This is an especially busy time for recruiting news. We have at least 6 players to replace following this coming season and their are recruiting visits scheduled at a rapid pace. With that said, Zach and I talked about what the recruiting visit of a player looks like.
SHOXMVC: "Walk us through what recruiting looks like for WSU. What happens during recruiting visits. How much involvement do Shocker players have in this process. What role did you play?"
Zach Bush: "Recruiting visits are a little different depending on the time of year that a recruit visits, but for the most part they are pretty much the same. Recruits typically are brought to the arena where they meet with the coaches and usually sit down and talk with Coach Marshall. There's usually a tour through campus where they are escorted on a golf cart and visit places such as the Rhatigan Student Center. They'll also obviously tour the arena and the locker room and they will sometimes also be taken downtown to visit Intrust Bank Arena where they will put out a few jerseys/sweat suits/ shoes/ etc. to give the feel of what it's like to walk into a locker room on a game day. If we are in season or are having workouts at that time the recruit and his family will watch and get a feel for coach and how we practice.
The players are always involved and get the chance to meet the recruit. The recruits are usually taken out to dinner by the coaching staff as well as a few players where they get a chance to get to know one another. Red Rock is a popular spot. We have also had dinner at coaches house with recruits a few times. There's always a player on the team who hosts the recruit and takes them around. We typically hang out at a teammates house or apartment with other players and play video games and just hang out. If we're in season the recruits get a chance to come to a game which is great for them and if we are out of season we usually get a chance to play pickup with the guy (coaches are not allowed to watch that) and get a feel for his game.
Players always have a large role in the process seeing as it's partly your job to sell the recruit on the program as well as get to know them. You want to get a feel for the guy so you can know how they would fit in and what their personality is like. You're trying to build a bond and make the guy comfortable so they feel like they could see themselves coming. It's always interesting seeing the different personality types. Sometimes you have guys that are super open and outgoing and that really immerse themselves and then you have other guys who are more reserved and take some time to get them to open up. It's a lot of fun when you get a guy and you all instantly gel and you can tell that he would fit in well. It's hard to remember every guys visit but I can really remember it being like that really quickly with Landry, Rashard and Zach Brown.
I guess my role was pretty much the same as everyone else's; make the guy feel welcome and spend time with them, getting to know them and trying to build a friendship. We already spend a lot of time together off the court, so it's not a whole lot different adding a recruit to the mix."
SHOXMVC: "Walk us through what recruiting looks like for WSU. What happens during recruiting visits. How much involvement do Shocker players have in this process. What role did you play?"
Zach Bush: "Recruiting visits are a little different depending on the time of year that a recruit visits, but for the most part they are pretty much the same. Recruits typically are brought to the arena where they meet with the coaches and usually sit down and talk with Coach Marshall. There's usually a tour through campus where they are escorted on a golf cart and visit places such as the Rhatigan Student Center. They'll also obviously tour the arena and the locker room and they will sometimes also be taken downtown to visit Intrust Bank Arena where they will put out a few jerseys/sweat suits/ shoes/ etc. to give the feel of what it's like to walk into a locker room on a game day. If we are in season or are having workouts at that time the recruit and his family will watch and get a feel for coach and how we practice.
The players are always involved and get the chance to meet the recruit. The recruits are usually taken out to dinner by the coaching staff as well as a few players where they get a chance to get to know one another. Red Rock is a popular spot. We have also had dinner at coaches house with recruits a few times. There's always a player on the team who hosts the recruit and takes them around. We typically hang out at a teammates house or apartment with other players and play video games and just hang out. If we're in season the recruits get a chance to come to a game which is great for them and if we are out of season we usually get a chance to play pickup with the guy (coaches are not allowed to watch that) and get a feel for his game.
Players always have a large role in the process seeing as it's partly your job to sell the recruit on the program as well as get to know them. You want to get a feel for the guy so you can know how they would fit in and what their personality is like. You're trying to build a bond and make the guy comfortable so they feel like they could see themselves coming. It's always interesting seeing the different personality types. Sometimes you have guys that are super open and outgoing and that really immerse themselves and then you have other guys who are more reserved and take some time to get them to open up. It's a lot of fun when you get a guy and you all instantly gel and you can tell that he would fit in well. It's hard to remember every guys visit but I can really remember it being like that really quickly with Landry, Rashard and Zach Brown.
I guess my role was pretty much the same as everyone else's; make the guy feel welcome and spend time with them, getting to know them and trying to build a friendship. We already spend a lot of time together off the court, so it's not a whole lot different adding a recruit to the mix."
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