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DAVIDSON ASSISTANT MATT MATHENY
Recruiting shapes his days
KEVIN CARY
kcary@charlotteobserver.com
Davidson assistant basketball coach Matt Matheny still couldn't take a deep breath Thursday afternoon.
A career recruiting for players is like that.
The NCAA has strict guidelines for coaches that govern when they can visit and see recruits play, but even though a contact period -- when coaches can visit players in person -- ended Wednesday, Matheny was still busy Thursday.
"Some people are like, `What are you doing once the season is over -- aren't you on the golf course?' " Matheny said. "But it doesn't work like that. You are always talking on the phone or at least sending letters."
The Observer reported that Davidson signed one recruit Wednesday, 6-foot-10 center Frank Ben-Eze. The Wildcats still have at least one scholarship available for next year's team, and recruits still have a few weeks to sign. Signing periods are typically a few weeks in November and also a few weeks between April and May.
According to Matheny and the NCAA Web site, here are the different periods of recruiting the NCAA allows:
Contact periods (typically during the months of September and April): A coach can visit with a player in person, but cannot see him play in a game except during open gym with the player's own team. There are a few traveling team tournaments in April where coaches can evaluate players, but coaches can't talk to them at those events.
Evaluation periods (typically October through March, July): Coaches can come to certified games, but cannot talk to a recruit in person.
Quiet period (typically May and June, August): Recruits are allowed to come to a college campus, but coaches are not allowed to leave campus to see recruits.
Dead period (holidays, the end of May, dates around the start of the signing period, and other scattered days throughout the year): Coaches cannot leave campus to watch or recruit any player and can't talk to recruits on campus.
Coaches can call a recruit, but are limited on the number of phone calls they can make (twice a week for seniors, once a month for juniors), and are not allowed to send text messages to recruits. Recruits are allowed to call coaches when they wish.
Matheny said that four Davidson coaches -- head coach Bob McKillop, Matheny, and fellow assistants Jim Fox and Tim Sweeney -- go out to recruit; but, due to NCAA rules, only three can recruit on any one day.
Matheny said Davidson coaches learn of prospects through high school coaches, national recruiting evaluators and, sometimes, parents of players. Then the coaches decide whether a player is worth scouting.
Matheny said the Davidson staff sees between 20 and 30 high school games a year, but sees an endless number of AAU games during the July evaluation period.
"Sometimes you'll see 12 AAU games in one day," he said.
He said the Davidson coaches are gone virtually that entire month and can also be out for most of other months.
"One September, I didn't return to Davidson for three weeks," Matheny said. "Of course, I wasn't married at that time. I might not be married now if I did it today."
Matheny laughed with that statement. He said he might get some more free time soon.
"It doesn't really slow down until the middle or end of May," Matheny said. "Maybe I can get to the golf course then."
