I still think there is value in recruiting high school players. Even if there is less of a priority compared to previous years. At the end of the day there is still a finite amount of NIL money that we can spend and we can only promise so many transfers playing time. I also think the caliber of incoming freshmen that we can attract becomes greater as more and more P6 programs specifically look to recruit transfers instead of high school recruits. Therefore high school players that previously were playing in the Big 10 or Big East are now going to find their way into conferences like the MAC or MVC.
The reality is no program is running a 13 man rotation. Spending 2-3 of those 13 scholarships looking for your next Enrique Freeman, Ali, Tribble, etc IMO is worth it. It also allows you to build relationships that way you can recruit those players again in a year or two when they're looking to transfer again.