College recruiters these days are scoping out prospects early. Very early, when they're tadpoles.
The job requires they make assessments when prospects are in junior high school, and they then follow their progress at team camps, AAU tournaments, summer club team play, right through their respective high school campaigns.
In the case of Dave Rose, BYU signed four in-state prospects this past November, and a player like Lone Peak's Tyler Haws was on everyone's radar since Junior Jazz.
Now is a time to see how those prospects fared.
In the Mountain West, if you go by some so-called experts and ratings, the league scored only a few top players ranked in so-called power lists, which are dominated by the ACC, Pac-10 and Big Ten.
On Rivals.com's Top 150, assembled before the current seniors finished their careers, UNLV placed two on the list, No. 58 Anthony Marshall, a 6-3 left-handed guard from Mohave High in Las Vegas and No. 108 ranked Carlos Lopez, a 6-9 forward from Henderson, Nev. SDSU signed No. 76-ranked 6-5 forward Kawahi Leonard from Martin Luther King High in Riverside, Calif.
Haws is ranked 138th on the Rivals list. Marshall is the only MWC recruit ranked on ESPN's Top 100 at 82nd.
Now these players enter the final weeks of their prep careers. State playoff time is just around the corner, and I asked Rose to break down his four recruits and what he's seen this past year.
Here is the Rose commentary:
Brandon Davies, 6-7 forward, Provo High, 13.4 ppg: "I think Brandon has really improved as the year's gone on. He was in foul trouble early in the year. He's really learned to play in that Provo system that's won 30-something games in a row. He's had some big games offensively. Defensively, his anticipation and willing to rebound out of his area have really improved. He is on schedule to qualify and seems to be on track for what he needs to do. He will enroll next fall."
Tyler Haws, 6-5, shooting guard, Lone Peak, 24 ppg: "The thing with Tyler is how consistent he's been from the very first game to now. When you watch him, you are so impressed with how competitive he is. He has a competitive motor that runs all the time on both ends of the floor. He's expanded his game offensively; he's had some big offensive nights. But from his position a couple of 20-rebound nights. He is more of a complete player, and the more games you see you can see, as far as ability, at this level, he can play multiple positions and defend and be effective. He will play for us next fall."
Nate Austin, 6-10, forward, Lone Peak, 9.74 ppg: "He's gotten better as the season's progressed. He's a big guy who can really run and has improved his ability to score. I think the last two or three games he's hit some shots at crucial times, not only low-post areas but from the high-post area. Defensively his anticipation and help side defense has gotten better where he's coming over and blocking a lot of shots. I think that this is first year as a full-time varsity player, so the more experience he has, he'll only get better. He plans on a mission before playing for us."
Ian Harward, 6-10, center, Orem, 14.1 ppg: "Ian is a post player who has the same kind of motor that Tyler (Haws) has. He's really good in the low post as a scorer. He's really good in the middle range as a post scorer. He's skilled enough to catch, pass and score it. What he really does well is rebound out of his area and block shots out of his area. If he misses a shot, he's right back on top of it. Shots taken from the other side of the basket, or other side of the key, he's quick to get to the rim and try and get his hands on it. He's really a good help defender who is good at moving over and taking a charge. He will go on a mission before joining us."
E-MAIL: harmon@desnews.com