They’re Looking for the Recruit Who Scores High in Class, Too

Greg Popovich, Pomona-Pitzer College basketball coach, has come full circle in the world of college basketball.

Last year, Popovich took a one-year sabbatical from his Division III program to learn the game from two of its most respected coaches--Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina and Larry Brown at the University of Kansas.

Popovich split time as an assistant at both schools, where he helped coach All-Americans J.R. Reid of North Carolina and Danny Manning of Kansas.

He doesn’t see many players of that caliber at Pomona-Pitzer. Heck, the players at the end of UNC’s bench could be stars at most Division III schools. Still, Popovich says he spends more time recruiting players for his small-college program than his mentors at Kansas or North Carolina do for theirs.

“I’m dealing with higher academic standards and higher tuition costs than Division I schools, so I have to work harder to get players,” Popovich said. “Larry Brown will focus in on one player at Kansas with a good chance of getting him.

“I’m going for a very select group of players . . . the top 3% (academically) of their senior class. I’m limited to telephone calls and letters when it comes to recruiting a player, but I bet I spend more time recruiting than most big-time programs do.”

Popovich and his contemporaries in the academically prestigious Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (La Verne, Occidental, Redlands, Claremont-Mudd and Whittier) have to be very selective when it comes to recruiting. Student-athletes with grade-point averages below 3.4 or Scholastic Aptitude Test scores below about 1,100, no matter how good their jump shots, just don’t qualify.

The academic standards are high. The costs are even higher: The average tuition in the SCIAC is $15,000 per year. The National Collegiate Athletic Assn. prohibits athletic scholarships at Division III schools, though students may apply for financial aid based on need.

In addition, there are conference rules that limit recruiting. A coach cannot make contact with a high school player or his coach while scouting him on his high school campus. No home visits are allowed.

Basically, coaches are allowed to contact recruits on the phone or through the mail. If a player is interested, he can visit the coach on the college campus.

With so many restrictions, where does a coach find players for a Division III program? Often, the programs sell themselves.

“The colleges in our conference offer such a good balance of academics and athletics that many student-athletes contact us,” said Gary Smith, the coach at Redlands for 17 seasons. “A player can be a part of a competitive program, get an opportunity to play and receive a quality education.

“Playing time is very important. We have a player, Robert Stone (from La Serna High School of Whittier), who could have gone to a lot of Division I schools. But he wanted an opportunity to play right away and was attracted to our political science department.

“Robert’s education came first, and that’s the type of player we’re looking for at Redlands. I also think our junior varsity programs play a significant role in helping a player adjust to college life.”

Popovich said several of the top players in the conference were overlooked by bigger programs, but they have blossomed into starters as they have grown and matured.

“We get a lot of sleepers,” he said. “A player might have Division I potential, but he’s not ready for a major college. I’ve got a player, James Johnson, who was the 1-A player of the year two years ago at Chadwick. He wasn’t Division I, but I knew right away he could play for us.”

Despite the restrictions, Popovich says there are far more Division III prospects competing in summer all-star leagues and camps than players with big-time college potential.

“How many seniors, say, in Orange County are Division I players this year?” he said. “Ten? Maybe 12. How many Division III players are there? Lots. I go to the Superstar camp in Santa Barbara and there’s tons of Division III and NAIA players there every year.”

Gene Victor, the basketball coach at Mt. San Antonio College for 28 years, made a big transition this season by accepting the coaching job at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Caltech, a private school noted for its science and engineering departments, has among the highest academic standard of any college in the nation with an average SAT score of 1,405.

Victor doesn’t recruit players, but he receives a list of incoming freshmen who are interested in competing on the school’s basketball team each May.

“I have three starters who didn’t even start on their high school basketball team,” he said. “I’m getting students who play because they love the game. Athletics are simply an extension of their lives. Basketball is their form of education.”

Popovich thinks Division III players are the last true student-athletes in college sports.

“The players here have control of their lives,” he said. “If a guy decides to quit and concentrate on school, there’s nothing I can do about it. He’s not on a scholarship, so he can do what he wants.

“Chancy? Yeah, there are more players you try to recruit who don’t work out than those who do. The standards are high, the costs are higher. But my players are getting the self-satisfaction of competing, and at the same time, they’re getting a quality education.”