HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Winning a championship ring is the most important thing for any college sports team and athlete. However, being the best team in your respective league is a hard task to fulfill if your coaching staff and recruiting team can not bring in the right supporting cast for your program. College recruiting is a difficult and intense process for athletic programs across the country. Evaluating talent and making certain that a student athlete will fit well within your program and your school is a tough task for any college recruiter and coaching staff looking to be successful within their respective leagues. In the 21st century however, the internet has made it easier for not only recruiters and coaches to be able to evaluate and communicate with prospective students, but the internet is also helping high school athletes with college recruitment. Because athletes have a higher likelihood of being seen by a college recruiter, recruiting websites can match prospective athletes with the right schools, increases kids' visibility while social media makes it easier for coaches to connect with and evaluate student athletes.

The internet is not only a place where one can watch cute cat videos and binge watch favorite Netflix series. It can also be used to maximize your chance at landing a spot on a college roster. Over the past twenty years, the internet has slowly become a tool for student athletes to get their names and skills seen by college coaches and recruiters. In an article for The Atlantic, Taylor Lorenz shares that “Short-form video began to proliferate on social networks and more digitally native high-school athletes, armed with their own cellphones… cobbling together their own highlight reels for YouTube. These clips spread like wildfire, amplified by the rise of basketball-focused media companies like Ballislife and Overtime.” 

Short form videos and clips that can be displayed on the internet can pull tons of views from fans, recruiters, and college coaches across the country. With this access, kids from small towns or areas that are not known for their athletics, have a higher chance of being seen by a college coach or a recruiter. A perfect example of this is an athlete by the name of Angelo Brizzi. Brizzi, who had no official scholarship offers heading into his junior year of high school, began posting his game highlights on Youtube after each contest. Brizzi, who comes from a small town in Warrenton, Virginia, which has a population of barely 10,000 people, was not an area known for its basketball (“U.S. Census Bureau”). However, by  posting his game highlights on Youtube he was able to showcase his talent to coaches and programs all across the country. Within two weeks of posting his official junior year highlights video with 15,000 views, he pulled six different high major D-1 offers from Virginia Tech, Iona, Louisiana State University, University of Michigan, and Northwestern University (“Angelo Brizzi”). Kids like Angelo Brizzi are using  internet based tools to get their names out without having to pay a single penny. 

Now, perhaps you are a student athlete who maybe does not have the same natural abilities and tools as Angelo Brizzi may have. Maybe your goal is to just play division three for your respective sport. Websites like NCSA, BallerTV, Route, and other recruiting websites are giving kids the ability to be seen and get in contact with college programs looking for students that are interested in playing at that college level. NCSA, a website founded in 2000, is an application designed to, “help student-athletes connect with college coaches. Take control of your recruiting and start interacting with college coaches with one of the most impactful apps. The app allows you to build a shareable profile, add film, track coaches who view your profile and explore potential colleges” (“Top 7 Recruiting Social Media Tools for Student Athletes”). NCSA is the premier site for athletes looking to play Division Two or Division Three athletics. They state that “Since 2000, more than 200,000 NCSA clients have reported their commitment to a college team” (“About NCSA.”). The outcome of over 200,000 students finding suitable colleges that match their athletic ability in a twenty-one year span is a remarkable feat that could not have been accomplished without the use of the Internet. 

Another website by the name of BallerTV is a live streaming service for athletic events. Their website states, “Athletes and their families will benefit from increased exposure and recruiting opportunities for more than 300,000 games stored on BallerTV’s database with an integration from FastModel Sports’ FastRecruit platform” (“BallerTV”). For $15.95 a month, BallerTV allows college coaches to receive access to full game tape and evaluate athletes from all over the country within their respective sports. This is important because even though Covid-19 made it impossible for coaches and recruiters to be able to have in-person access to student athletes games, BallerTV made it possible for these coaches and recruiters to remotely evaluate and express interest in prospective student athletes. If the Covid-19 pandemic had happened twenty-five years ago, when streaming services and recruiting websites were unheard of, athletes looking to play in college would not have been able to showcase their athletic abilities to coaches and recruiters, which would have made it nearly impossible for those athletes to receive exposure. 

From the perspective of a college coach and recruiter, the internet and social media have become an extraordinary asset for myriad different reasons as well. Not only does it allow them to get in touch with potential student athletes through websites like NCSA, or allow them to watch their game highlights and film on BallerTV and Youtube, but coaches and recruiters can brand their programs and interact with potential athletes on social media. In an ESPN article by Jeremy Crabtree, Iowa State football coach states that, “We're using social media to rebrand Iowa State football, we have to brand recruits what's our style of play, who our coaches are, and what's the culture we're trying to put in place here. We're trying to create a culture that young people say, 'Man, I want to be a part of something like that,' or 'Hey, I'm interested in going to see what's going on,' and 'Why is that place special right now” (Crabtree). This allows athletes to see what it is like within a specific teams’ program without having to even step foot onto campus.

Clemson’s coach, Jeff Scott adds that “I can remember 7 or 8 years ago when a prospect would come on campus, it was really the first time they were meeting coaches, seeing facilities and learning about your program. Now, prospects know a ton about Clemson before they even step foot on campus. They have a great feel for what we are all about because of what they see on social media” (Hawley). Scott also agrees that social media is important in the recruiting process as he states that, “Social media is a huge part of the recruiting process. It allows us to get our brand in front of potential recruits and families that are interested in learning more about Clemson” (Hawley). Although Clemson and Iowa State may be leading the charge in using social media to help their program, in a study conducted to see what coaches use social media to benefit their program and team, nearly 87% of the coaches surveyed said they use Facebook, 79% use Twitter, and 65% use Instagram to check on and evaluate potential prospects. In the future as coaches begin to see the value that the internet and social media can have in helping with recruitment, it would not be shocking to see these percentages rise (“How to Use”).

All in all, the internet is truly becoming a key part of the effectiveness of college recruitment. The internet is providing so many opportunities for athletes to be discovered by college coaches and for coaches to find the perfect fit for their program. Websites like NCSA and Route, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and streaming sites like BallerTV and Youtube are helping student athletes find the right situation and fit for their upcoming four years in college.

​

​

​

​

​

​

Bibliography

“About NCSA.” About NCSA Next College Student Athlete, 2021, Accessed January 25th. 2021. 

“Angelo Brizzi.” Verbal Commits | Angelo Brizzi Player Profile, Highlights, Offers, Twitter, 

2021. Accessed January 25th 20201. 

 

“BallerTV Partners With FastModel Sports to Speed Up College Recruiting.” Medium, 

BallerTV, 1 May 2020. Accessed 12 Jan. 2021.

 

Booton, Jen. “Hot Route! How Technology Is Reshaping College Football Recruiting 

and Securing RosterSpots.” How Technology Is Reshaping College Football Recruiting, 

Sporttechie, 4 Aug. 2020. Accessed 12 Jan. 2021.

 

Crabtree, Jeremy. “The 'Social' Science of Recruiting.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 

25 Jan. 2016, Accessed 12 Jan. 2021.

 

Hawley, Ross. “Recruiting Column: The Impact Social Media Has on College 

Recruiting.” USA TODAY High School Sports, USA TODAY High School Sports, 24 

Aug. 2018. Accessed 12 Jan. 2021. 

“How to Use Social Media for Recruiting.” NCSA, 2020. Accessed 12 Jan. 2021.

 

Lorenz, Taylor. “The Instagram Stars of High-School Basketball.” The Atlantic, 

Atlantic Media Company, 18 May 2018. Accessed 10 Sept. 2020.

 

“Top 7 Recruiting Social Media Tools for Student Athletes.” DRAFTCARD, 13 Sept. 

2017. Accessed 12 Jan. 2021. 

 

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Warrenton Town, Virginia.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2021, 

Accessed January 25th, 2021.