Sportsrube wrote:Sorry, I don't buy the fact that he would have been brought to Bismarck if he wasn't athletic, just my opinion. As far as recruiting, a few years ago at a team camp for Boy's BB at Morehead, an elderly gentleman approached one of our players and started telling him about what a great education he could get at a local private school and how he and his wife would be glad to set him up in their basement and how she would cook for him and do his laundry. He also told this player that if the tuition was a problem they had ways to help with that also. When he found out I was a coach of that player and had heard the whole thing he couldn't get away fast enough. The NDHSAA's reply was that because he was not "affiliated" with the school in an official capacity there was nothing they could do about it. I would be willing to be that if this is happening for one private it is happening for most of them.
You can't control some people...I won't say it doesn't happen because I know an influential family in Moorhead that has done this so the players could better their team...brought in kids not from the area.
Why would he choose Bismarck...he could have chosen any where in the United States? He honestly probably didn't have a choice in location...but any location he landed was going to be better than hearing bombing every day.
I know seven young men who came over from the Sudan several years ago that went to a private school, one that many accuse of recruiting athletes...absolutely ZERO athletic talent in any of them...they just wanted out of the Sudan, to be safe and to get an education...which they all did; high school & college.
I'm not trying to force anyone to change their minds...everyone has their own agenda; I just want people to understand that in many cases it's NOT just about athletics. Sadly, some of the most obvious ones to people are because these kids are good athletes but there are many more that people don't know about because they aren't in any sports.