There
are few subjects that seem to draw more vehement contrasting opinions than that
of the trend of early commits. Comment like "ruining the game," "the NCAA needs
to stop this," and "foolish decision" are frequently heard.
Quite
frankly I am not sure I see the logic behind this criticism. Most of the early
commits are at some of the premier academic institutions in the country, namely
Hopkins, UVA and UNC. How can a student athlete go wrong accepting an
opportunity to attend those great schools and to play under some of the most
dynamic coaches in the game?
But rather than guess at what drives the decision of some of the
athletes who made early commits, I decided to drill down deep with the family of
Bug Carper (2014) who was the first commit in his class. His decision to attend
UNC has lit up the boards at many of the lax websites.
When I spoke to the Carper family,
their decision- making process appeared to be anything but a well thought out
family decision. Both Don and Rhonda Carper went through the rigors of
recruiting with their older boy who is a scholarship gymnast at U. of Minnesota.
They did, in fact, consider much of what their older son had to say in helping
Bug make his decision.
The Carper family saw much in Coach Breschi and his staff at UNC that led them to believe that besides receiving a superior education, their son would be mentored by a coaching staff that shared many of the same priorities that they as a family did. Another factor that made the decision a more logical one was Bug's desire to become a pediatrician and potentially attend UNC's top ranked medical school upon graduation.
All these factors were given
consideration well before Bug attended a football game as a means to get a real
feel for the UNC experience, subsequent to the football weekend the family all
reconvened to share their thoughts. Remember how this was a process that began
in midsummer when Bug decided to attend the UNC tournament to get a better feel
for the staff and campus.
Don Carper was well aware of his
son's desire to realize his dream of getting a shot at becoming a Tar
Heel. He told me they have raised their boys to assume
responsibility at an early age. As a football coach, he brought a sense of
being responsible for your own path, determined by hard work to plot your own
course in life. Both he and Rhonda completely supported Bug's decision to commit
early to UNC.
What seemed to many to be an
impetuous ill-advised decision, was in fact a well thought out family decision
predicated on the values that have been a part of the household for
years.
So as this trend continues to gain
momentum, I suspect that the athlete who is afforded this early commit option
will often replicate the well thought out process that the Carper family relied
upon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment