By JACOB POLACHECK
For more than a year, the NCAA Recruiting Dead Period has persisted, with college basketball programs being unable to host recruits nor visit them at their homes or schools.
However, with reports that the NCAA Council is expected to end the dead period on June 1, class of 2022 recruits are excited to get on campus and take in-person visits.
Isaac Traudt, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward out of Grand Island (NE) Senior High School, already holds more than 20 offers and is excited to see some schools in person.
“I have been waiting to get on a lot of campuses and really enjoy the best way to get a feel for a school,” Traudt said. “This will help me tremendously in picking a school.”
Those visits are expected to come soon, with Traudt eying a trip to Virginia for June 11-13.
“It’s not certain I’m going that weekend, but that’s what we’re aiming for,” he said.
For others, including five-star forward Mark Mitchell, there’s no rush to take visits.
“I’ll probably wait until it’s close to that time [to take visits],” Mitchell said. “I still want to take visits with everyone on campus in the fall.”
Mitchell, a 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward out of Bishop Miege (KS) High School, is ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 11 overall prospect in the class of 2022, with offers from the likes of Kansas, UCLA, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas State, among others.
“I was excited [about the dead period ending],” Mitchell said. “I’m going to be able to visit some different campuses and see some different places.”
For many players, the dead period has limited exposure to college coaches, especially with the transfer portal reaching record numbers.
Nick Smith Jr., a four-star shooting guard out of Sylvan Hill (AR) High School, noted the concerns of many Class of 2022 prospects.
“A lot of people are in the portal and I’m starting to see a lot of coaches go to the portal,” Smith said. “Of course you have to go in and compete for a spot, but this portal stuff is kind of getting out of hand.
“It plays a big role in recruitment, especially for me.”
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