Coaches Still Recruiting the Barely Pubescent

15-year old Tyler Lewis has offers from three schools.

Yeah, that National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)

edict demand recommendation

mild suggestion that coaches not recruit kids who aren't even sophomores in high school went real well. Kentucky's Billy Gillespie -- who came under the most fire -- said he would follow it. Then Florida's Billy Donovan went and offered a scholarship to another 15-year old.

Looks like little has changed. Meet 15-year old Tyler Lewis.

He's already in his third season starting for a high school varsity basketball team even though he's just a ninth-grader and 5-foot-10, 145 pounds.

But he has exceptional passing ability and a dead-on jump shot from 22 feet at Forsyth Country Day. And he already has coaches with the Charlotte 49ers, Auburn and Virginia Tech telling him they will pay his tuition, room and board if he will play basketball for them.

Shocking, I know. Absolutely nothing has changed. At least until the NABC gets the NCAA to pass legislation explicitly prohibiting underage recruiting. That's the only way this will "officially" stop.

No coach will be willing to give up a possible edge, unless mandated. That's why the ever-increasing size of recruiting rules exist. There's always some other coach trying to work the system at some new angle. Then all the coaches start going that way until a rule is passed to save them from themselves.

The more things change...

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