NCSA College Athletic Scholarships Blog

Brian Barnes entered his first year as Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director for Sage College of Albany in 2008-2009. He returns this year ready for the Gators to commence their first varsity campaign in 2009-2010.

Prior to his arrival at Sage, Barnes spent three seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the top Varsity Assistant and Head Junior Varsity Men’s Basketball Coach.

During his tenure at Rensselaer, Coach Barnes assisted in the development of three all league players including the Liberty League player of the year in 2006. Barnes was the lead assistant on staff of the 2006-2007 Red Hawk team that received the Schoenfeld Sportsmanship Award for outstanding sportsmanship.

NCSA: How would you describe yourself as a coach?

Coach Barnes: Passionate with a player oriented philosophy. I care about the development of our players both on the court and in the classroom.

NCSA: What’s unique about the experience at your school?

Coach Barnes: We have a tight knit campus community in which players can enjoy the overall college experience. We offer small classes in which our players are able to develop a personalized relationship with their professors.

NCSA: What do recruits need to know about you?

Coach Barnes: I want nothing but the best for our players both on the court, in the classroom, and in their enjoyment of the overall college experience.

NCSA: What do you look for in recruits?

Coach Barnes: We are looking for solid players, conscientious students and great teammates.

NCSA: What is the one thing every recruit needs to do with the recruiting process?

Coach Barnes: Be honest with coaches with regards to your interest level in their program.

NCSA: What sort of questions do you really like to hear from recruits?

Coach Barnes: I like when recruits ask about why Sage would be a good fit for them and how they fit into our future plans.

NCSA: What turns you off when you’re recruiting a student athlete?

Coach Barnes: The difficulty of reaching a prospective student athlete on the telephone or by email.

NCSA: What do you think your program is the most successful at?

Coach Barnes: We play an uptempo style and are most successful in developing high character young men into successful players and leaders in the community.

NCSA: Why should a recruit consider your program?

Coach Barnes: We have a fantastic opportunity on the court, have a great location and offer a top notch private school education.

NCSA: If a recruit is interested in your program, how should they reach out to you?

Coach Barnes: barneb@sage.edu or 518-292-1969

Last night at Senior Night on the Ohio State campus the Buckeye faithful paid their respect to a bench-warmer named Mark Titus.  Mark has been thrilling the college basketball community with his wildly entertaining Club Trillion Blog (A trillion is bench speak for one minute played followed by all zeroes box score) and updating us frequently with his exploits on Twitter.

For his final game on Senior Night Mark helped organize the Trillion Man March and urged fans to sport Club Tril T-Shirts.  The proceeds went to help a local charity aimed at enhancing the quality of life for children with life-threatening diseases. The students honored Mark the Shark with blow up sharks and by filling the student section with his gray shirts.  The team responded with a Big Ten title clinching victory and Mark got to log one last Trillion in the box score and helped cut down the nets.

Titus’ response on Twitter said it all, THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING LAST NIGHT THE MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. I’M USING ALL CAPS TO EMPHASIZE HOW THANKFUL I TRULY AM.

That’s the power and beauty of college sports.

Isaiah Cavaco enters his fourth year as the head coach for the Oberlin College men’s basketball team.

Under Cavaco’s guidance, Oberlin made its first NCAC Tournament appearance since the 2000-01 season and swept conference rival Earlham for the first time since the 1997-1998 season. The Yeomen also won back-to-back road games for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign.

NCSA: How would you describe yourself as a coach?

Coach Cavaco: I like to teach and see guys improve in there time at Oberlin. I expect my guys to bring a great effort so that I can help them put it towards something positive. As a staff, we teach our guys how to play, how to read situations and let players go out and make the right plays.

NCSA: What’s unique about the experience at Oberlin College?

Coach Cavaco: This is a very diverse campus with people from all 50 states and over 35 countries. We have a lot of history including being the first school to graduate women and African-American students, and the progressive-thinking atmosphere continues on today. Our team doesn’t have a single player this year from Ohio or a state touching Ohio.

NCSA: What do recruits need to know about you?

Coach Cavaco: We are building the program from scratch. We have no seniors this year, three juniors that were recruited by our staff while we were just interim and a solid freshman and sophomore class around which we are building. This is a stage where we need guys that want to work hard to make a difference in a program.

NCSA: What do you look for in recruits?

Coach Cavaco: I look for good ball skills, basketball smarts, guys that communicate well and those that play defense with the same vigor as they play offense. Everyone in our program has to be able to do something offensively, so ball skills are key.

NCSA: What is the one thing every recruit needs to do with the recruiting process?

Coach Cavaco: Everyone needs to get us a transcript so we can see if the recruit is acceptable. We have high standards and averages like 30 as our average ACT, so we need to know how good a student we are recruiting. They also need to have footage sent to us of high school action. They need to also fill out the CSS profile as soon as possible.

NCSA: What sort of questions do you really like to hear from recruits?

Coach Cavaco: I like recruits to ask about the overall experience of being a student-athlete at Oberlin. This is a lifestyle for 4 years, and that is something that is most important – being comfortable in a day-to-day routine. I also like to hear them ask about what someone can do coming out of Oberlin. Finally, they should know how selectively we recruit so we can explain that we don’t recruit bulk numbers like most D3 schools.

NCSA: What turns you off when you’re recruiting a student athlete?

Coach Cavaco: I don’t like to hear that a recruit is looking at extremely ‘lesser’ academic schools because I know they will get merit money at those schools that we can not give because it may be a stretch just to get him accepted. I also don’t like to hear “I just want to keep my options open” because I’ll come back with, “well, what is it that will magically make you realize the right school?” This is a logical decision and an emotional one, but if a school has what you want and need, you should want to secure a spot – it is more likely that a spot will go away than a “better” spot will open up.

NCSA: What do you think your program is the most successful at?

Coach Cavaco: I haven’t been here long enough to create a tradition, but we are good at maximizing the abilities of our current players. Our program is successful at creating a great experience for a D3 program by traveling to different places, playing in unique situations and getting to meet and befriend people from all over the country and world.

NCSA: Why should a recruit consider your program?

Coach Cavaco: A recruit has the opportunity to create a legacy instead of deal with pressures of carrying on an identity that isn’t his own. Many people go places and only get a chance to play in about 50 of 100 guaranteed games, but here, at the place we are now, a recruit can realistically be an important player in all 100 of those games.

NCSA: If a recruit is interested in your program, how should they reach out to you?

Coach Cavaco: A recruit should E-mail me and fill out our on-line questionnaire. I can also be reached at 440-775-8407.

Josh Huestis a 6′7″ 200# Forward from Ulm, Montana has made his decision to attend Stanford University. In the very early stages of this process Josh new what he was looking for, as he wrote, ” Factors in my selection of a college to attend will include the school’s academic reputation, opportunity to make a contribution to the team early, and the overall integrity of the coaching staff and program.”

During Josh’s junior season at CM Russell High School. Josh led his state in blocked shots at nearly 5 per game and rebounds with 12 per game. Josh was also named State Gatorade Player of the Year and 1st Team All-State.

Not only does he make sparks on the court, he makes sparks in the classroom. Josh maintains a 3.9 GPA, received a score of 31 on the ACT and was honored with Academic All-State. We look forward to seeing Josh and his fellow teammates go after a back-to-back state championship win! Good luck.

Coach Taylor, How Can I be sure that coaches really use NCSA?

Great question.  To tell you the truth I was very skeptical the first time I walked into NCSA.  I had spent over 30 years recruiting student-athletes and assumed that I knew the best and only way to recruit.  When I first walked in the door I was amazed at just how behind the times I had fallen.  Take a quick look at why coaches REALLY use NCSA.

Now take a quick look at the reaction we get from college coaches after they use our Recruit-Match System  (Note: All of these comments have come this week).

Thanks for all your help for the 2010 class we are on some good players. We have already begun work on 2011 and continue to use your website exclusively.

The ability to see video and transcripts is key. We can make a quick decision on whether we will take the recruiting of that athlete to the next level instantly.

Thanks again for your service it is a tremendous help to us in identifying potential prospects for State.

We like the format you use in sending information to us on recruits. You make a good impression and the info on each person is well presented.

We like the way that you accurately rate the player’s level. Very good and very helpful.

I think you do a fantastic job of getting the information we need to make a judgment of whether or not we want to recruit a young man to State College. Keep up the good work!!

After watching and reading why coaches really use NCSA I hope you don’t make the same mistake I made for years;  Maximize your Recruiting Potential with NCSA.

Send your recruiting questions to askcoachtaylor@ncsasports.org

If you would like to speak with a NCSA Recruiting Coordinator about your personal recruiting situation, call 866-579-6272.

Yes, it is already time to start planning your summer! Each student-athlete and family should be preparing for the spring and summer months. It is very important that we are playing year round. This will help you get bigger, faster and stronger, as well as, stay in shape and get a chance to get in front of coaches. At the very least, you will be able to provide video footage to coaches.

It is important that all recruits are researching teams to play on an AAU, Club and/or Travel team! Talk to your teammates, research the web, and ask your coaches about local teams. Some teams may have tryouts as early as February. I understand that there are other factors that will determine your decision; like cost, locations of teams, if you play a spring sport, e.t.c. If you live in a small town or there are not any local teams, look into starting your own summer team or see if you can join another team as a guest player for big tournaments.

If you go to the AAU website you can search to find a team, events and more.

If you can’t get on a travel team to get in front of coaches, you can always look into camps and showcases. There are a wide variety of camps and showcases out there, you just need to ask your teammates, coaches and research the web. I always recommend to first ask the coaches you are in contact with, where will you and your staff be recruiting this summer? If you know where the coaches you are interested in, will be this summer, it might help you plan your summer events.

If you find a camp or showcase that will have coaches in attendance, ask the organization what coaches are confirmed and then reach out to those coaches to see if they are recruiting your position for your grad class. It is also important to attend camps that you will be able to get training and/or new skills.

It is important that you spend your summer wisely. Athletes are made in the summer.

Happy Planning!

We are proud to announce that senior Sam Gage, a 6′6″ 200# forward from Waterloo, Wisconsin, has made his final decision to attend the University of Chicago.

During Sam’s junior season he averaged 19.9 PPG with a season high of 34 points. He also had 16 rebounds on average, while shooting 51.1% from the field. Because of his efforts on the court, he was awarded All-Conference 1st Team and All-Area 2nd Team. He also managed to focus on his academics, by maintaining a 3.8 GPA and getting a score of 26 on the ACT.

What Sam’s Dad, Jim, said on his families experience with NCSA:

“NCSA provided a structure that allowed Sam to organize his college research, and then provided access to a wealth of resources that helped (at first) expand his college search and possibilities and (later) helped refine those choices. Creating his profile made him reflect on and articulate who he was as a scholar athlete. Providing that to college coaches encouraged many personal phone calls to him, and forced him to become more adept at his communication skills. NSCA provided hints for staying in touch with coaches, especially encouraging them to make sure that they were able to see him play during the AAU summer season and evaluate him personally. This process led to multiple campus visits in later summer and early fall, when he able to attend classes, stay overnight and talk to current players, meet numerous faculty and a number of university presidents and deans, and generally get a sense of the complete picture of that institution.

Did the NCSA experience lead directly to a DI basketball scholarship for Sam? No, but it provided that context and skill building that allowed him as a scholar athlete navigate this difficult and often confusing process. Both my wife and I feel that we have certainly gotten back our investment and more.”

We look forward to hearing about Sam’s successes as he embarks on his college career!

By Steve Wieberg, USA TODAY

ATLANTA — Football coaches’ recent misadventures aside, basketball remains perhaps the NCAA’s most challenging sport. There, among other things, lie long-term concerns with the recruiting environment. And the latest release of graduation rates showed academics are continuing to lag.

The association is to address both fronts in the next couple of days. Meeting during the association’s annual convention, which begins today, the 31-member board that oversees rules changes in Division I is expected to endorse separate packages of proposals that target men’s basketball.

One proposal is designed to clamp down on the funneling of money to recruits’ handlers and other associates, in part by banning the hiring of “an individual associated with a prospect” for two years before or after the player’s arrival on campus. Those hired before Oct. 29, 2009, would be grandfathered.

To read the full article, click here.

NCSA is proud to announce that Nichole Monhait, a 2010 grad, has committed to Colorado College where she will be a member of the women’s basketball team.

Monhait is a 5′7″ combo guard from Highland Park, IL. Currently she averaging, 11 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG, 39% FG, and 67% 3-Pt.

Monhait said, “NCSA led me to research different schools and opened my eyes to many other opportunities. Thank you for all your help!”

We wish Monhait the best, as she finishes her senior season and as she embarks on the start of her collegiate career.

Meet Mark Titus, better know as Mr. Rainmaker and the Leader of Club  Trillion.  Mark has gained popularity by chronicling his experience as the 12th man on the Ohio State basketball team on his blog Club Trillion – Life views from the end of the bench and his Twitter feed.   He was even recently featured in the New York Times.  The name Club Trillion comes from Mark’s typical box score, all Zeroes.

His typical blog post topic ranges on anything from pop culture, to free throw contests in practice to his recent all-time record for minutes played in a game (5).  Check out this entry describing the definition of scrub time.

As far as why four minutes is the designated scrub time, it’s pretty simple – the last media timeout takes place at the four minute mark. In case you don’t know what that last sentence means, college basketball games are broken into segments of four minutes so that the broadcast companies can take breaks to show commercials and keep their sponsors happy. The last media timeout is the last guaranteed time in which teams will huddle around each other and discuss strategy, which is why it signifies the start of scrub time. Coaches don’t want to have to talk over the offense and defense with scrubs (or look us in the eye for that matter), so they wait until the last media timeout to sub us in, and expect us to run out the clock. If a coach puts a player in before the last media timeout (like Coach Matta did with me against St. Francis), he is saying that he wouldn’t mind discussing strategy with said player and is basically taking away the player’s status as a scrub for that game. It’s a complicated science that few people fully understand.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying in any way to come down on Mark for his decision to play at Ohio State, even though it means he probably will never log a meaningful minute in a game.  He made his decision and by the way his blog reads he made a great decision to attend Ohio State.

However, I would like all the high school recruits out there to understand what it means to be the 12th man on a team.  Many times recruits push themselves just to get a roster spot at a Division level rather than thinking about what situation will really make them happy.  If you are OK, with being labeled Mr. Rainmaker, great, I salute you.  But, if you really want to play in meaningful games in college, you need to think long and hard about what type of situation you walking into.