I would almost guarantee you that we were following and communicating with Freshmen in some manner. I think that it is more a question of players and publications, if you call them that, putting things out. I think that we, as fans, tend to project what we want to, on the process and beilieve it to be true.
As long as I can remember, scouts are out there. For what it's worth, and you can tell by the discussion on the coverage of the tournament a week or two ago at Georgetown Prep, the coaches at a college level know what;s up with discussion with the high school coaches. Those high school coaches reach down to 6th and 7th graders. AND, this isn't a new process.
Schools like GW have to recruit like this. If you walk in late with the ACC schools, then forget it. At the same time, what is so impressive about this current recruiting class is the level of impact by the staff in getting seen and connecting. Clearly, they are very good as a group. Also, I think that what many of us had said for years was true... if we just behaved like the school that we were, then we would get much better results. The true measure will come with a little "on court" success.