Recruit predictably

[TerpsFan]

I appreciate the previous responses, and I was probably a little strong saying that I would not play again. This game is a lot of fun. I guess part of my frustration was that it seemed that players do not progress very much from their starting rating, but I am finding that they progress more than I thought.

I had a down season with a bunch of freshman, but a few improved their overall rating by 1 between seasons (while some stayed at 1 overall), and the next season I recruited a few players with extra focus on their performance at camps. I ended up with some lower ranked players who had high ratings as freshman (3.0 or 3.5 stars), which is a good level for the Ivy League and allowed my program to progress. In the next 3 offseasons I still have not bagged an "A" rated recruit, though I got my best player #63 nationally, so hopefully he pans out. At this point I am dominating most conference games even though my player ratings are not that much higher than my opponents, so maybe those ~100 ranked B players are noticeably better than the ~1000 ranked C players even if the scouts cannot tell the difference.

I understand that most freshman are not ready to be D1 starters. From my first seasons at Harvard and my seasons at Maryland, it seemed like players did not really improve (maybe because of coaching and facilities at Harvard and bad temperament at Maryland). But my subsequent recruits have developed over four years to be starters. Also, I have been playing on normal recruiting difficulty with high coaching attributes, in case anyone is wondering why my recruiting is so successful.

[PointGuard]

Good news that things have improved for you. Glad to hear you're enjoying the game. Be careful...it's addictive!

Yes, increasing the difficulty level of your recruiting (when you're ready to try that) will make it harder to get recruits interested, have them less willing to visit your campus, and you'll find it tougher to get them to accept scholarship offers. I've been using "Brutal" for some time. While I wouldn't really describe it as brutal, I find it more realistic and like the challenge. But to keep Wayne from mentioning it first, I'm a glutton for punishment.

[TerpsFan]

I recently started a new game with brutal recruiting. I wouldn't really describe it as brutal either. I seem able to overachieve each season in my recruiting in spite of starting with rookie coaching ratings. In a way it actually makes it easier to identify which recruits might sign with you because they are the ones who answer the phone and your questions, while on normal difficulty many players will.

My recruiting strategy is generally to ignore the players who are interested and add a bunch of top players (top 500 for less than 1 star, top 150 for <3 stars, and top 50 for better. With persistence much better recruits will take an interest while the other teams in your conference are signing the #1000 and #1400 guys.

[PointGuard]

Yes, the AI is more aggressive in recruiting than in earlier versions of DDSCB. But it's still not as aggressive as a human can be.