Get Me Scouted

Collegiate sports are under growing scrutiny for “buying” players by providing them money, clothes and luxurious gifts. More and more top recruits are being investigated for what they may have received during their time in college. The University of Southern California has had its own problems with star running back Reggie Bush.

However, it’s not just the universities doing the “dirty” recruiting. Sports agencies are also being found to be buying things for athletes during their collegiate years. Just last year, USC basketball star OJ Mayo was found to be doing business with Bill Duffy Associates while in college. The plan set up by the agency was for Mayo to go on shopping sprees with Louis Johnson and Rodney Guillory, who would buy him clothes and luxury items while he was in school. Once it became time to declare for the NBA draft, Mayo would sign with Bill Duffy Associates.



USC athletes are often a target of this “early recruiting” by sports agencies and often get caught doing something before they even knew they did something wrong. I would like to communicate with USC athletes that I know personally and figure out how these practices are taking place, and why they are going unnoticed. I want to look at USC football, baseball, and basketballThese sports are very competitive at USC, and the top recruits that come in, sometimes can’t wait to cash in on the big paycheck.

The problem is altercations like this go relatively unpunished, and it happens in all sports. The recruiting process has become tainted, and if agencies want to remain competitive for top clients, then they have to do the “dirty” recruiting as well. If agencies are caught they usually undergo a suspension for the infractions, yet it seems as though the agencies still get away with theses practices. Because of this, athletes are leaving early for the pro league, leaving behind their academics and going to go play for a pro team.



Now that cases like Mayo are getting discovered, the pressure has turned not only to investigators, but also to journalists to uncover the scandals. The agencies are getting more competitive and are also being more discrete about their purchases. Yet, even with being secretive, the rewards continue to grow. The NCAA will have to put more pressure on players to stay in line with the collegiate rules, and also on the universities to monitor their players. If no one is held accountable, then the practices will continue to take place.

The website offers various perspective on collegiate recruiting, as well as the recruiting done by sports agents. There are three main components to this website. The investigation looks into recruiting from the perspective of five USC athletes. They spoke on condition of anonymity to help discover the truth about recruiting at USC. The other two tabs focus on the stories of two people, and how recruiting went for them. John Hansbrough is not a freshman in college but gives a first hand account of his recruiting process, and offers his opinion on the system. The other athlete is Taj Gibson, who is a junior basketball player at USC. He talked about the recruiting process for him, and how he has had to deal with constant attention from sports agents trying to secure him as a future client.