‘We only want guys who want to be here.”
This is a noble sentiment, but not energizing enough. Why does ‘anybody’ want ‘anything’? Because of what they think they’ll get out of it. They want their best deal... for THEM, not some institution or other reason. Good old self-interest. That’s what drives our World.
So – that being the case – it’s The Beloved’s job to make their home place as attractive to the outside World as possible and make surgical clarity to each prospect of why it’s the best place in the Universe for them to succeed. And as the player succeeds the best, so will the Illini program as well as developing a reputation for being a place young guys want to come.
The College Ball World will be a place of shifting sands and changing horizons for a long time. The Old Normal is gone forever and there’s a new storm of raging seas to navigate. The Major College Ball programs that have the best Navigators and Captains will be the ones to reap the benefits whether the nameplate on their door is just another ancient boring old legacy Blueblood or one of the rising star programs such as The Orange.
THAT’s how you get guys who ‘want to be here’.