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D3 Coach Q&A - Shane Loeffler (Swarthmore MBB) · The Student Athlete Sessions

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Okay,
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we are live back in another episode of our live Q&A series with
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D3 head coaches.
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SPEAKER_00: Today we're joined by none other than Shane Leffler,
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SPEAKER_00: the head coach for Swarthmore men's basketball.
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SPEAKER_00: My former teammate at Swarthmore when we were both players there.
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SPEAKER_00: And yeah, happy to have you on tonight, Shane.
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SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Carl.
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SPEAKER_01: There was nothing better than giving you a wide open three.
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SPEAKER_01: Not exactly passing it to you for an open layup, but wide open threes.
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money that was my bread and butter out there yeah yeah well
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it's great to have you
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on we haven't we haven't uh you know done uh much with
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swarthmore um trying to
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maintain some impartiality since i you know have some inherent
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bias there but um
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yeah i think as as people get get going in the chat we just
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remind everyone that
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SPEAKER_00: you know, this is supposed to be a resource for you guys, the listeners.
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SPEAKER_00: So if you have a question for Shane about his career,
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we're going to go through kind of his journey coaching or with
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maybe recruiting or
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SPEAKER_00: admissions.
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SPEAKER_00: He's kind of seen it all as a player and now as a coach for many years.
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SPEAKER_00: So make sure to get those questions in the chat and we will
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SPEAKER_00: we will get them answered by the expert here.
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SPEAKER_00: But maybe, Shane, just to start out, let's talk through your own journey.
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SPEAKER_00: So you,
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SPEAKER_00: as we mentioned,
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SPEAKER_00: you played at Swarthmore,
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but you kind of had an unfair advantage maybe in familiarity
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with the school,
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given that your brothers both were grads and played on the
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basketball team.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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And don't sell yourself short because you were the guy who
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hosted me on my
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SPEAKER_01: overnight visit back in September of 20,
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SPEAKER_01: oh gosh,
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SPEAKER_01: 2011.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_01: So yeah, no, it was good.
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SPEAKER_01: Josh and Chris, my brothers both played there.
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SPEAKER_01: They graduated 03, 04.
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So I grew up going to some of their games and got very familiar
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with the campus.
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And it's funny because I actually moved to North Carolina for
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high school.
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SPEAKER_01: So I
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SPEAKER_01: I moved further away from campus,
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SPEAKER_01: which actually we can get into later in recruiting,
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SPEAKER_01: actually helped me because I was applying from a school that,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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there was not a single person in my school who was applying to
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Swarthmore.
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SPEAKER_01: So it did actually help me in that regard.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
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I was fortunate enough to get into Swarthmore and fortunate
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enough to sneak in
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SPEAKER_01: right before Landry Kuzmowski took over,
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SPEAKER_01: recruited by the former coach,
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and then fortunately was able to maintain my spot on the team
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with Landry and then
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SPEAKER_01: maintain my spot on the team through all four years,
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even though it was an arduous process as we figured out how to
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craft the team into
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SPEAKER_01: a winning culture and a winning program,
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SPEAKER_01: which...
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SPEAKER_01: Landry did very successfully,
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SPEAKER_01: and fortunately,
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we've been able to keep up and keep going for the last decade
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and look forward to
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SPEAKER_01: keeping it rolling going forward.
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Yeah,
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I was fortunate to play at Swarthmore,
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really fortunate to come back to Swarthmore.
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SPEAKER_01: After I graduated,
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SPEAKER_01: I went down to Randolph College for a year and cut my teeth in the ODAC,
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SPEAKER_01: an incredibly competitive league.
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SPEAKER_01: I was fortunate enough to come back and work for Landry for nine years.
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And then through a lot of perseverance and connections and hard
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work,
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was able to...
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SPEAKER_01: become the head coach last year for Swarthmore,
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SPEAKER_01: which is,
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SPEAKER_01: as you can probably guess for an alum,
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SPEAKER_01: is pretty special.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and tons of alumni support.
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SPEAKER_00: I think well-deserved.
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SPEAKER_00: You had earned that job.
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SPEAKER_00: Absolutely have the backing of the alumni group.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think it is amazing.
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You mentioned the support and kind of the success that you've
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experienced as a
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SPEAKER_00: At the tail end,
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SPEAKER_00: maybe if you're playing career and then as a coach,
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SPEAKER_00: and it's just,
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SPEAKER_00: I'm sure your brothers could tell you,
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SPEAKER_00: looking back on how historically bad the program used to be,
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it's amazing the turnaround and kind of the standards that
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you've set to ensure
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SPEAKER_00: that success continues.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
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and I won't take full credit for that because obviously Landry
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played a major role,
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but I think you and I can definitely turn back the clock and
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look back to when we
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were playing and figuring things out and learning how to run
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secondary exactly how
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SPEAKER_01: Coach Kozmowski wanted.
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SPEAKER_01: And we were fortunate enough to be held to such a high standard
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SPEAKER_01: that by the time that you were a senior,
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we really started to feel the positive effects of building a
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culture from the
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SPEAKER_01: ground up.
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And we also started to see the effects that it also brought in
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great recruits who
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SPEAKER_01: not only fit the program,
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SPEAKER_01: but fit the school and fit the culture.
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that foundation was laid really strong and it just continued to
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get better and
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better each year which you know manifested itself in terms of
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being an incredibly
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strong program on the conference stage the regional stage and
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eventually the
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national stage and it's not easy to stay up at that level and
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it's not easy to
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SPEAKER_01: maintain those standards but
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SPEAKER_01: The reality is that's what we are about.
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SPEAKER_01: It's worth more in terms of having incredibly high standards,
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bringing in guys who want that type of challenge and then
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helping them thrive in a
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difficult environment and thriving under high levels of
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accountability and
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SPEAKER_01: standards,
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SPEAKER_01: which is why they end up doing so well,
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SPEAKER_01: both athletically and onwards after they graduate.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and lots of balance of school as well.
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When you were thinking about your own kind of college process,
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you mentioned moving away from
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From the area,
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because you have family ties and kind of grew up early on,
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I think,
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in Delaware.
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SPEAKER_00: And when did you know,
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like at what point did you have some recognition that you
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wanted to play college
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SPEAKER_00: basketball and what were kind of the first steps that you took after that
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SPEAKER_00: realization hit?
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was definitely early on, right?
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SPEAKER_01: So like I said,
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SPEAKER_01: growing up and watching my brothers play at Swarthmore,
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SPEAKER_01: obviously that put it in my mind from an early age.
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SPEAKER_01: But I would venture to say,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: as early as middle school,
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SPEAKER_01: I knew I wanted to compete in college basketball,
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SPEAKER_01: right?
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SPEAKER_01: I wanted to play college basketball.
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SPEAKER_01: I didn't want to go to college and not play basketball.
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SPEAKER_01: So that was definitely a primary objective for me.
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SPEAKER_01: But on top of that was...
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I was challenging myself academically and wanted to continue to
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challenge myself academically.
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I didn't want to lower my standards in terms of going to a
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school that would only
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SPEAKER_01: provide me the opportunity to play basketball.
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SPEAKER_01: I wanted to go to a place that would push me and provide me a really good
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opportunity to be challenged both on the basketball court and
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in the classroom.
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SPEAKER_01: So,
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SPEAKER_01: Uh,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: again,
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I was fortunate to even know of Swarthmore College just because
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it is a smaller
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SPEAKER_01: arts college and,
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SPEAKER_01: um,
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SPEAKER_01: it doesn't,
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SPEAKER_01: it's not always on everyone's radar,
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SPEAKER_01: but having the knowledge about what the level of academic,
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SPEAKER_01: uh,
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SPEAKER_01: prestige and rigor,
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SPEAKER_01: uh,
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SPEAKER_01: was at the school along with,
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SPEAKER_01: um,
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SPEAKER_01: familiarity with coach Wimberly and the program,
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SPEAKER_01: um,
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SPEAKER_01: led me to,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: look at it very strongly along with a couple other schools and,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: to be honest,
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SPEAKER_01: going back,
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SPEAKER_01: I didn't handle the recruiting process as well as I probably should have.
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SPEAKER_01: You know,
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I think there's a lot more information now thanks to guys like
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yourself in terms of
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understanding what opportunities are out there for players to
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play in front of
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SPEAKER_01: college coaches and put their names in the right
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SPEAKER_01: places to be seen and seen as viable prospects.
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And so for me,
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I went to a couple of camps,
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but probably not the right ones at the time.
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SPEAKER_01: I played AAU with all of my high school teammates.
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SPEAKER_01: I didn't play in the right necessarily like circuits to be evaluated.
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SPEAKER_01: So I got really fortunate because I had some good schools at my
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SPEAKER_01: as options when I applied.
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SPEAKER_01: But I didn't have great basketball situations at each of those schools.
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SPEAKER_01: I was gonna have to fight tooth and nail to earn my spot.
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So I was really fortunate to get into Swarthmore with a coach
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who had a level of
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trust with me because he had coached my brothers and have a
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spot on the team.
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Now I had to claw and fight tooth and nail to keep that spot
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and to earn playing time.
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But I think there's a lot of things looking back I would do
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very differently as a
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prospective student athlete in terms of giving myself better
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options because,
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SPEAKER_01: again,
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SPEAKER_01: I don't think I actually went about it perfectly well as a player.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: And you mentioned there was a benefit to you
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moving away from being at the school in North Carolina and
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maybe being the only
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SPEAKER_00: person from your school who was thinking about going to SWAT.
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Talk about now that you've seen both sides,
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you know,
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you have a little more clarity.
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SPEAKER_00: What is the advantage there?
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SPEAKER_00: And why does that matter to an admissions department?
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'll put it this way.
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SPEAKER_01: I went to Wilmington Friends School growing up in Delaware,
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SPEAKER_01: which is a very well-regarded private school.
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SPEAKER_01: And then I transferred and went to Trinity High School in North Carolina,
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SPEAKER_01: which is a rural public school.
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And so when I got into Swarthmore,
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I was the only person from Trinity High School to apply.
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SPEAKER_01: Now, I had a very strong profile.
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SPEAKER_01: I had a very good transcript.
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SPEAKER_01: I had pretty good test scores.
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SPEAKER_01: I had a good resume.
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SPEAKER_01: I was a multi-sport varsity letter winner,
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SPEAKER_01: not just in basketball,
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SPEAKER_01: but across sports and doing a bunch of extracurriculars.
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SPEAKER_01: But I get to Swarthmore, and there are four
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SPEAKER_01: four students in my class at Swarthmore who went to Wilmington Friends.
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SPEAKER_01: So we look at how many students from Wilmington Friends,
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SPEAKER_01: which is a small school,
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SPEAKER_01: applied to Swarthmore.
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SPEAKER_01: Four of them got in because it's such a strong school.
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But to let in five students from a school where each class is
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65 kids,
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that's a lot.
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And so when you get to trying to find diversity in the
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recruiting class for
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SPEAKER_01: admissions,
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SPEAKER_01: because we have to understand,
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SPEAKER_01: while we have goals recruiting basketball players,
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SPEAKER_01: admissions has their own goals.
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SPEAKER_01: Not just trying to build a strong class from scores,
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SPEAKER_01: test scores and GPAs,
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SPEAKER_01: but also trying to bring in a well-rounded and diverse class.
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SPEAKER_01: You know, so if you are a student from a state that,
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maybe doesn't send a lot of students to Swarthmore,
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you have an advantage.
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SPEAKER_01: Whereas if you are applying from a state,
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SPEAKER_01: let's say Pennsylvania,
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SPEAKER_01: California,
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SPEAKER_01: and New York,
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those are the three states that provide the most students to
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Swarthmore College,
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SPEAKER_01: right?
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SPEAKER_01: And this is gonna be similar to a lot of schools.
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SPEAKER_01: Obviously, regionality does come into play.
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SPEAKER_01: But when you're looking at this,
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applying from a state or a school that hasn't sent many people
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to the school where
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SPEAKER_01: you're looking at,
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SPEAKER_01: to the college where you're looking at,
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SPEAKER_01: You have an advantage.
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SPEAKER_01: Now, how do you play that if you're at a school
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If you're at a high school that does have really strong
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students who really put
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SPEAKER_01: themselves forward in terms of having great college opportunities,
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SPEAKER_01: well,
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you just have to make sure that you make yourself as
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competitive as possible.
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You're not falling behind the other students that you're
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comparing yourself against
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SPEAKER_01: in terms of class rigor or performance.
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SPEAKER_01: You might have different extracurricular strengths.
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SPEAKER_01: You're playing basketball at a high level.
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SPEAKER_01: You're working out, you're lifting, you're playing.
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SPEAKER_01: Well,
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SPEAKER_01: it doesn't mean you can't do anything else,
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SPEAKER_01: but you might not be able to do seven clubs like another student does.
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So you have to figure out how do I boost my profile so I'm just
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as competitive,
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SPEAKER_01: if not more competitive,
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than the students in my high school for going to this
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incredible elite college
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SPEAKER_01: university that I think I can play at.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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And so much of it,
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like you mentioned,
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is just within the confines of your school.
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SPEAKER_00: You can't compete
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with at trinity a student at trinity you can't compete with a
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student at wilmington
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friends like it's a different curriculum you know one might
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have more ap's or ib's
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available and so just doing what you can it sounds like you
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know you were a
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multi-sport athlete so you had that going for you good grades
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and and yeah
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controlling what you can control within your environment is is
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the kind of the key
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SPEAKER_00: for all recruits out there um
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: You know, what did your decision end up coming down to?
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: you had the family connection,
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SPEAKER_00: but yeah,
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SPEAKER_00: was it kind of,
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SPEAKER_00: like you mentioned,
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SPEAKER_00: the academics and the basketball balance?
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Was there anything else that kind of stood out to you or like
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was getting up to
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SPEAKER_00: campus to visit important?
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SPEAKER_00: What were kind of those key moments in your recruiting process?
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SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
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SPEAKER_01: So,
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SPEAKER_01: My top two objectives or prerogatives looking at schools,
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I wanted to play college basketball and I wanted to go to the
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hardest school I
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SPEAKER_01: could get into.
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I wanted to challenge myself from an academic standpoint and I
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wanted to be on a varsity roster.
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SPEAKER_01: So obviously that led me to not a wide swath of schools.
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I wasn't oblivious to the fact that I wasn't looking at many
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scholarship opportunities.
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SPEAKER_01: I wasn't looking at any scholarship opportunities.
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So with that understanding what schools I could compete at and
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play at obviously helped.
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And that's where when I did have this shortlist,
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I visited all the schools.
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SPEAKER_01: on my short list, right?
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SPEAKER_01: At the time,
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SPEAKER_01: that was Swarthmore College,
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SPEAKER_01: it was Washington and Lee,
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SPEAKER_01: it was Lafayette,
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SPEAKER_01: Dickinson,
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SPEAKER_01: and Guilford College,
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SPEAKER_01: right?
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SPEAKER_01: Each had different pros and cons.
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SPEAKER_01: The reality is,
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SPEAKER_01: obviously,
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SPEAKER_01: I knew Swarthmore was the best school for me in terms of providing me an
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SPEAKER_01: opportunity to play and also the best academic school.
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SPEAKER_01: But on top of that, when you do these visits, right?
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SPEAKER_01: So I was able to obviously visit Swarthmore when I was young,
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SPEAKER_01: but visiting when I was 17 or 18 is very different.
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SPEAKER_01: Like I said, having a good host really helped.
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SPEAKER_01: But,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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obviously you played a huge role in terms of setting the table
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and setting the tone
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SPEAKER_01: of...
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welcoming,
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just being welcoming and showing that Swarthmore was a
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welcoming place.
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SPEAKER_01: But then to meet every other guy on the team,
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to meet Jay Kober and Jordan Federer and these other guys who
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were just such great
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SPEAKER_01: guys,
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SPEAKER_01: you could just feel the connection on campus,
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SPEAKER_01: not just from a basketball standpoint,
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SPEAKER_01: but just the people on campus.
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SPEAKER_01: You could just feel this energy and this vibe.
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SPEAKER_01: And not to say that I didn't feel that at the other schools,
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SPEAKER_01: but I didn't feel it to the same degree,
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SPEAKER_01: or I felt it in a different tenor.
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SPEAKER_01: And so...
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SPEAKER_01: Being able to go to see the school that you're interested in and feeling,
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SPEAKER_01: does this feel right for me?
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SPEAKER_01: And trying to exclude the fact of,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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if I'm at one school and it's homecoming and it's 72 degrees
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and the sun's out,
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SPEAKER_01: that's amazing.
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SPEAKER_01: And this other really competitive comparable school.
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SPEAKER_01: and it's rainy and 48, but it's a bad weather day.
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Trying to exclude the things that are variable and trying to
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get at the core of,
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SPEAKER_01: can I see myself being here for four or five years?
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SPEAKER_01: And do I see this as a place where I can succeed and thrive?
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SPEAKER_01: Not just on the basketball court,
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SPEAKER_01: but,
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SPEAKER_01: you know,
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SPEAKER_01: basketball's only going to take up X amount of time.
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SPEAKER_01: Can I thrive here as a student?
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that's good advice.
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SPEAKER_00: Try to think through...
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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And maybe writing down those takeaways after your visit,
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you know,
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thinking.
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SPEAKER_00: So you have those clear recollections.
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I think it could often,
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you could have some recency bias too,
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where the most...
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you know,
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the last school you saw all of a sudden feels like the best
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fit.
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SPEAKER_00: So yeah, great advice.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: I want to pause for a second.
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SPEAKER_00: We've got some listeners on.
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SPEAKER_00: Just a reminder,
15:37
SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: this is a Q&A,
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so feel free to drop your questions in the chat at the bottom
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and we will go
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SPEAKER_00: through them in the order that they come in.
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SPEAKER_00: They can be about recruiting, admissions,
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kind of the D3 student athlete experience or something in
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Shane's career that you
15:54
SPEAKER_00: want to know more about.
15:56
So feel free to,
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um,
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to drop those down there and we will address them again as they
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come in.
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SPEAKER_00: Um,
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SPEAKER_00: Shane,
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SPEAKER_00: I do,
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let's talk about kind of your development as a player while we
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wait for some
16:09
SPEAKER_00: questions.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: Landry Kosmowski, the former, our former coach and, uh, did drop a, uh,
16:17
SPEAKER_01: The best question of the night.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: The best question of the night.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Hands down, best question of the night.
16:22
Just kind of poking fun at you and kind of your early ups and
16:28
downs as a point guard.
16:29
Yeah,
16:30
which in a tough system,
16:31
playing fast,
16:32
being asked to make a lot of decisions early on.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: What would you say when you...
16:37
SPEAKER_00: I think I'd love your input here,
16:40
both as a former player and now a coach who helps people
16:43
through this same
16:44
SPEAKER_00: situation.
16:45
But what was the hardest part about adjusting to college
16:48
basketball from the high
16:49
SPEAKER_00: school game for you?
16:50
And then again,
16:51
how have you helped kids make that adjustment moving like in
16:54
the present moment?
16:56
SPEAKER_01: I think from a playing perspective,
16:58
SPEAKER_01: when I was in it,
17:00
SPEAKER_01: right,
17:00
SPEAKER_01: the speed of the game obviously increases tenfold.
17:03
SPEAKER_01: Our practices at Swarthmore specifically,
17:07
SPEAKER_01: but just the speed of the game in general,
17:09
SPEAKER_01: it just goes up tenfold.
17:11
And so you're trying to make those same decisions you made at
17:13
the high school level
17:14
SPEAKER_01: or the AAU level,
17:15
SPEAKER_01: and you're doing it with better players,
17:17
SPEAKER_01: better athletes.
17:18
athletes at a at a faster pace so of course there's going to be
17:21
a catch-up in terms
17:23
of your brain trying to catch up with what you've gotten away
17:26
with for the last
17:26
four years um i understand perfectly that as a player i was and
17:32
still am a guy who
17:33
just i don't want to say i'm a home run hitter but i i like to
17:37
make tough plays and
17:39
SPEAKER_01: i don't always throw the easiest pass and until i
17:44
SPEAKER_01: internalized that message from Landry and Coach McShay,
17:49
SPEAKER_01: who were very adamant that I just need to hit singles.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: Just hit singles.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: Stop making that triple.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: Stop making the home run pass.
17:56
SPEAKER_01: Just hit the single.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: And being me,
17:59
I thought I knew better because I was a really good high school
18:02
point guard who was
18:03
SPEAKER_01: able to nickel and dime and make assists.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: But the reality is,
18:07
until I internalized that message of I can still play fast and
18:11
aggressive and play
18:12
SPEAKER_01: within myself,
18:14
but hitting singles until you wear down the defense and you
18:19
make that open pass,
18:20
SPEAKER_01: eventually you're going to be able to get that right look.
18:23
But it took me a while to really understand that what the
18:26
coaches were telling me,
18:27
SPEAKER_01: they had my best interest in mind as well as the team's.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: And I was stubborn.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: I was a stubborn 18, 19, 20-year-old.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: And eventually I got it,
18:37
but it took me a while to really hone in on what they were
18:40
telling me and what they
18:41
SPEAKER_01: were trying to communicate.
18:44
understanding that as a player,
18:47
your coaches are always trying to get the best out of you.
18:50
They're never rooting against you and they're never trying to
18:53
put you down.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: They want you to help the team win.
18:57
And I think obviously there are times as an 18 or 19-year-old
19:01
where you don't see
19:02
that and you don't see what the coach is seeing and you see
19:06
something different and
19:07
SPEAKER_01: understanding that the coach wants to win.
19:09
SPEAKER_01: The coach wants every guy on his team to help the team win.
19:12
And trying to internalize those messages better and hit singles
19:16
and stop throwing
19:16
SPEAKER_01: so many damn turnovers,
19:18
SPEAKER_01: as Landry accused me of,
19:21
SPEAKER_01: is accurate.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: And then now as a coaching standpoint, I'm in the same boat.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: And I see every year what made Landry so mad at me 10 years ago.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: It's just understanding that
19:36
SPEAKER_01: You want players to play aggressively,
19:38
SPEAKER_01: and you want players to attack,
19:39
but you also want them to play within themselves and within the
19:43
frameworks of your
19:44
SPEAKER_01: offense.
19:44
SPEAKER_01: And same thing with the defenses.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: You want them to play within the team's objectives.
19:50
And if you can play within the team's objectives and still use
19:53
your strengths and
19:55
SPEAKER_01: limit your weaknesses,
19:56
SPEAKER_01: you're going to be in the best spot.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: But sometimes, guys...
20:00
SPEAKER_01: don't know that their weaknesses are really their weaknesses.
20:03
And it takes a while to have that humility and the
20:05
self-awareness as it did for me
20:07
SPEAKER_01: when I was a player.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: And just trying to help guys understand that here are our goals.
20:12
I'm trying to make sure that each guy can help this team attain
20:16
those goals and do
20:17
SPEAKER_01: it on an individual basis.
20:19
SPEAKER_01: And whatever feedback you're getting...
20:21
SPEAKER_01: you try and enact it as much as you can.
20:23
SPEAKER_01: While still being aggressive,
20:24
SPEAKER_01: while still playing the way you want to play,
20:27
but trying to do it in the effort to help the team win and
20:30
understanding that the
20:31
SPEAKER_01: coach does always,
20:32
SPEAKER_01: the coach always has the team's best interest in mind.
20:36
The coach doesn't always have the individual player's best
20:40
interest in mind,
20:41
SPEAKER_01: but they do have the individual player within the team
20:46
they're always focusing on the team's success and the team is
20:51
obviously made up of
20:51
individuals so we have to help the individual attain that
20:54
success just as well but
20:57
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, it's 18 to 22-year-olds, and I shouldn't say 22.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: At Swarthmore, it's 18 to 23-year-olds, right?
21:04
SPEAKER_01: At some other schools, it could be up to 27.
21:06
But we're at 18 to 23-year-olds who are still developing and
21:09
still trying to fit
21:11
SPEAKER_01: into their frame and add weight or cut and get stronger.
21:15
It's a lot of moving pieces and trying to help players feel
21:19
comfortable and
21:19
SPEAKER_01: confident within the system as best they can.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
21:25
we got a we got a good question here that's some kind of
21:27
related um so i think you
21:30
know we're just talking about player development taking young
21:32
players and helping
21:33
them see their part in the whole and developing um so tom
21:38
heston says shane talking
21:40
about your practices i've seen some of them they're really
21:42
impressive some of the
21:43
most impressive i've seen how do you build your practice plans
21:47
and how do you
21:47
balance scripted drills versus open live play so again back to
21:51
that question of
21:52
SPEAKER_00: like
21:53
SPEAKER_00: How much least do you give players?
21:55
SPEAKER_00: How much freedom?
21:56
SPEAKER_00: What is your philosophy with practices there?
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks for the compliment, Tom.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
22:03
I think the reality is that's something we've been navigating
22:08
every single year.
22:09
SPEAKER_01: And I think if we look back to the practices that Carl and I played
22:13
SPEAKER_01: participated in, there was not a lot of live play.
22:16
SPEAKER_01: It was almost all drills.
22:19
SPEAKER_01: I think as time's gone on,
22:20
SPEAKER_01: we've loosened the leash in terms of more live play,
22:26
SPEAKER_01: but we still believe in the fundamentals.
22:30
We still believe in the part-whole method in terms of building
22:34
skills that
22:35
SPEAKER_01: translate to on-court success on the team.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: And so I think what we try and do with our practices,
22:41
SPEAKER_01: what we've always done,
22:42
SPEAKER_01: and I've taken from Landry and tried to make my own as best we can,
22:47
SPEAKER_01: is understanding that every drill has an intention.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: We're never just doing a drill to do a drill.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: We're never just doing a drill
22:57
half with with half half speed or half ass we're trying to do
23:02
everything to get our
23:03
players better at x to get our players better at y so every
23:08
drill even though it
23:09
SPEAKER_01: might only be 30 seconds or 45 seconds or a minute
23:12
SPEAKER_01: there is something tangible our guys are going to get out of it.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: And so once we finish the drills, obviously you can look at it.
23:19
SPEAKER_01: It's like, wow, we just did a lot.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: Like how much of that was retained by the guys?
23:24
But I think when you do it over and over and over again across
23:27
the whole season,
23:28
the benefits just manifest themselves every single year in
23:32
terms of when you need a
23:33
guy to sprint to the charge circle and jump straight up and not
23:38
get a foul and make
23:39
SPEAKER_01: that layup tough,
23:40
SPEAKER_01: it might only save you two points every three games,
23:43
SPEAKER_01: but when you really need to save those two points,
23:46
SPEAKER_01: you're very grateful that you did that drill four times in the last week.
23:51
And so I think we're still trying to find the answer of
23:54
balancing live play with drills.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: And obviously that depends on what part of the season we're in.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Obviously,
24:00
SPEAKER_01: as we get more into it,
24:02
we're trying to have more segmented play where we let guys feel
24:06
it out through five
24:07
SPEAKER_01: on five.
24:08
But we do try and make sure that we're not losing sight of the
24:13
details within the
24:14
SPEAKER_01: greater picture.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: I think it is fascinating how much...
24:21
SPEAKER_00: mentalities around practice have changed and the value of that.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: Again,
24:25
SPEAKER_00: you mentioned it's all,
24:25
SPEAKER_00: it is different,
24:27
SPEAKER_00: different situations for different parts of the season.
24:29
But I listened to an interview with Marcus Kahn from Mary
24:36
Washington on the QCast recently.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: They just won the national championship,
24:40
but they had this weird two-week break between the final four
24:44
when they win and
24:45
SPEAKER_00: then this game in Indianapolis.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: And he was saying, you know, they went really short
24:50
SPEAKER_00: with their practices,
24:51
SPEAKER_00: they kind of just did structured stuff,
24:53
SPEAKER_00: and their guys just,
24:54
SPEAKER_00: their guys were like chomping at the bit to play,
24:57
SPEAKER_00: and they just wanted to compete.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: But they're like, we can't, no, like,
25:01
limited,
25:01
you know,
25:02
action just to try to make sure that people are still fresh.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm sure every year it's tweaking.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: Teams are different from year to year.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: And you're trying to give the guys what they need,
25:17
SPEAKER_00: again,
25:17
SPEAKER_00: for each situation,
25:18
SPEAKER_00: each part of the year.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: Because it is a long season.
25:21
SPEAKER_00: Runs from October to March or, you know, early April.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: So...
25:28
this year yeah and you're still figuring out and now you know
25:31
now d3 we have these
25:32
flex practices that we can use um however we want right i think
25:37
most coaches have
25:38
used all of them or almost all of them before the season just
25:41
to build up and ramp
25:43
SPEAKER_01: up more effectively um but even with that you know um
25:48
centennial conference you know four of those practices have to
25:50
be non-contact so
25:51
how do you utilize the non-contact practices well um while
25:56
still trying to get as
25:57
much out of them as you can and but to your point it's a long
26:00
season so if you add
26:02
two weeks with these extra practices you might not feel the
26:06
length in week three or
26:07
SPEAKER_01: four but your guys might feel that uh
26:11
SPEAKER_01: second layer effect,
26:12
SPEAKER_01: that third layer effect come December and January where it's like,
26:15
SPEAKER_01: man,
26:15
SPEAKER_01: this season has felt long.
26:18
So you're trying to keep it fresh for the guys in terms of
26:22
making sure that you're
26:23
SPEAKER_01: not rote and monotonous every day,
26:25
SPEAKER_01: but at the same time,
26:26
SPEAKER_01: you still got to focus on the details,
26:27
SPEAKER_01: you got to still focus on the fundamentals,
26:29
but you have to keep it fresh and variable and dynamic enough
26:34
to where guys are
26:35
SPEAKER_01: being stretched past their point of comfortability.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: And
26:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
26:40
what Marcus and Coach Khan and Coach Zimmerman had to deal with
26:45
in the national
26:45
SPEAKER_01: championship,
26:46
SPEAKER_01: that's a different level of logistical planning because...
26:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's two weeks without playing a game.
26:53
SPEAKER_01: You're trying to not go in rusty,
26:55
but you can't go in and have two guys get injured because
26:57
you're competing against
26:58
SPEAKER_01: yourselves.
26:59
SPEAKER_01: You have to be really detailed.
27:00
You have to be really intentional about how you're scheduling
27:03
those practices while
27:05
SPEAKER_01: not losing what has made you so good for the previous four months.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: And that's pretty tough.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: There's a reason the game came down to the buzzer.
27:12
They're incredible coaches,
27:13
great programs,
27:15
and they obviously both struck the chord right.
27:19
SPEAKER_01: So, you know,
27:20
SPEAKER_01: Hats off to both of those guys for doing it.
27:23
SPEAKER_01: Jason also a Davidson disciple and part of the family as well.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: We got another question here from Christian Bright.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: He said, thanks for the message, Coach Leffler.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: Could you share your information so I could get on your recruiting list?
27:43
SPEAKER_00: Maybe we use this chance for you just to share the best way,
27:47
SPEAKER_00: if a recruit is interested in Swarthmore,
27:49
SPEAKER_00: what should they do?
27:50
What are those steps that maybe you did not...
27:52
You were talking about some missteps you had.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Let's correct the record for the next generation.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: What can you do if you want to play at Tworkmore?
28:02
Okay.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Don't expect to get recruited without doing a work on your own.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: Right?
28:08
SPEAKER_01: I don't think I sent out enough emails.
28:11
SPEAKER_01: I definitely...
28:12
SPEAKER_01: I didn't have Instagram or Twitter at the time.
28:14
SPEAKER_01: X.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, the kids, it's X today.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: I didn't have Instagram or X. I don't think I sent enough emails.
28:21
SPEAKER_01: So obviously kids today,
28:23
they have a lot more opportunities or they have a lot more
28:26
avenues to put their
28:29
SPEAKER_01: information out there.
28:30
SPEAKER_01: But you got to be putting the right information out there.
28:32
SPEAKER_01: You got to do it with some intentionality.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: And there's nothing wrong with a copy-paste email to a degree.
28:38
SPEAKER_01: but coaches can see the copy-paste email.
28:40
So you got to make sure that if you're reaching out to Coach
28:44
Leffler or Coach
28:45
SPEAKER_01: Zimmerman or Coach Kahn,
28:46
there's got to be something in each of those messages that
28:49
shows that you're
28:49
actually interested in Swarthmore or you're actually interested
28:52
in Emory or you're
28:53
SPEAKER_01: actually interested in Mary Washington.
28:55
SPEAKER_01: Because just last week, I got an email.
28:59
SPEAKER_01: Excuse me.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: I got an email that said, Coach, Coach Leffler.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: Really excited to learn more about Emory University.
29:07
SPEAKER_01: It's like, well,
29:09
SPEAKER_01: I didn't even read the rest of the message, right?
29:11
Because if you don't have enough detail to make sure that you
29:13
put the right college
29:15
SPEAKER_01: in there,
29:16
SPEAKER_01: well,
29:16
SPEAKER_01: then you're not going to be doing great at Swarthmore.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: But I think understanding that,
29:21
SPEAKER_01: yeah,
29:22
SPEAKER_01: coaches have X profiles that they are looking at as student-athletes.
29:26
SPEAKER_01: Can you DM them?
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: I don't check my DMs that much in X, to be perfectly honest.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: So if you don't get a response,
29:34
SPEAKER_01: then you got to look at Instagram.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: Can we look at their team profile and give them a message there?
29:40
SPEAKER_01: Personally, I look at emails the most, right?
29:43
SPEAKER_01: And so for Swarthmore College, that's men's basketball at swarthmore.edu.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: And each coach is going to have a different email address.
29:49
And if you can't get a hold of the head coach,
29:52
try and get a hold of the assistant coach.
29:54
And make sure when you're reaching out,
29:57
you're including all the info that we'd want.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: Highlights, transcript, game film,
30:03
SPEAKER_01: your AAU team and schedule,
30:06
SPEAKER_01: or if you're not doing AAU,
30:08
SPEAKER_01: here are the camps that I'm considering.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: Where can we see you play?
30:12
SPEAKER_01: Give your coaches contact info, your contact info.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Just give them,
30:17
give the coaches as much information as they could need to
30:21
evaluate whether or not
30:22
SPEAKER_01: you're a good fit for the program.
30:24
And then if you can't get a contact and if you can't get a
30:29
response from the coach,
30:30
SPEAKER_01: then go a different way.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: Have your high school coach reach out for you.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: Have your AAU coach reach out for you.
30:37
Find a way to make sure that you are exploring each college
30:41
opportunity to the best
30:43
SPEAKER_01: of your ability because the reality is,
30:46
SPEAKER_01: If you're able to get your stuff in front of college coaches,
30:51
SPEAKER_01: then we're going to be able to evaluate whether or not you're a fit.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: And if you're not a fit, then you might have to pivot.
30:57
SPEAKER_01: But you can't just rest and wait for college coaches to find you because
31:03
SPEAKER_01: At Swarthmore, we're looking nationally, internationally.
31:06
There are thousands of students that have a chance to go to
31:10
Swarthmore College and
31:11
SPEAKER_01: play for Swarthmore College.
31:13
SPEAKER_01: We have to find the guys who can get in,
31:15
SPEAKER_01: the guys who can compete at our level,
31:17
SPEAKER_01: and the guys who are going to thrive at Swarthmore,
31:19
SPEAKER_01: which is a pretty small list,
31:20
SPEAKER_01: but it starts as a very big list.
31:22
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:24
SPEAKER_00: And like you said,
31:25
it's all about getting the right information in and having a
31:28
little bit of
31:29
SPEAKER_00: persistence.
31:30
SPEAKER_00: I remember,
31:31
SPEAKER_00: you know,
31:31
SPEAKER_00: my situation with Coach Wimberly,
31:33
SPEAKER_00: the summer I was trying to get recruited,
31:35
SPEAKER_00: his mom was sick.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: And so I had seen them at a camp and, you know, had talked to the coach.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, I know they're aware of me.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: I told them I'm interested.
31:45
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just getting absolutely nothing on these emails.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: I think I sent one, followed up again, still nothing.
31:53
And then finally,
31:54
like,
31:55
you know,
31:56
maybe a month later,
31:57
he's like,
31:58
oh,
31:58
you know,
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, I've been out taking care of my mom.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you over for a visit.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: But it was,
32:04
SPEAKER_00: you know,
32:04
you have to not assume that it's a no just because a coach
32:09
doesn't get back to you.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: I think,
32:10
SPEAKER_00: especially right now,
32:11
a lot of coaches might be taking some well-deserved vacation
32:15
because they,
32:16
SPEAKER_00: I would say maybe at the D3 level.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: At the D1 level, they might be recruiting the portal.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: But at the D3 level,
32:23
SPEAKER_00: you know,
32:24
they're taking a trip with their family because they've spent
32:26
the last four or five
32:27
SPEAKER_00: months
32:28
in the office and really working hard with the team so i think
32:31
that message of
32:32
perseverance is a good one um how about like a questionnaire is
32:36
that helpful or
32:38
visiting campus maybe if even if they're not invited visiting
32:42
campus stopping by
32:43
the office are things like that helpful questionnaires always
32:46
helpful like the
32:47
questionnaires that are on our website every single one that
32:50
gets filled out comes
32:51
SPEAKER_01: to my inbox
32:53
If I'm interested,
32:54
I'll take a look or I'll at least forward it to Connor.
32:57
One of us will take a look at the questionnaires and that is
33:00
going to provide all
33:01
that information I just talked about in terms of all the
33:04
contact information,
33:05
SPEAKER_01: transcript,
33:06
SPEAKER_01: etc.
33:07
SPEAKER_01: So questionnaires are a good way, especially if you...
33:11
SPEAKER_01: If you haven't gotten an email response back, then do the questionnaire.
33:14
Now,
33:14
if you don't get contact,
33:16
now you need to figure out another way to do it.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: The campus visits, campus visits are always great.
33:21
Ideally,
33:22
we have some communication before guys come to campus,
33:24
but that doesn't always happen.
33:26
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes guys reach out to Connor,
33:29
SPEAKER_01: our assistant coach,
33:31
SPEAKER_01: and they might say,
33:32
SPEAKER_01: hey,
33:32
SPEAKER_01: coach,
33:32
SPEAKER_01: really interested in the school.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: I've got spring break this week.
33:35
SPEAKER_01: I'll be down on campus on Thursday.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: Any chance we can talk?
33:38
SPEAKER_01: Well,
33:39
SPEAKER_01: there is a chance we can talk.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: It obviously depends on our schedule.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: The more heads up we have,
33:43
the more we're going to be able to figure out whether or not it
33:45
fits in our
33:46
SPEAKER_01: calendar.
33:47
But at the same time,
33:48
you want some level of communication before you get to campus.
33:52
SPEAKER_01: Because the reality is, if you get to campus and
33:56
SPEAKER_01: I don't know anything about you, Carl Barkley.
33:57
You're from Davidson Day in North Carolina,
34:00
and you're,
34:01
oh,
34:01
you can shoot the ball?
34:02
SPEAKER_01: I trust you can shoot the ball, but I don't know how well.
34:05
SPEAKER_01: There's only so much we can go off of.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: The more information we have,
34:09
the more fruitful those visits tend to be in terms of actually
34:11
getting valuable,
34:13
SPEAKER_01: concrete,
34:14
SPEAKER_01: useful feedback in terms of next steps.
34:17
SPEAKER_01: And obviously trying to do it when you have some,
34:19
SPEAKER_01: like spring break,
34:20
a lot of students have been coming to Swarthmore's campus
34:22
during their spring break
34:23
SPEAKER_01: because they understand
34:25
how big their summer's about to be with AAU and camps and the
34:28
whole nine yards.
34:29
And so trying to make sure that you carve out time when you can
34:33
to see the schools
34:34
SPEAKER_01: that you're interested in is useful.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: Not just useful, it's necessary.
34:39
You can't do recruiting remote and figure out which school is
34:44
going to be perfect for you.
34:45
SPEAKER_01: You got to do your due diligence.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: You got to get there.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:50
Something we were talking about a little bit this week with
34:51
some recruits was
34:53
we're getting the question,
34:54
how do you know when you're a,
34:56
you know,
34:56
a priority recruit?
34:57
SPEAKER_00: What is that,
34:58
what are the things that a coach starts doing that will give
35:01
you that sign that
35:03
SPEAKER_00: they're seriously recruiting you,
35:05
SPEAKER_00: not just,
35:06
SPEAKER_00: you know,
35:06
SPEAKER_00: maybe you're on their short list or on a list,
35:11
SPEAKER_00: pre-reads,
35:12
SPEAKER_00: things like that?
35:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, pre-reads is a part of it.
35:16
SPEAKER_01: I think, obviously, if you are...
35:19
SPEAKER_01: Obviously,
35:19
SPEAKER_01: if you have a coach who is at your games,
35:22
SPEAKER_01: that's probably the best sign of,
35:25
SPEAKER_01: you know,
35:26
we want to go see guys that we want as much as possible to not
35:30
just be able to
35:31
SPEAKER_01: evaluate their fit,
35:32
SPEAKER_01: but provide feedback and see,
35:34
SPEAKER_01: you know,
35:34
SPEAKER_01: whether or not they are a good fit.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: So coaches go into your games or coaches commenting,
35:39
SPEAKER_01: maybe not commenting,
35:41
SPEAKER_01: you know,
35:41
SPEAKER_01: seeing film and maybe saying,
35:43
SPEAKER_01: hey,
35:43
SPEAKER_01: great win the other night.
35:44
I saw like,
35:45
you know,
35:45
like if I see a play on film that I really like from a player,
35:49
SPEAKER_01: I'll just clip it or I'll take a quick...
35:54
you know,
35:54
camp video,
35:55
and I might send it to him and say,
35:56
like,
35:57
this was an incredible hustle.
35:58
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is a great play.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: And it might not be you hitting a three-pointer.
36:01
SPEAKER_01: It might just be something that we like.
36:03
So getting concrete feedback just from seeing coaches at your
36:07
games or having them
36:09
SPEAKER_01: communicate with you about your playing is always a good sign.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: Coaches asking for you to do a pre-read with their admissions department,
36:16
that's a great sign because that means they're going to take
36:19
some time to carve out
36:22
SPEAKER_01: a...
36:23
SPEAKER_01: time with their own admissions department to see,
36:26
SPEAKER_01: do you have a chance of getting into the school?
36:28
SPEAKER_01: We don't just do that for any kid.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: It takes time from us.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: It takes time for our admissions team.
36:35
SPEAKER_01: We want to do it with kids who have a legitimate shot at Swarthmore.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: So those are two probably the best concrete steps.
36:40
Obviously,
36:41
the more often that a coach is communicating with you,
36:44
the better off you are.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: The less often a coach is communicating with you,
36:49
SPEAKER_01: to your point,
36:49
SPEAKER_01: Carl,
36:50
SPEAKER_01: sometimes that can come up just
36:52
SPEAKER_01: coincidentally with family circumstances or whatnot,
36:54
SPEAKER_01: but if no one on the staff is communicating with you for a month,
37:00
SPEAKER_01: well,
37:00
maybe you need to take another step in terms of building that
37:03
communication and
37:04
SPEAKER_01: taking a,
37:06
SPEAKER_01: because demonstrated interest,
37:08
SPEAKER_01: it's good for some schools,
37:10
SPEAKER_01: it doesn't work for all schools.
37:11
So Carl,
37:11
you know this,
37:12
demonstrated interest doesn't matter at Swarthmore.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't help you get into Swarthmore.
37:17
SPEAKER_01: But demonstrated interest does help us on the basketball side, right?
37:21
If we know a guy wants to come to us,
37:23
it doesn't mean he's always going to be a perfect fit.
37:26
But it's better than if we have a guy who is lukewarm and is
37:31
looking at 15
37:32
SPEAKER_01: different schools and can't decide what he wants.
37:34
SPEAKER_01: Well,
37:36
SPEAKER_01: when it comes push to shove and we get to September,
37:39
SPEAKER_01: October,
37:39
SPEAKER_01: November and decisions need to be made,
37:42
SPEAKER_01: Are we going to wait for the guy who's got 15 options?
37:45
Or are we going to go with the guy who we know is going to be a
37:48
good fit for us and
37:49
SPEAKER_01: wants to come and fits what we need?
37:51
SPEAKER_01: There's a give and take.
37:52
SPEAKER_01: There's a balance to it, right?
37:54
Just like players have tiers of schools that they want to go
37:58
play at,
37:59
coaches have tiers too.
38:01
You know,
38:01
you might be in tier three at one point on a coach's
38:04
leaderboard.
38:05
SPEAKER_01: You have to find a way to push yourself up into tier two.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: You got to play your way into it.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: You got to boost your grades.
38:11
You got to do your due diligence in terms of getting yourself
38:13
in front of those coaches.
38:15
SPEAKER_01: But
38:16
things change that's why we watch so much basketball in the
38:19
spring and summer is
38:20
some guys that we don't think are quite ready for us in april
38:24
we might see them
38:25
throughout the summer and by the time we get to august they're
38:28
one of our favorite
38:29
players they're one of our top guys just as well we could see a
38:32
guy in april that
38:33
we love and then by the fourth or fifth time we see him play
38:37
maybe he's got some
38:38
traits that we don't like maybe he's got some things that we
38:40
didn't see the first
38:41
SPEAKER_01: time around so
38:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
38:43
SPEAKER_01: Since constant give and take,
38:45
SPEAKER_01: lists are changing for players just like they're changing for coaches.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:49
SPEAKER_00: No, it's very true.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: It's all fluid.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: And it's, yeah, I think...
38:53
Just to add some context for people listening who may not be
38:57
familiar with
38:57
SPEAKER_00: demonstrated interest,
38:59
SPEAKER_00: at some schools,
39:00
SPEAKER_00: as Shane mentioned,
39:01
it's as much as they will track whether or not you open the
39:05
emails that their
39:06
SPEAKER_00: admissions department sends to you.
39:08
And they'll check your,
39:10
you know,
39:11
did you talk to someone in the admissions office?
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Did you schedule a campus visit?
39:15
SPEAKER_00: Did you, you know...
39:18
set up an alumni uh connection all these things that score you
39:22
little points so
39:23
when it comes times for admissions to actually evaluate your
39:26
application at a lot
39:28
of schools that can make a difference on the basketball side as
39:32
shane pointed out
39:33
it is almost always a good thing to be doing like if you're
39:37
invited to come to
39:38
campus and you're again like you're lukewarm it's uh you're
39:43
you're definitely
39:44
SPEAKER_00: missing an opportunity so
39:46
be mindful of that if someone sends you an email to if a coach
39:49
sends you an email
39:50
try to respond within you know a day or two you leave something
39:55
on read for too
39:56
long whether or not this is fair i think sometimes parents say
39:59
you know well it
40:00
should go both ways coaches should respond within a day or two
40:03
to my to my baby boy
40:05
uh it's not it doesn't unfortunately life's not fair and uh
40:11
that's a tough one
40:11
SPEAKER_00: where coaches have a lot more um
40:15
SPEAKER_00: maybe some uneven power dynamics there.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
40:19
SPEAKER_00: I think if you're a kid and you get that message from a coach and says,
40:22
SPEAKER_00: hey,
40:22
SPEAKER_00: we're interested in you,
40:23
SPEAKER_00: we'd love for you to stop by campus or,
40:26
SPEAKER_00: you know,
40:27
SPEAKER_00: hop on a call and learn more about your situation,
40:29
SPEAKER_00: I think,
40:30
SPEAKER_00: yeah,
40:30
SPEAKER_00: it's always one that you should jump on if you're interested.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: If you're not, always okay to say no.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: I think coaches appreciate that too.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: Oh, for sure.
40:40
SPEAKER_01: And that's where honest feedback,
40:42
SPEAKER_01: if you have an understanding of the school fit,
40:45
SPEAKER_01: is always helpful,
40:46
SPEAKER_01: right?
40:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
40:47
I'll go toward the Swarthmore,
40:49
just saw a bunch of Swarthmore alumni this weekend.
40:51
SPEAKER_01: Ryan Ingram, class of 2022.
40:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, I recruited him when I was at Randolph College for one year, right?
40:58
SPEAKER_01: And he was a Charlottesville,
40:59
SPEAKER_01: Virginia player,
41:00
SPEAKER_01: really good player,
41:01
SPEAKER_01: good grades,
41:02
SPEAKER_01: just what we were looking for at Randolph.
41:04
I gave him a call and very nice and politely told me,
41:09
like,
41:09
coach,
41:10
thanks for the interest.
41:11
SPEAKER_01: I'm not really interested in Randolph.
41:14
SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, well, that's okay.
41:16
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate the honesty.
41:17
SPEAKER_01: Like, where are you interested in?
41:18
SPEAKER_01: Or what other schools are you interested in?
41:20
He's like,
41:20
well,
41:20
I'm being recruited by Swarthmore and Washington Lee,
41:23
etc.
41:23
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, oh, don't worry about it, man.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, look, if Swarthmore wants you, like, that's a great spot.
41:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, it worked.
41:30
But I appreciated him telling me because then I could spend
41:33
that time that I would
41:34
have spent trying to communicate with him on recruits who were
41:38
actually interested
41:39
SPEAKER_01: in Randolph.
41:40
SPEAKER_01: Right?
41:40
And so understanding that coaches value honesty and
41:43
transparency just as we do from
41:46
SPEAKER_01: the players,
41:47
SPEAKER_01: it's a two-way street.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I have a similar story too.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: I think this just...
41:52
is a lesson for recruits not to dismiss an assistant coach at a
41:57
school they're not
41:57
interested in because brendan mcshay when he was at allegheny
42:01
recruited me he was
42:01
one of the first coaches to say hey i think you could play in
42:04
college and you know
42:06
we'd love to have you come up for a visit and check out
42:08
allegheny and at the time i
42:10
was like i don't really i don't know what that is i'm a kid i
42:12
grew up in north
42:13
SPEAKER_00: carolina as well and it's uh you know it's up in pennsylvania and
42:18
So it was as I was figuring everything out,
42:19
but we,
42:20
we maintained a good conversation.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: And I think at some point I had,
42:23
SPEAKER_00: I had a similar moment like Ryan did where I was like,
42:26
SPEAKER_00: I just don't think this is for me.
42:28
SPEAKER_00: But,
42:28
SPEAKER_00: you know,
42:28
SPEAKER_00: flash forward two years later,
42:30
Landry joins SWAT and his first assistant is none other than
42:34
Brendan McShay.
42:35
So,
42:36
uh,
42:36
you know,
42:36
it was good that we had that working dynamic and he,
42:38
uh,
42:39
He knew that I would tell him the truth because I'd done it
42:41
during the recruiting process.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's such a good reminder.
42:44
You never know where that assistant is going to end up because
42:48
the coaching role is very small.
42:50
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
42:51
and that's a good reminder that you don't know the effects of
42:56
your actions until
42:58
SPEAKER_01: the end of the day,
42:58
SPEAKER_01: right?
42:59
In terms of you might be playing in a gym with no one else,
43:07
no college coaches there,
43:08
right?
43:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
43:09
But we have Swarthmore alumni who reach out to us all the time
43:13
about players,
43:14
right?
43:15
You don't know if someone's watching who's got a connection to
43:19
the coach at
43:19
SPEAKER_01: Swarthmore or the coach at Davidson or the coach at whatever school.
43:23
SPEAKER_01: You don't know.
43:24
SPEAKER_01: So...
43:25
trying to make sure that you are authentic and being the best
43:30
version of yourself
43:30
SPEAKER_01: wherever you are,
43:31
SPEAKER_01: not just on the court in front of 500 people,
43:35
SPEAKER_01: but at a practice,
43:37
SPEAKER_01: in a workout or a tryout,
43:39
trying to make sure that you have positive connections and
43:43
positive effects on all
43:44
the people that you interact with because the reality is we
43:47
recruit good people.
43:48
SPEAKER_01: We want good people in our program.
43:50
SPEAKER_01: And if we start to hear from
43:53
your your your trainer or your a you coach that like there's
43:56
been some unsavory
43:58
aspects of coaching you well that stuff carries over if we
44:02
don't see it in person
44:03
it doesn't mean that we're not going to know but just as well
44:06
when we had positive
44:08
interactions with people around you as a recruit and we have
44:12
multiple people
44:13
telling us great kid great player great student great player
44:17
great kid great
44:18
SPEAKER_01: student
44:19
SPEAKER_01: Well,
44:19
SPEAKER_01: that really carries itself in terms of,
44:21
SPEAKER_01: well,
44:22
SPEAKER_01: if this recruit is really making this kind of impact on so many people,
44:26
SPEAKER_01: of course,
44:26
SPEAKER_01: he's going to do that for us too.
44:28
SPEAKER_00: Right.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
44:30
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
44:31
SPEAKER_00: I think that's true.
44:32
SPEAKER_00: We got a follow-up here question that we're going to go to from 2027.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: It's from Christian again.
44:38
SPEAKER_00: He said,
44:39
SPEAKER_00: if you're trying to get recruited by high academics,
44:43
SPEAKER_00: how do you get evaluated by these schools if you're not,
44:45
SPEAKER_00: like you were talking about in your own experience,
44:47
SPEAKER_00: if you're not on the right circuits for
44:48
SPEAKER_00: travel basketball.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: He's at elite camps early one day.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: So where do you need to be so they can continue to evaluate you?
44:56
SPEAKER_00: What are the best places for someone in the class of 2027 to get a look?
45:02
SPEAKER_01: I think it depends on each kid,
45:04
SPEAKER_01: but at the same time,
45:05
SPEAKER_01: figuring out one,
45:07
SPEAKER_01: if you are playing AU,
45:08
SPEAKER_01: there are a lot of different circuits,
45:10
SPEAKER_01: right?
45:10
And coaches are constantly each year figuring out which
45:13
circuits they're going to
45:14
SPEAKER_01: go attend and go watch because teams are changing,
45:17
SPEAKER_01: guys are changing.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: And so let's say you send your schedule to a coach.
45:24
SPEAKER_01: We don't have a staff, an unlimited staff.
45:27
SPEAKER_01: We don't have an unlimited recruiting budget.
45:28
SPEAKER_01: So we're not going to be able to get to every tournament.
45:31
SPEAKER_01: But if we can't get to your tournament,
45:33
SPEAKER_01: can your parents or can anybody's parents on the team film the games?
45:36
SPEAKER_01: Can you provide some game film?
45:38
Game films are a really good way to bridge the gap in terms of
45:41
not being able to be
45:42
SPEAKER_01: seen in person.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean it does the same job,
45:45
SPEAKER_01: but you can still bridge the gap in terms of we can watch game film,
45:49
SPEAKER_01: not just highlights,
45:50
but full film and see whether Christian or Carl maybe show some
45:55
strengths that are
45:55
SPEAKER_01: positive for our program.
45:57
And if you can't get in person or get in front of coaches with
46:01
your AAU team or
46:02
SPEAKER_01: your high school team,
46:03
SPEAKER_01: then you do have to be strategic about the camps.
46:06
SPEAKER_01: Christian's not wrong.
46:08
SPEAKER_01: Elite camps are just one day.
46:10
SPEAKER_01: But what you do in that one day matters.
46:12
SPEAKER_01: And so figuring out,
46:13
can I go to the right camps that put me in front of the right
46:16
high academic
46:16
SPEAKER_01: coaches?
46:18
SPEAKER_01: And trying to balance out,
46:20
SPEAKER_01: okay,
46:20
SPEAKER_01: Carl,
46:21
SPEAKER_01: you and I were talking about it before we got on the call is,
46:23
SPEAKER_01: You know,
46:24
there are certain camps with really strong recognition that
46:26
high academic coaches
46:27
SPEAKER_01: go to every year,
46:28
SPEAKER_01: right?
46:29
Yale's elite camp,
46:31
all academic at Babson,
46:33
and Fundamental U in Chicago,
46:38
right?
46:38
Those are three well-attended,
46:40
both on the player's side and also on the coach's side.
46:43
But there's a downside to that in you might not be able to
46:46
stand out in a crowd of
46:48
SPEAKER_01: 300 players or 200 players.
46:51
SPEAKER_01: So then do you look at some other ID league camps?
46:53
SPEAKER_01: Do you look at some Patriot league camps?
46:54
SPEAKER_01: Do you look at the individual schools camps?
46:57
SPEAKER_01: You know,
46:57
SPEAKER_01: for our camp,
46:58
SPEAKER_01: we do,
46:59
SPEAKER_01: obviously,
46:59
SPEAKER_01: we have,
47:00
we have half of our team are guys that have come to the elite
47:03
camp at Swarthmore.
47:04
SPEAKER_01: But it just doesn't make sense for everyone.
47:07
SPEAKER_01: So you have to figure out,
47:08
you have to talk to coaches and figure out where are the
47:11
coaches going for the
47:13
SPEAKER_01: schools that I want to play at.
47:15
SPEAKER_01: If they're going to this camp on June 6th and this camp on June 20th,
47:20
SPEAKER_01: then maybe I need to look at those two dates.
47:22
SPEAKER_01: And I don't need to do 20 camps,
47:25
but I need to be intentional about the camps I'm selecting and
47:28
hopefully try and
47:29
SPEAKER_01: get some feedback about,
47:31
SPEAKER_01: you know,
47:32
I don't know exactly where we're going to go in August because
47:35
it is a dynamic
47:36
calendar in terms of figuring out where the best players and
47:40
the best players for
47:40
SPEAKER_01: Swarthmore are going to be.
47:42
SPEAKER_01: But having an idea about June in terms of where we're going to be going,
47:47
SPEAKER_01: yeah,
47:47
SPEAKER_01: we have an idea about where we're going to be going.
47:49
SPEAKER_01: That'll probably be concrete in the next month.
47:52
So trying to get feedback from coaches in terms of which camps
47:55
fit you best,
47:56
SPEAKER_01: that's part of the process.
47:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:59
Being in the right gym means are there people that you want to
48:02
watch you watching you?
48:04
SPEAKER_00: So don't spend thousands of dollars.
48:07
Just go into some big showcase when,
48:11
you know,
48:11
I'm sure you had experiences like this.
48:13
in high school i went to the hooker camp that was like not the
48:17
academic one but the
48:18
the elite the actual elite camp uh and there were you know duke
48:23
and michigan state
48:24
on the sideline and i was just i got dunked on more times than
48:28
i can count and i
48:29
was like all right i'm not a division one player this is pretty
48:32
clear here uh but
48:35
SPEAKER_00: you know that was i think i was a sophomore and
48:37
SPEAKER_00: And it was great because it was good skill development.
48:40
SPEAKER_00: I was getting work against the best possible competition.
48:44
But by the time I got to be a junior,
48:48
I was like,
48:48
I don't need to go back to that camp.
48:50
SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of D1 teammates in high school.
48:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm going to let them battle that one out.
48:55
I'm going to go to situations where I can find a school like
48:58
SWAT or get recruited
49:01
SPEAKER_00: by something that's a little more my speed.
49:03
SPEAKER_00: But something you said...
49:07
SPEAKER_00: I think on this note about like what recruits can do in that moment,
49:12
SPEAKER_00: I want your take because I've heard different things,
49:15
SPEAKER_00: but recruits that go up and just introduce themselves to a coach,
49:19
they see the logo on their chest of the school they want to get
49:22
recruited by and
49:22
SPEAKER_00: they just walk up,
49:23
SPEAKER_00: shake their hand,
49:24
SPEAKER_00: introduce themselves.
49:25
SPEAKER_00: Is that something that carries weight?
49:27
Is it something that more kids should do or,
49:30
you know,
49:31
what's your take there?
49:33
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't hurt, right?
49:35
SPEAKER_01: So it doesn't,
49:38
SPEAKER_01: it's not a magic cure-all, right?
49:40
SPEAKER_01: You have to still have the size, the athleticism, the skills.
49:45
SPEAKER_01: You still need the necessities to play, right?
49:48
But it never hurts for a player who's got the confidence to
49:52
say,
49:52
hi,
49:53
I'm Shane Loeffler and
49:55
SPEAKER_01: I'm really interested in Swarthmore College.
49:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm a class of 2027.
49:58
SPEAKER_01: I go to this high school.
50:00
SPEAKER_01: If you don't mind, I'm playing on court five in 20 minutes.
50:05
If you wouldn't mind coming by and watching me play,
50:07
I'd appreciate some feedback.
50:09
SPEAKER_01: Of course that helps.
50:11
SPEAKER_01: And maybe we already know about that kid, or maybe we don't.
50:15
Because understanding that when we're recruiting nationally and
50:22
internationally,
50:23
as
50:25
good as our contacts are and as much understanding we have of
50:29
where we can find
50:30
SPEAKER_01: recruits,
50:31
we're never going to know about every high academic recruit in
50:34
the country.
50:35
SPEAKER_01: It's impossible.
50:38
SPEAKER_01: It never hurts you to put yourself in the position for
50:43
SPEAKER_01: Coach left her to find out who I am, and maybe that helps, right?
50:48
SPEAKER_01: I was at a high school game last month.
50:50
We were going to the game for one player who we knew about and
50:54
we think has a
50:54
SPEAKER_01: really good chance to help our program.
50:57
SPEAKER_01: We randomly found out about a kid on the team he was playing against,
51:03
SPEAKER_01: and we fortunately found out two days before the game,
51:06
SPEAKER_01: got his transcript,
51:07
SPEAKER_01: realized he actually had potentially Swarthmore level grades,
51:11
SPEAKER_01: and so we're able to go see him play.
51:13
SPEAKER_01: right?
51:13
SPEAKER_01: And if we hadn't found out about him before that game,
51:18
I wouldn't have had any wherewithal to focus on that kid's play
51:22
and figure out,
51:23
SPEAKER_01: can he potentially play at Swarthmore?
51:26
So obviously putting yourself in the position to be evaluated
51:30
more accurately or
51:31
SPEAKER_01: more intentionally can't hurt you unless you don't have the
51:37
SPEAKER_01: requisite skill, athleticism.
51:39
SPEAKER_01: And no,
51:39
SPEAKER_01: no,
51:39
SPEAKER_01: I mean,
51:40
SPEAKER_01: if you shake my hand and you're,
51:43
if you shake my hand and you're confident and you come with the
51:46
right message,
51:46
SPEAKER_01: that's great.
51:47
SPEAKER_01: But you still have to be able to compete.
51:51
SPEAKER_01: You still have to have the grades.
51:53
You could be the nicest guy in the world and come shake my hand
51:57
and Swarthmore
51:58
SPEAKER_01: still has a 7% acceptance rate.
52:00
SPEAKER_01: It's still incredibly hard to get in.
52:02
So there are a lot of things that have to balance correctly and
52:05
let's not discount
52:07
the amount of luck that goes into recruiting in terms of making
52:10
sure you're in the
52:11
SPEAKER_01: right gym at the right time in front of the right coach.
52:14
SPEAKER_01: But
52:15
the more luck that you can create for yourself by making sure
52:19
coaches have your
52:20
SPEAKER_01: information,
52:20
SPEAKER_01: by making sure you take care of your grades,
52:22
by making sure that you are working tirelessly to make sure
52:26
that when you do play
52:27
SPEAKER_01: in front of a coach,
52:28
SPEAKER_01: you are putting forth your best effort.
52:30
There's a lot of things you can do to mitigate the effect of
52:33
luck on the recruiting process.
52:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
52:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
52:36
SPEAKER_00: A lot of controllables.
52:38
SPEAKER_00: Um,
52:40
SPEAKER_00: I want to be mindful of time.
52:41
SPEAKER_00: We probably got here about 10 minutes left.
52:43
So if you do have a question you're watching,
52:46
feel free to drop that in the chat below.
52:48
SPEAKER_00: Christian, I appreciate the question and the follow-up.
52:52
SPEAKER_00: Lots of action right now for class of 2027.
52:54
So you're doing the right things to be on calls like this,
52:57
talking to the right people.
52:59
SPEAKER_00: And
53:00
SPEAKER_00: getting yourself organized for this summer.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a big summer for 2027s.
53:06
SPEAKER_00: While we wait, Shane, I'm curious on timing for pre-reads.
53:10
SPEAKER_00: So you guys, for priority recruits, when does that start happening?
53:14
SPEAKER_00: Maybe end of summer, early fall?
53:17
SPEAKER_00: When do the first pre-reads start going on?
53:20
SPEAKER_01: Good question.
53:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we just met with our admissions team a week ago, so really topical.
53:24
SPEAKER_01: So Swarthmore will start their pre-reads late.
53:28
SPEAKER_01: mid to late May.
53:30
SPEAKER_01: Now,
53:30
SPEAKER_01: generally,
53:31
we don't start our pre-reads from a basketball standpoint until
53:35
probably early June
53:37
SPEAKER_01: just because that junior transcript really matters.
53:41
SPEAKER_01: And to do a pre-read without a final junior transcript
53:45
SPEAKER_01: you're just going to get incomplete information.
53:47
And so ideally,
53:48
we wait until June,
53:49
July,
53:50
August to do the most of our pre-reads.
53:55
SPEAKER_01: And what that means, it depends school to school, right?
53:58
SPEAKER_01: Our pre-read, it's a mini application.
54:01
SPEAKER_01: you're inputting your transcript,
54:04
SPEAKER_01: you're inputting your senior year class schedule,
54:08
SPEAKER_01: you're inputting a writing sample,
54:10
SPEAKER_01: you know,
54:10
SPEAKER_01: two very small essays,
54:13
SPEAKER_01: your resume.
54:15
SPEAKER_01: So it's not,
54:17
you have to be intentional about doing it because the reality
54:20
is it can help you.
54:22
If you do it well and you put forward the right information and
54:25
admissions gives
54:26
SPEAKER_01: you a green light,
54:27
SPEAKER_01: it doesn't mean you can't fall off the,
54:29
SPEAKER_01: like it doesn't mean you can just mail it in as a senior,
54:32
but you've put yourself in the right light for admissions and
54:35
for the coach to be,
54:37
SPEAKER_01: okay,
54:37
SPEAKER_01: Carl is a recruitable athlete,
54:39
SPEAKER_01: not just a recruitable athlete,
54:41
he's a highly recruitable athlete because admissions has given
54:43
him the green light.
54:45
SPEAKER_01: Or,
54:45
SPEAKER_01: conversely,
54:47
SPEAKER_01: if he's given the yellow light,
54:48
SPEAKER_01: we can give some feedback about,
54:50
SPEAKER_01: okay,
54:51
SPEAKER_01: it's not a guarantee,
54:53
SPEAKER_01: but as long as you do X,
54:54
SPEAKER_01: Y,
54:55
SPEAKER_01: Z,
54:55
SPEAKER_01: you're going to have a shot.
54:57
SPEAKER_01: And so,
54:58
SPEAKER_01: the pre-read is helpful in that,
55:00
SPEAKER_01: but it just depends on,
55:03
SPEAKER_01: like I said earlier,
55:04
we don't do a pre-read with any Joe Schmoe that just reaches
55:07
out to us about doing
55:08
SPEAKER_01: a pre-read.
55:11
SPEAKER_01: Because part of the pre-read is,
55:13
You know,
55:13
I send comments to support this player's potential in
55:16
Swarthmore.
55:17
SPEAKER_01: So if I don't know much about you,
55:19
I can't really write much about you to support you from an
55:22
admission standpoint.
55:23
So I have to know who you are and what you're about,
55:26
what your goals are,
55:27
what you...
55:28
SPEAKER_01: your prospective majors might be, what your family life is like.
55:33
I have to try and portray the best picture possible to make
55:36
sure admissions sees
55:38
SPEAKER_01: you,
55:38
SPEAKER_01: Carl,
55:38
SPEAKER_01: in the best light possible so that you have the best outcome.
55:43
SPEAKER_01: And so generally why we wait till June,
55:46
SPEAKER_01: July,
55:46
SPEAKER_01: and August is we want to make sure guys have final transcripts,
55:49
but we also want to make sure that we understand guys better
55:52
and can make sure that
55:53
SPEAKER_01: they're putting their best foot forward for admissions.
55:57
SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
55:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that makes a ton of sense.
55:59
Yeah,
56:01
and it's not always a guarantee,
56:02
as you mentioned,
56:03
that a good pre-read means you're in.
56:07
SPEAKER_00: I was working with a kid last year who was trying to get into a school in
56:15
SPEAKER_00: California,
56:16
SPEAKER_00: and they got the green light during the pre-read,
56:19
SPEAKER_00: but then got a concussion,
56:21
SPEAKER_00: unfortunately,
56:21
SPEAKER_00: their senior season,
56:22
SPEAKER_00: and their academics fell way off.
56:25
SPEAKER_00: And the school happened to just check in
56:27
for a spot transcript and they had like a B in chemistry or
56:32
something or like,
56:32
SPEAKER_00: you know,
56:33
we're doing really poorly and they ended up waitlisting the kid
56:36
during admissions
56:37
SPEAKER_00: because of that.
56:38
Even though they didn't have the context on why the grades were
56:41
bad,
56:42
but I think it's just...
56:43
taking that feedback if a coach is going to take the time to go
56:46
through that
56:46
preview process give you information definitely make sure
56:49
you're putting that into
56:51
effect and then also don't stop communicating at that point
56:54
just because you get
56:55
the yes uh because who knows life is crazy things can happen
57:01
and i think uh yeah
57:03
better to make sure they have the context they need so yeah
57:07
yeah and that's even
57:08
SPEAKER_01: understanding from admission standpoint the pre-re
57:11
SPEAKER_01: It's a pre-read, right?
57:13
They understand that when they're giving feedback,
57:16
it's with incomplete information.
57:18
SPEAKER_01: They don't know exactly how you're going to do senior year.
57:20
SPEAKER_01: They don't know if your test scores are going to improve.
57:24
They don't know some things that they're guessing at or they're
57:28
making an educated guess about.
57:30
And so you can't just do half the work and expect the results
57:35
to follow you.
57:36
SPEAKER_01: You have to be strong.
57:37
SPEAKER_01: You have to be strong the whole way through.
57:38
You can't take your foot off the pedal and hope that the people
57:43
in the admissions
57:44
department of Swarthmore or whatever university you're
57:47
interested in stop looking
57:51
because they want people who are thriving and are challenging
57:54
themselves and doing
57:55
SPEAKER_01: well in that challenge.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: Every college and university has their own prerogatives.
58:00
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
58:01
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
58:02
SPEAKER_00: Well said.
58:03
I'm going to give time for one more question if anyone has one
58:05
from the audience.
58:07
And while we're waiting on that,
58:08
Shane,
58:09
just final thoughts,
58:10
closing words,
58:11
anything you got?
58:14
SPEAKER_01: We're excited about the coming year.
58:16
We'll be out up in Pittsburgh next weekend,
58:18
both myself and Coach Harkins.
58:20
SPEAKER_01: And obviously,
58:21
it's a really exciting time just because we have a lot of
58:24
players who have not only
58:25
SPEAKER_01: shown interest,
58:26
SPEAKER_01: but fit what we're looking for in the class.
58:29
SPEAKER_01: And in terms of what we're looking for at Swarthmore, it is those
58:33
SPEAKER_01: driven student athletes,
58:35
SPEAKER_01: guys who really thrive in a challenge on the court,
58:37
SPEAKER_01: thrive in a challenge academically,
58:39
SPEAKER_01: and also are committed to being the best version of themselves.
58:42
SPEAKER_01: So it's obviously not just an exciting time to be at Swarthmore.
58:46
It's an exciting time to be going into recruiting for the
58:49
spring and summer.
58:50
SPEAKER_01: And we talked about a lot today,
58:52
but a lot of what we talked about is controlling what you can
58:55
control and making
58:56
SPEAKER_01: sure you're putting your best foot forward.
58:58
SPEAKER_01: And so understanding that you have advice that you can take
59:02
SPEAKER_01: take action on and put into action.
59:05
It doesn't help if you listen to advice and then you just kind
59:08
of do whatever you want.
59:10
You got to make sure that you're putting your best foot forward
59:13
and understanding
59:14
SPEAKER_01: that a lot,
59:15
SPEAKER_01: even though the recruiting process is chaotic sometimes and unwieldy,
59:22
SPEAKER_01: there's a lot that you can control in it.
59:24
And making sure that you're controlling what you can within the
59:26
recruiting process
59:27
SPEAKER_01: is going to make sure that at the end of the day,
59:30
you have the best options possible in front of you instead of
59:33
just rolling the
59:34
SPEAKER_01: dice.
59:35
SPEAKER_00: Well said.
59:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well said.
59:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then you guys have a fun international trip coming up.
59:42
SPEAKER_00: NCAA allows for a
59:44
team to take a trip every three years now is that right every
59:47
three years yeah 2023
59:49
we did um uh germany czech republic and denmark uh 2026 in
59:55
august in a couple
59:56
months we'll be going to uh seoul south korea and shanghai in
1:00:00
china for about 11
1:00:02
days it's gonna be gonna be a great time our guys are excited
1:00:06
and yeah it's gonna
1:00:08
SPEAKER_00: be a good time yeah i saw some funny videos of your guys working on their
1:00:12
SPEAKER_00: on their Chinese.
1:00:13
Uh,
1:00:13
so Kobe,
1:00:15
Kobe was doing his,
1:00:16
his best,
1:00:17
uh,
1:00:17
interview interviewer,
1:00:19
um,
1:00:20
on Instagram.
1:00:20
SPEAKER_00: So very, very good prep video got me excited.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, but Shane, I think, uh, we're good on questions here.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_00: Want to just thank you for your time and for sharing some wisdom,
1:00:32
both from your own process and what you've learned from your
1:00:35
time as a coach,
1:00:36
SPEAKER_00: um,
1:00:36
SPEAKER_00: just to help the next generation.
1:00:39
SPEAKER_01: No, I appreciate it, Carl.
1:00:41
Obviously,
1:00:41
love having a conversation with you at any time,
1:00:43
but this has been a fun night.
1:00:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_00: We'll have to get you back on.
1:00:47
Maybe we'll do a podcast because you've done the full D3
1:00:51
basketball gamut.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_00: You've been a recruit,
1:00:53
SPEAKER_00: a player,
1:00:55
SPEAKER_00: an assistant coach,
1:00:56
SPEAKER_00: associate head,
1:00:56
SPEAKER_00: and now a head coach in your own right.
1:00:59
SPEAKER_00: Appreciate the time, man.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_00: We'll talk soon.
1:01:03
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Carl.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, everyone.