A basketball recruit making a verbal commitment makes no sense right now

I recently had a chance to talk to a basketball recruit who was receiving a variety of interest from a number of schools.  While it was not major basketball programs that were recruiting him, there were some schools that thought he could play at a high level in college.  But before they could evaluate him even further later this month, he decided to end the recruiting process.

Why would a basketball recruit end the recruiting process now when there could be a wealth of other choices if he just wanted four weeks before making that final decision?  It would be one thing if this was a football recruit who completed his camp circuit.  It is a basketball recruit just about to go through the meaty portion of the AAU schedule where college coaches will be everywhere.

The only reason why this decision may have been smart is because he was getting squeezed by the coaches.  What I mean by that is that the staff extended offers to their top two point guards in the Class of 2009.  Because they both had similar abilities, the coaches told them that they had offered another recruit and that the first one to commit would get the scholarship.  This works best on recruits that only hold one offer and is a great play by an aggressive coaching staff.  It forces the recruit to make a decision earlier than they had hoped, especially if they were looking for other offers from bigger schools.

The problem is that is definitely not what the coaches were doing.  At first, the coaches at this school did not want word out that they had offered this player.  Going into the July portion of the AAU schedule, a known offer for a player will attract a lot more interest when traveling the country.  Other coaches in the same conference would take a long look at the prospect and try to figure out what they like about him.  And if they were really impressed, they would throw out an offer and get a battle for the recruit going.  The more offers that a recruit has, the more power that they have.  This is true for any sport.

It is one thing for a basketball recruit or a football recruit to make a decision before their senior or even junior season so that they can focus on playing and improving.  Committing before the AAU season ends is going to do what for you?  The reason that you are traveling the country and playing is to get college looks.  If you really want to focus on getting better, you are better off staying home and working on your game everyday.  Not playing three games a day and eating at McDonalds.  This situation makes no sense to me at all.

Obviously every situation is unique.  Players may be sick of the recruiting process and want to get it over.  Maybe they have found the perfect fit for a potential school and want to end things so that recruiting is on the backburner.  But while you can decommit to the school, there is no logical point to committing this early.  Be patient, wait four weeks, and see what happens.  I am willing to bet that the scholarship originally offered is likely still going to be on the table.

If a major Division I school stepped to the table and offered, you would be leaving the school you committed to in a bind if you changed your mind.  Think about it logically before you do that.  It is not just about you, it is about that potential future coaching staff.