This is why you don't recruit 13 year olds

To anyone in college basketball circles, the name Ryan Boatright should sound familiar. When Boatright was 13, he played at a basketball camp for then-USC head coach Tim Floyd. Floyd was so smitten with the 13 year old that he actually offered him a scholarship. After a couple more pre-high school kids committed to schools, the NABC made it clear that the practice was no longer acceptable.

Boatright is a perfect example why.

Think about it - when you are committing to a college before you start high school, you are making a huge decision about where you will get your education (athletically and academically) four years in advance. A lot can happen in four years - take USC. They signed OJ Mayo, who it turned out was receiving money from a runner for an agent (some of that money possibly coming from Floyd himself). This was the second huge NCAA violation that USC was facing (Reggie Bush anyone?), and it led to Tim Floyd leaving along with just about every talented player expected to be on the '09-'10 roster.

Do you think Boatright still wants to go there?

I doubt it.

So does USC. They won't even be offering him a scholarship.

It isn't like Boatright doesn't have any options. Rivals lists him as the #69 player in the class of '11, and odds are good that the 5'10" point guard will end up playing major college basketball.

But it doesn't always work out that way. You see, pouring such adoration on a kid who has yet to hit puberty is not the easiest way to raise a mentally healthy young adult. I'm not a psych major, but I can tell you that it is bound to stunt their development as an athlete as well.

For the most part, the kids that dominate at the 13 year old level are the kids that hit their growth spurts early. They aren't necessarily the most talented or the best shooters, but through sheer size and athleticism they are able to dominate. But what happens when everyone else catches up? When the kid that used to be 6'0" grows into his 6'8" frame keeps his ball-handling ability and his jumpshot, who is going to be the more intriguing prospect now?

Work ethic comes into play as well. If, at 14, you can dominate the competition and keep getting told you are going to be the next NBA star, is there going to be the motivation to improve?

Derrick Caracter is the perfect cautionary tale. At 14, he was a 6'8" man-child that was considered a lock to be an NBA superstar. But he stopped growing, and never developed the work ethic or the discipline to play at the major college level. He was run out of Louisville, before eventually landing on his feet at UTEP.

While this is not a fairy tale ending for either Boatright or Caracter, it looks like they both will end up playing basketball in college and getting their education paid for.

Things could have turned out worse.