan said Gazelle Group pays an arena rental fee and expenses for the two teams. Tickets cost up to $20 a seat., and Notre Dame Prep coach Bill Barton is hoping for about 8,000 in the stands.

“It’s good for all the kids, even the kids who aren’t going on to a Division I school,” Barton said.

IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Fla., agreed to the game in part because of Notre Dame Prep’s reputation as one of the nation’s top schools, Flanagan said. The team’s top prospects, forward Kenny Kadji and swingman Jared Swopshire, are also being recruited by Kansas State.

“We had all kinds of things like this at Cincinnati, and sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn’t help,” Huggins said.

Jerry Meyer, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, said recruiting has become so competitive that schools seek every advantage. An extra opportunity to get prized prospects on campus can make the difference on signing day.

“You’re always looking to push the envelope,” he said.