Willie Jackson

[Blue & Gold]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Willie-Jackson-146071

Quite the offer sheet.

[morris buttermaker]

Then what was your point?

You must not know the differences..it very well could have been an official visit-- but there is very little need or benefit to making it one of his officials

[Sportsjunkie330]

An "official visit" is more than strolling through the student center and eating a burrito.

He gets the big tour, hangs with players, goes out on the town...it is a recruiting event.

Pretty sure you can do most of that on an "unofficial" visit too.

[Dave in Green]

A couple of interesting points on that offer list -- former Zips assistant Lamont Paris is the contact at Wisconsin, which Willie said made him his first offer, and Rivals.com lists the official visit dates for the four other schools on his short list of five but not for UA.

[a-zip]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Willie-Jackson-146071

Quite the offer sheet.

Good news is…..we are one of the top basketball programs on that sheet. :-)

[Dave in Green]

Let's see what the NCAA has to say:

What is the difference between an official visit and an unofficial visit?

Any visit to a college campus by a college-bound student-athlete or his or her parents paid for by the college is an official visit. Visits paid for by college-bound student-athletes or their parents are unofficial visits.

During an official visit the college can pay for transportation to and from the college for the prospect, lodging and three meals per day for both the prospect and the parent or guardian, as well as reasonable entertainment expenses including three tickets to a home sports event.

The only expenses a college-bound student-athlete may receive from a college during an unofficial visit are three tickets to a home sports event.

There are some other minor technicalities, such as an official visit can't last more than 48 hours whereas an unofficial visit has no time limit and you can make only one official visit to each school but unlimited unofficial visits. But there's nothing related to being exposed to the program that materially differs between official and unofficial visits.

With such minimal costs in traveling to Akron, it may have made sense to make any UA visit unofficial and keep one official trip in the back pocket for a possible late candidate school in another state. Of course, no one at UA can officially say anything:

An institution may not publicize a prospect’s visit to campus.

So any social media chat or reported sighting of Willie on the UA campus would fall into the category of unconfirmed visit.

[Captain Kangaroo]

You must not know the differences..it very well could have been an official visit-- but there is very little need or benefit to making it one of his officials

So he'd be better off having an official visit at an out of town school that he has no interest in attending rather than an in-town school that's in his Top 5?

How would the Zips compare to their competition if they didn't extend him one of their 12 allotted official visits? Probably like a cheap program.

Just because the kid is local doesn't mean you can get by on the cheap and not allow him to go out with the guys, dine him and pay for his hotel (like you would an official visit from an out-of-town kid).

[Blue & Gold]

How would the Zips compare to their competition if they didn't extend him one of their 12 allotted official visits? Probably like a cheap program.

I learn something new on here every day. Love ZNo!

[Sportsjunkie330]

So he'd be better off having an official visit at an out of town school that he has no interest in attending rather than an in-town school that's in his Top 5?

How would the Zips compare to their competition if they didn't extend him one of their 12 allotted official visits? Probably like a cheap program.

Just because the kid is local doesn't mean you can get by on the cheap and not allow him to go out with the guys, dine him and pay for his hotel (like you would an official visit from an out-of-town kid).

In short the answers to the above questions are:

1) Yes

2) I am sure other programs host recruits to "unofficial" visits when they only live 20 miles away

[Dave in Green]

... Rivals.com lists the official visit dates for the four other schools on his short list of five but not for UA.

But wait, there's more. Other recruiting sites do show Willie making an official visit to UA on Sept. 2 along with the other four schools at later dates, which is in line with what his HS coach said. If he thought enough of UA to make it one of his five official visits even though he could have easily driven here in less than an hour with minimal expenses it seems to indicate he's taking UA as seriously as the out-of-state schools.

This Future150 evaluation raves about Willie's talent, ranking him the #93 prospect in the country:

Scout’s Notes:

Willie is an advanced prospect for his age. He has a fantastic frame and great size, as well as a good amount of muscle. He has the skills to take his man off-the-dribble, post up on the low block, or knck down shots from the perimeter. Fantastic talent.

[Quickzips]

The really good news here.

If Willie commits to UA, we will be 60% of the way towards having the Jackson 5.

Antino Jackson

Aaron Jackson

Willie Jackson

Wonder if Tito and Jermaine have anything left in the tank.

[Captain Kangaroo]

In short the answers to the above questions are:

1) Yes

2) I am sure other programs host recruits to "unofficial" visits when they only live 20 miles away

If he had the opportunity for an official visit to Ohio State. Or Pitt. Should he do it unofficially since they are less than a 2-hour drive?

[Sportsjunkie330]

If he had the opportunity for an official visit to Ohio State. Or Pitt. Should he do it unofficially since they are less than a 2-hour drive?

If he could go to, say, a football game, go to the lockerroom and hang with the players...yes, why not? I bet that there are plenty of players that do that

[ZachTheZip]

Say you're a high school kid. Say you get five opportunities to skip class for a day with no consequences while getting treated like royalty. Wouldn't you take all five opportunities even if you had no intention of going to some of the universities?

[Dave in Green]

Say you're a high school kid. Say you get five opportunities to skip class for a day with no consequences while getting treated like royalty. Wouldn't you take all five opportunities even if you had no intention of going to some of the universities?

Sure, I'd take free recruiting trips to Hawaii, California, Oregon, Florida and Arizona.

[roopride]

Good news is…..we are one of the top basketball programs on that sheet. :-)

What a great point. We should expect a kid like this would want to be a Zip. Hope he believes there is a fit.

[Dave in Green]

Quickzips, great to see you back for the first time since last basketball season. Your thoughtful commentary has been missed.

[wadszip]

I'm going to look at why Akron has a good shot at landing Jackson (who I think is a top 5 player in what people have known for years is a loaded class in Ohio, and easily the state's best since recruiting sites have come about).

The fact that he decided to make an official to Akron when an unofficial would suffice shows that there is genuine interest.

The fact that he is also considering BC shows that Jackson values the relationship with his coach. I doubt there would be any interest in BC if not for Jim Christian. While Christian seems to be a great guy, he is mediocre has a coach if he isn't inheriting MAC schools that other people built. Outside of Christian parlaying can't lose situations into high-major jobs, he doesn't compare to Dambrot, who has proven he can build a program by himself (did it twice also I'm the MAC). Plus, Dambrot could've been the BC coach if he actually wanted that job.

IMO, even taking into account BC is an ACC school, there is no reason to pick them over Akron. Your friends and family can watch you at Akron. The Zips are more likely to be a tournament team. And even the competition is not that far off when you consider you will probably go up against LeBron a half dozen times a year during the summer, which, even in practice, trumps anything you will see in the ACC. Plus, it seems like Akron is going to continue to bump up its OOC schedules.

Missouri is traditionally a very good high major. But a good friend of mine is a Mizzou grad and a big supporter of the program. He actually joked that Jackson going to Mizzou may be the best for Akron because once Kim Anderson is fired in two years, Jackson could go back home and play for a winning team (Akron). Anderson's recruiting has been bad. He has the attitude Dambrot had up until the last couple of years. Anderson thinks I will win with a bunch of lower rates system guys. Dambrot has learned that isnt the case, even im the MAC. While Jackson may have the system guy makeup. He is hardly a system guy. Like Tree, Ivey, Eubanks (the Cleveland guys), or Josh Williams (Akron guy), I'm guessing Dambrot views Jackson as more of a dynamic player who can fit into a system. It's an insult to a player like Jackson to be labeled system guy. And Anderson has gone on record as saying "I can win in the SEC with system guys". Or as my friend pointed out, he can " win 3-6 games in the SEC with system guys."

Outside of saying, "I was an SEC recruit" Mizzou doesn't offer much. They will be bad, and its a fan base, that under Frank Haith, was used to landing top 50 kids. Jackson would have a lot of pressure trying to live up to that while playing in a mid-major system under Kim Anderson. At least at Akron he would be a at mid major program that is trying to be high major.

That leaves Temple and Penn State.

IMO, what does Temple offer that Akron doesn't, other than being 8 hours away? Yeah, the A10 is better than the MAC. But the A10 isn't a premier TV league. I'm a big hoops fan, and like the A10, but the TV deal seems mediocre. The primetime games on ESPN aren't A10. They get some NBC games, IIR, but they are up against bigger CBS games. TV aside, its not like Temple is some huge draw. They've made the tourney 6 times in the last 10 years and have 2 first round wins. Akron has 3 tourneys and 0 wins, but overall, Temple has probably done worse since they have been seeded higher every time. I'm not trying to knock Temple, because I respect the program. Just saying that they aren't above Akron... See the last time the teams met when Akron went to Philly and knocked them out of the NIT.

Finally, Penn State. I won't say too much bad since I think Chambers has the program on the rise. It's Big 10, and a program that could be a tourney team moving forward. With that said, its a program Akron has recent history with. And Akron drubbed them by 20-plus a couple of years ago. And even last year had them down 10 in Happy Valley before falling apart.

I will say, all the schools he is choosing from have positives, I'm just saying Akron shouldn't be looked at as simply the hometown option. If that was the case, Cleveland State gets this official. Instead, its Akron.

Hopefully, KD can bring him in and build an even better program around these Cleveland-Akron area kids. This area is quickly becoming a top 10 area overall for talent. For the foreseeable future, there are several high end prospects coming up in each class.If KD can land these kids, that "Gonzaga of the East" Label will come true.

[zippyman23]

IMO, what does Temple offer that Akron doesn't, other than being 8 hours away? Yeah, the A10 is better than the MAC. But the A10 isn't a premier TV league. I'm a big hoops fan, and like the A10, but the TV deal seems mediocre. The primetime games on ESPN aren't A10. They get some NBC games, IIR, but they are up against bigger CBS games. TV aside, its not like Temple is some huge draw. They've made the tourney 6 times in the last 10 years and have 2 first round wins. Akron has 3 tourneys and 0 wins, but overall, Temple has probably done worse since they have been seeded higher every time. I'm not trying to knock Temple, because I respect the program. Just saying that they aren't above Akron... See the last time the teams met when Akron went to Philly and knocked them out of the NIT.

Temple is in the AAC.

[LZIp]

turns out it was an unofficial.

Sonny Johnson ‏@sonnyjohnson32

Willie Jackson looking good on his unofficial visit at AKRON U this week

[morris buttermaker]

If I said I am shocked,--- you would know I was lying.

[Dave in Green]

Since his HS coach, who should know, has now tweeted that the visit was both official and unofficial, I'm going to split the difference and think of it as semi-official. But really, the smart thing to do was to make it unofficial. Willie had to spend a few bucks on gas and missed out on the paid entertainment allowed by the NCAA. But in return there are fewer NCAA restrictions for unofficial visits in non-entertainment areas, i.e. the really important program stuff.

[GoZips]

Since his HS coach, who should know, has now tweeted that the visit was both official and unofficial, I'm going to split the difference and think of it as semi-official. But really, the smart thing to do was to make it unofficial. Willie had to spend a few bucks on gas and missed out on the paid entertainment allowed by the NCAA. But in return there are fewer NCAA restrictions for unofficial visits in non-entertainment areas, i.e. the really important program stuff.

Odd, the family was treated to a luncheon at the Diamond Grill.

The mystery deepens.

[Sportsjunkie330]

Since his HS coach, who should know, ....

He should also know that the school is the University of Akron.....

[wadszip]

Temple is in the AAC.

My bad. Point still stands, because I don't recall Temple being a fixture on primetime TV. Maybe I just missed the games, but I don't remember seeing Temple on TV. Or maybe, its because I don't value Temple enough to actually watch them. Which isn't entirely true, just that there were probably better games on in those slots.

Anyway, I still believe Jackson is better off at Akron. Stay home and help further build something that could be special in a place that is right in front of your family and friends. ... And still far enough away where you are a true college student, but again close enough where if you want a home cooked meal you can head home on a Tuesday night, for example, and be back on campus a half hour later.

Coming from a Clevelander (who is now a proud "Akronite",) that was one of the things I loved about Akron. It was just far enough away, but close enough where I never missed anything back home.