"LOWER TIER" Juco's

[Gridiron-Robinson]

For the past month or so I've been hearing about this school is lower tier,that school is top shelf,this school can't be beaten,that school will never win. When all I've seen are many many JUCO's in NorCal and other regions match up well with each other.Coffeyville or Garden City?Louisburg or Erie? Blinn or Miss Gulf Coast? Butte oe Feather River?Who would win? Butte or Blinn? ALL of these schools have some TALENTED ballaz--in skill positions.California has so dang many JUCO's,the talent is evenly widespread...If that upper eschelon conference stuff rings true..shouldn't Palomar,El Camino,Fullerton,COC be competing every year for da ring?? Who are the worst lower tier schools? THEN look at how many of them get their kids into colleges compared to the big dogs on a year by year basis? Not too shabby for the lower tiers uh?Holla!
This post was edited on 9/22 11:46 AM by Gridiron-Robinson

 

[calibacker]

Actually Palomar, ELCO, Fullerton, COC and Mt Sac, etc....do compete for "da ring" every year.

CCSF, Butte and CSM have been the top dogs in the north for the past few years.

 

[sabo42]

The whole caste system of Lower Tier and Upper Tier teams in Junior College is just all bull*^&%. Yes there are about 6 or 7 programs in SoCal that have proven themselves for years (Bako, Elco, Mt. Sac, Full., COC), however at most schools there is too much turn-around. Almost every year at every school there is a completely different team. Now teams get pigeon-holed into a "Lower" conference and are unallowed to make the State Playoffs! But there is a distinct reason why certain programs (Upper) win and why certain programs (Lower) always loose. Smaller District JC's vs. Large District JC's. Districts that have few or one JC in it (COC for example, Canyon Community College District) can devote all of there funds to sports if they want. Canyons has 4 full time coaches on staff there all day long! Making sure kids go to class, meetings, and lifting. Versus community college districts with a ton of colleges. For example, Los Angeles Community College District. With 16 schools to vie for money nobody wins! Take East LA College or Pierce who do not even have 1 full time coach. How hard does that make things...near impossible. The whole system is flawed!!!

The same problem exists in high school football in Southern California. Public Schools vs. Private Schools and open enrollment. The public schools are starting to not be able to compete with the private schools. Why you ask? There is absolutely no money for the 58 LAUSD schools so they are stuck with bad facilities, bad coaches, and no kids with talent would get caught going there. Private schools are very attractive but do cost money. But wait, that doesn't matter because they give scholarships...HIGH SCHOOLS GIVING SCHOLARSHIPS!!! Something wrong with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer but that is the way of our world and I will just be content in my frustration!!

 

[sabo42]

Grid. Robinson, thanks for the lower tier shout out...By the way, just to further your argument, Pierce has gotten over 65 kids scholarships to four year universities in the last three years.

 

[NEWTOU]

"PERCEPTION IS REALITY" these lower level schools (Yuba,RW,Contra Costa,) are terrible! The truth is that good 4 year programs are less likely to take a kid who plays in at one of the lower level schools. I would bet that kid’s chances of a division 1 or 1aa opportunity are reduced by 2/3s at a "lower level" school. It doesn’t help their chances when they jump from program to program each year either. Or should I say get kicked out of a program each year. Holla!

 

[sabo42]

Newtou,

I wouldn't say being at a lower tier school has any affect on a player going to a D1 or D1AA. A D1 player is a D1 player no matter what!! Those schools WILL find the best players. They don't take a kid based on how well his team does. Scouts are looking for specific skill sets and for guys who can play right away, not wins and losses. LSU doesn't have a problem offering kids like Anthony Denham WR from East LA, whose team hasn't won more than 4 games in a season for god knows how long. Also Pierce College had 6 D1 kids last year and all of them are still on those respective squads. But if you are trying to say that the "better" schools get more exposure, then I agree (to an extent).

 

[NEWTOU]

I guess it’s a matter of opinion then. However, I would argue that a kid at a “higher tier" school will have more opportunities to be seen by four year coaches. Therefore, producing more scholarships opportunities. More shots taken equal more hits. Think about it: Your a coach at Miami (Ohio), your recruiting area is Bakersfield north. You’ve been given a budget for your trip that allows you to be in Californian for 2 days. On your way up I-5 which schools do you hit? I would bet you pass Contra Costa for CCSF, San Jose City for Foothill, Yuba for Butte, Hartnell for San Mateo, Westhills for Fresno. The X factors are: How diligent the Coaches are and Location ( a coach can hit 10 JC’s a day in the LA area, in norcal get your gas card ready)

 

[BradHoiseth]

I felt the need to weigh in on this one.

Truth be told, the truth often lies somewhere in between, and often has something to do with how well the particular school does at promoting its players.

One player that comes to mind is Dwight Lowery of the Jets. He led the country in interceptions as a freshman (or sophomore, the memory is a bit fuzzy) at Cabrillo College and eventually ended up at San Jose State. I had him on my all state team when I was running the JuCal Transfer, but most people had no idea who he was. San Jose State found him because he was local, but most people passed him over because he wasn't playing at one of the high-profile JUCO's in the area. If I am not mistaken, he then came close to leading the nation in interceptions at San Jose State as a junior as well.

Another guy was Jarrett Bush of the Packers. He played at American River College, and eventually earned a scholarship to Utah State after having a banner season for the Beavers.

In most cases, somebody will find you, but it may not end up being the high-profile DI program that some of these guys deserve. A lot depends on the guy sending out information on the players and what kind of connections he has with DI programs.

One school that comes to mind is Southwestern College in Southern California. Coach Carberry has done a great job at getting his players out for a variety of reasons, despite not coaching one of the historically strong programs. Most importantly, when he gets a kid with great skills, he gets the word out and has developed a great relationship with DI recruiting coordinators. He has a solid web site and works hard for the players. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of him. It takes a lot of work, and ultimately, the coach needs to establish some honesty and integrity in promoting his players. I get sophomore lists from some coaches that list as many as 20 DI players, only to find out that only one or two of them have DI skills. DI scouts eventually tend to not trust the coach when this practice continues on a regular basis.
This post was edited on 9/30 1:46 PM by BradHoiseth