Alan Nakamura is entering his eighth season as Biola University's head women's basketball coach and he's spent that time racking up some excellent recruits. Given his experience, athletes in all sports can learn a thing or two from Coach Nakamura. Here are his 11 tips for success in recruiting and beyond.
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Q: What is the most important quality you look for in a recruit?
Are we a good fit for the recruit, and is the recruit a good fit for our university, and for our program? If we are not a good fit for each other as a person, student, and athlete, then odds are the recruit is not going to have a positive experience at our university.
Related to that is we are trying to evaluate if the recruit will enhance, or detract from, the culture we are trying to build. We can't afford to add a recruit to our program, or university, who is going to have a negative influence. So we look for quality, unselfish, coachable athletes who make great teammates.
Q: What is the best way for a recruit to get on your radar?
I recommend that recruits initiate contact with the coaching staff. The biggest mistake is to wait to be discovered. When we go to a recruiting tournament with hundreds of participants, it is valuable to know which student-athletes are interested in, and are a good fit, for our university, level, and location. If we don't know about a recruit going into the tournament it is likely that we will miss seeing and evaluating the recruit.
Related: Rate Biola University
Q: When should an athlete contact you, what is the best way?
For our program we like to hear from prospects before their sophomore season. And we prefer to hear directly from the recruit because it shows that they take initiative and ownership. Of course we also value hearing from coaches since they know the game and they work with the recruit on a daily basis.
Q: What are your expectations for incoming players in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the court?
Our expectations are that the players are here to improve as people, students, and athletes will buy into our program as we described it to them during the recruiting process, they will take care of business in the classroom (with our support), and they will seek to contribute to the university and our program. We are looking to add big-minded young people to our program–young people who know that life is about maximizing the gifts and talents and time and opportunities they have received, and life is about how much we can give to others.
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Q: What are the do's and don'ts of being recruited?
Don't wait to be discovered.
Do take initiative in connecting with recruiters.
Don't have parent(s) do the talking for the prospect.
Don't have parents say something like, “I know Johnny/Jenny can step in and play for you right away.”
Do provide updates of major accomplishments and schedule information for tournaments and big games.
Don't act like you are bigger than your team.
Do display positive body language at all times.
Don't be distant from your teammates.
Do display an unselfish, coachable spirit.
Q: What is the best advice you can offer a recruit?
Be the type of person and player that coaches want to have on their team. Coaches get to pick who to add to their program, and they don't want to add players who are Energy-Drainers; even if they are very talented.
Q: What really jumps out to you when reviewing a recruit's highlight tape?
We love to see prospects who are high energy, competitive, enthusiastic, and make hustle plays.
Q: What are the main do's and don'ts for a recruit's highlight tape?
Do show a wide angle so we can see the prospect in relation to other players in the area.
Make sure the camera person doesn't record his/her derogatory comments.
Do show a variety of skills.
Don't just show highlights against poor competition.
If showing a game, do show the scoreboard so we can see the score and time.
Q: When do you recommend recruits put together and share their highlight reels? Is it best to make their highlight reel during the offseason, in the middle of season, or after each game?
We enjoy seeing highlight reels once or twice a year at any time of year.
Q: What advice do you have for recruits who get turned down by their dream schools? What are their options if they don't gain the recruiting attention they desire?
It is wise to be in touch with our dream schools, similar schools, and back-up schools. Timing is a big part of recruiting. You might be the perfect person and a great player for a program, but they might not need your position that year. So it is crucial to be in touch with a number of programs.
A related point: I recommend that you find a coach who will be really honest with you about your potential, your strengths and weaknesses, your body language, your work ethic, your academics, etc.
Q: How big a factor is social media when recruiting players? What advice do you have for athletes regarding social media? (Please explain).
For us, social media is not that important as long as the recruit doesn't post anything that shows bad taste, poor character, or disrespect. We don't intentionally check the Social Media of our recruits. But occasionally someone will tell us about something a recruit posted that reflects negatively on him/her.
Have a story idea or know an awesome athlete/coach we should interview? Email us at [email protected]
* Originally published on June 24, 2022, by 2aDays Staff
