Searching for fertile recruiting ground, Ohio men's basketball coach Tim O'Shea looked to Minnesota for his first three recruiting classes, and he looked specifically to the Howard Pulley Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program.
I knew that you could get a good player; (Minnesota's) just not as heavily mined as other areas might be so that's what I like about it
O'Shea said. It's like recruiting a certain high school that always has good players - certain AAU programs are that way too.
In recruiting, half the battle is knowing your competition, and in Minnesota - where there is only one Division I program - the competition is easy to identify, said Dave Telep, recruiting analyst for TheInsidersHoops.com.
When you go there you're against ( the University of) Minnesota bam
right off the bat
he said.
The Bobcats, who have three players from Minnesota this season and will add a fourth next season with forward Matt Annen of Elk River High School, have developed a reputation for recruiting some of the top-ranked Minnesota players who do not go to a major college.
You know if Minnesota isn't recruiting them
they'll have to leave the state
O'Shea said.
Ohio forward Jeff Halbert, who played for the Howard Pulley program in the summer before his junior and senior year in high school, said being on a summer league team is crucial to exposure.
A lot of kids
like me and (Ohio guard) Stephen King
if we wouldn't have played (on) them we probably wouldn't have gotten any college looks
Halbert said. To be honest
recruiters just don't come up there very often unless you're playing on a summer team.
King, who attended the same high school as former Howard Pulley player and current Boston College guard Troy Bell, said Minnesota is not like New York or California with a nationally noted style of play.
As far as basketball
