Feb. 26--The player has most of the traits that make college basketball coaches salivate: a jump shot, a good handle, passing ability and instincts. His father has great size, so his frame should fill out.
By 2023, when LeBron James Jr., 10, will graduate high school, he might be a desirable basketball player.
This being college recruiting, where patience can be scarce, some coaches apparently don't want to wait that long. And all of this interest has his father, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, asking: How young is too young?
"Yeah, he's already got some offers from colleges," James told WWJ-TV in Detroit on Tuesday. "It's pretty crazy. It should be a violation. You shouldn't be recruiting 10-year-old kids."
James Jr. made headlines because he is especially young, and because he has a famous father, but most years, a handful of middle school-aged athletes receive offers from college coaches.
There are no reliable statistics because the offers aren't official, but football players in the eighth grade or below have received offers from football coaches. Recently, USC and UCLA offered scholarships to middle school-aged baseball players. College lacrosse recruiting has crept earlier, and coaches have dipped into youth teams to offer recruits.
Evan Daniels, director of basketball recruiting for Scout.com, said the practice is "extremely rare" among basketball players.
"To me, I think it's absurd," Daniels said, adding that he, and most scouting services, don't evaluate players until they reach high school.
"How can you project a seventh grader to be good enough for a high major basketball program?" Daniels said. "It's hard enough when they're freshmen."
In 2003, for example, Demetrius Walker of Fontana was crowned by many as the next great basketball player when he was a 12-year-old. The hype was never fulfilled. Walker ultimately signed with New Mexico, then transferred to Grand Canyon, where he was kicked off the team.
Given a ravenous appetite for recruiting news, though, showcases for young players can be alluring. Rivals.com recently added two sixth graders to their player database.
"You may recognize Daron Bryden," a Rivals.com article stated about a baby-faced, 5-foot-2 quarterback "as he starred on 'Kids Do the Darndest Things' hosted by L.L. Cool J."
In the case of James Jr., his father wasn't clear on what the actual offers were, and the details in such instances are often murky. Because coaches aren't allowed to offer binding agreements to players of that age, any offer is more like a handshake deal.
The NCAA doesn't police the recruitment of players below seventh grade. In 2011, the organization voted against a measure that would have prohibited early verbal offers. The NCAA said those deals would be too difficult to monitor.
So in a climate of otherwise strict NCAA monitoring, the recruitment of younger players remains a frontier some coaches are willing to explore. Last year, Kentucky Coach John Calipari watched James Jr. play a game in Lexington, Ky. Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said James Jr. is "on his radar."
There are incentives on both sides. The coaches can generate buzz for the program. The players get the prestige of being attached to a college basketball team.
But when the lag time between offer and enrollment is more than a presidential term, interest on both sides can wane.
Often, the coach leaves. Former Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson reportedly offered a scholarship to Matt Carlino, now a senior at Marquette, when Carlino was in the third or fourth grade. Olson, 80, retired in 2008. Carlino graduated high school in 2011.
Other times, needs for both parties change. Five years ago, USC football Coach Lane Kiffin offered 13-year-old David Sills a scholarship for the 2015 class. This year, when David Sills was finally old enough to sign, Rivals.com rated USC's recruiting class as the best in the nation.
Sills, though, wasn't part of it.
He decided to go to West Virginia.
In 2007, Ryan Boatright committed to USC as a 13-year-old.
Boatright, who ultimately signed with Connecticut and helped the Huskies win a national championship last season, had attended USC's basketball camp. There, he got an offer and decided to commit.
With his college choice dealt with, Boatright flew home to Illinois, where he had another decision.
Where should he attend high school?
