NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest offseason takeaways heading into 2020-21 season
By Ben Dickson
Recruiting Dead Period
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, NCAA programs across all sports have not been able to officially recruit athletes in-person. The majority of recruiting since then has been primarily through phone calls or unofficial visits. Not being able to give official visits to recruits has made the process significantly harder.
This past September, the Division I Council formally announced that the “recruiting dead period” would be extended through at least January 1. While the ruling has been reviewed frequently since the start of the pandemic, the NCAA is still holding against in-person recruiting for the time being. The press release also noted that the majority of coaches support this decision.
There is no doubt how much of an impact this will have on high school recruits and prospective transfers entering the season. Going to a big rivalry game with a packed student section for an official visit is undoubtedly an essential part of the recruit’s perspective on the school. As long as the coronavirus is still prominent in America, it is hard to see that returning.
It is undeniable how large of an impact the pandemic has had on the recruiting landscape, and a bunch of “what-if’s” will easily come from it.