As of March 13 the NCAA canceled all on-campus recruiting visits for Division I universities, a decision that continued to trickle down to the NAIA and NJCAA. At the moment, Allen Community College head basketball coach Andy Shaw is making pitches to future Red Devils without them stepping a foot on campus.
While the measures make matters more difficult, Shaw is not in unfamiliar territory. Last year, Shaw recruited forward Malik Hardmon, who earned All-Conference and All-Region honors, and Joel Boyce, an All-Conference guard, with them never stepping foot on campus before arriving in Iola last summer.
Already in the early stages of this unprecedented recruiting season, the Red Devils are continuing to make some noise.
“We had a good week last week,” Shaw said. “We signed two guys, a point guard from Louisiana and a transfer from Northwest Tech. But it has made things different for sure. Right now would be the time where most state tournaments would be over, and kids would be looking to start making decisions. But, we can’t have those kids on campus and go the traditional route any more.”
Georgia native Ian Hardy will be joining the Red Devils out of Northwest Tech. The 6-5 combo guard averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. With ACC losing its two leading scorers in Hardmon and Boyce, Shaw will be depending on Hardy for scoring next season,
Still, it is only one player, and ACC has many holes to fill if they hope to have a third consecutive winning season. ACC will also be without starters Trez Hankins and Jalen Sasser. Cedric Rollerson and Shakim Jenks are the only two solid rotation players returning from last season, meaning Shaw has his work cut out for him.
“Right now my assistant and I have been hitting the phones pretty hard, and we have a YouTube video that does a tour of campus. We have been pumping that out to kids, and it replaces the on-campus visit. They get to see the hallways, classroom, cafeteria, gym, and all the fields. It shows pretty much the entire campus, so that is one way we are trying to be creative, and give kids a feel for Allen Community College.”
A personable character, Shaw no longer has the luxury of seeing future Red Devils face-to-face. For athletes looking to make a decision, knowing how the coach is in person is always a deciding factor. Well aware, Shaw is doing all he can to make recruits feel at home.
“The good thing, is that these are the same rules for everybody, so everyone is trying to be creative,” Shaw said. “I have done FaceTime talks with kids, opposed to in the past where it has been a lot of text messaging, and us trying to get them on campus to make a visit. Right now, we are trying to be more creative than ever before.”
Assistant coach Stedman Allen has been a key factor in ACC’s recruiting season. This was Allen’s first season at ACC after arriving from Pensacola State, and Shaw has been more than satisfied with his assistant.
“He is doing really well,” Shaw said. “He is bringing me in contact with more kids every day, and I’m looking forward to this recruiting class.”
Shaw is also helping his sophomores find places to play next season. Tyus Jeffries and Trez Hankins have received heavy interest from Kansas Wesleyan, while Hardmon and Boyce continue to garner interest from top programs across the country.
In a normal world, these sophomores would be making weekly visits to universities across the country.
“They are trying to remain calm about the situation because it is different for everybody,” Shaw said. “I think they are trying to stay patient, and are now more than likely to make a decision without stepping on campus,”
