PERCEPTION IS THE NOW REALITY IN BASKETBALL RECRUITING...

   

 Have you ever heard of something called the "Halo Effect"? It's an old educational term regarding smart students. If an excellent student turned in an essay that was clearly average at best, the student would always get an A. I observed a study in graduate school about whether the Halo Effect was real. It seemed to me that it is indeed a fact. Why would I write some scientific facts about recruiting? Here's why. If you sign a scholarship with Alabama in football, you will get a higher ranking whether that ranking is deserved or not. 

         If Kentucky signs a basketball recruit, it is highly likely that kid is a five star, and if not, he will be soon. The Wildcats have taken the Halo Effect to an even higher level. Not only are you a five-star recruit, but you are a one and done player. If a Kentucky coach sits in your family den with the family, you'll eventually hear the term one and done. "At Kentucky, we only expect you to play with us for one season, and then (of course) you'll be in the NBA next season. Anyone see a problem with that?  Not all Kentucky players are of the one and done variety. Not all Alabama players are five-star, I'll be free in three, type players. 

        That leads me to John Petty. He is a five star-star recruit from Huntsville, Alabama. He is high on the Kentucky recruiting list. High enough that he'd get a five-star ranking regardless if he deserves that rating or not. I've never personally seen him play. I've seen four or five videos, and he looks like a five star. In the past week, young Mr. Petty and family had in-home visits from Avery Johnson and John Calipari. Petty and his family are long-time Kentucky fans from all reports. The Wildcats are one of the top five basketball programs of all time in my opinion. I don't see what the University of Alabama has to offer this player. My late father bought an Edsel once, so anything is possible. I'd bet my last dollar that Avery Johnson can sell salt in the desert to a thirsty man. Johnson is talking about how he can send young men to the NBA based on his coaching in the League. Calipari can hand the recruit a list of kids he coached who are in the League. 

 

   For Alabama to sign John Petty, it is going to take some strong persuasion on the part of Johnson and Pettway. It is also going to take the Petty family to be convinced that sending their son to Alabama is going to be as beneficial as watching him driving north to Kentucky. That is a hard sell. In the long run, the Tide coaching staff must convince Petty that coming to Tuscaloosa is just a good as attending Kentucky plus. Plus? Alabama is going to have to sell Petty that they can do everything that Kentucky can do plus one additional thing. The likely plus is that you will be top dog in rebuilding Alabama to national prominence. You will become an Alabama hero. 

     And then, there is that football "thing".  What? What football thing? The football thing is that a large percentage of "Alabama" fans don't like basketball. Or as those guys like to say, "I don't follow basketball." Or in everyday language, "I don't give a tinker's damn about the round ball." In my book, those by guys aren't Alabama fans at all. The recruiting of John Petty is a perfect example of why being the head Alabama basketball coach is a tough job. I don't know who much Johnson makes. I do know it isn't enough. I do know that if I were Avery Johnson's agent, I'd have demanded five to seven seasons to get the ship afloat again. It's a hundred times harder to get a five-star player in hoops to come to Alabama than it is to get his football equivalent.  But, one day, a player will come. It might be this season or not. Johnson has the juice to land some good players. He got one of top JUCO players and one of the most impressive forwards I've seen in quite some time for next season. Johnson's heading in the right direction. 

IN PETTY'S OWN WORDS REGARDING JOHNSON - “He’s really just trying to turn it around,” he said. “So all the great Alabama players, we have to stay home. He’s just trying to prove to us he can turn the school around and keep Alabama a good school.”

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