Just a Draft Thought

[Matnum PI]

So next season, we're going to have the Draft starting in the Fall, October or so, where we draft the new freshmen as well as the upperclassmen and transfers that we overlooked in previous drafts. NC, like you, I like that piece. So, another idea. Just an idea...

During the off-season, probably June, what if we had a One Round draft. Each coach gets one pick... of any HS player. By definition, underclassmen. Could be a kid who'll be a Senior that coming Spring. Could be a kid who will be an 8th grader that coming Spring. One pick every June (or whatever) that just stays in the background... until he joins an NCAA Roster. As soon as he joins an NCAA Roster, he's yours. I don't think you should get him automatically. I think you should have to give up your first round pick to grab him. And, if you don't take him with your first round pick, anyone can grab him. But, for all intents and purposes, the Rising Senior you drafted the year before, is yours. What do you think?

[nclaxin]

I am all for this. So any HS player would be in play? Rising FR through SR eligible. I really like that idea. Very similar to actual recruiting. I also like that you would have to drop your first rd. pick to keep them. Makes you have to play with things a little. For example, If I know of a guy in NC that is a stud, but may not show up on the national radar come actual draft time...do I want to "waste" an early commit on him?

Also, You would not be able to "early committ" more than one player in each class right? Because when the actual draft rolled around, you could not have them both in rd. 1?

IE. If I took a 2021 this summer, I could not also take a 2021 next summer...

[Matnum PI]

I think you should be able to take more than one player from any given class. Let's say, over the course of three years, you draft a Frosh, Soph, and a Junior, in that order. So come Draft time, you have 3 players, so to speak, reserved for you. From where I'm sitting, why wouldn't you be able to take all three players in Rounds 1, 2, and 3. You should be rewarded for having foresight. No different than an NCAA coach gets rewarded for giving a 9th grader attention. By the time that kid from Tenessee is an UA AA, everyone's giving him attention. No coach has an advantage. But if Tierney spoke to him as a 9th grader when he wasn't even a blip on UNC's radar, Denver has an advantage. And, this new idea would recognize that. You get rewarded yb having the ebnfit of getting this UA AA in the 3rd round because... You gave him an offer when he was in 9th grade.

[nclaxin]

So, are you saying that we can now give up 2nd and 3rd rd. picks for these "early" drafted players as well? If so, that entirely changes the game.

[Matnum PI]

That's the thought. It changes the game as much as early drafting changes the real NCAA game. I think.

[nclaxin]

I like it

[ohmilax34]

What if I pick a player in this early draft and he ends up attending Harvard or Villanova or another team not in our league? I don't get to draft him during the normal draft because he's not eligible, right?

Also, I think it might make sense to be able to draft a player I've committed to in an early draft during any round. HOWEVER, if I don't pick him with my 1st round pick, then he becomes eligible for anyone to pick. I can then pick him in the 3rd round if I want to. I'm not sure how well this would work if I've committed multiple players in the same HS class. Maybe once my 1st round pick is done, any remaining players I've committed are eligible, because I didn't feel strongly enough about them to draft them in the 1st round. Or, if I have 2 commits in the 2021 HS class, they are each protected for the 1st 2 round of the normal draft.

[Matnum PI]

ohmi, I thought about that. Correct, you wouldn't be able to draft him. My thought was (1) If the kid's that good, it'd be uncommon for him not to have already committed, (2) even if you're a real NCAA coach, when an 8th grader says, I'm going to Hopkins!, it doesn't mean he's going to Hopkins. So, like real coaches, you can get burned by drafting too early, (3) We have a lot of schools "that count for our league" that these kids go to, and (4) I'm hoping to add more teams as well as more coaches. Keep the ratio of 4 NCAA teams for every 3 coaches. So get 3 more coaches as well as 4 more NCAA teams. I'm itchy to cover more entire conferences. The ACC isn't enough.

"Or, if I have 2 commits in the 2021 HS class, they are each protected for the 1st 2 round of the normal draft".... Correct. They're yours until you let go of them.

[Matnum PI]

I like it

Me, too. ohmi, what do you think? (I wish phpBB, this platform, had @ohmilax like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Maybe it does with a plug-in or something. I'll have to look. I don't want to have to PM Greenie and UK Lax with a link to this thread. I should be able to just say, @greenie @UKLax, what do you think? Whatever.)

[nclaxin]

If we are adding 4 new teams, I would assume we would vote? I would think that...Brown, Harvard, Albany, and Bucknell or Nova would be in the mix?

[ohmilax34]

If we are adding 4 new teams, I would assume we would vote? I would think that...Brown, Harvard, Albany, and Bucknell or Nova would be in the mix?

Probably adding Michigan to complete the B1G.

[ohmilax34]

"Or, if I have 2 commits in the 2021 HS class, they are each protected for the 1st 2 round of the normal draft".... Correct. They're yours until you let go of them.

But if nobody drafts my 2 commits in the first 2 rounds, I can still draft them in the 3rd round, right?

[Matnum PI]

Agreed. FanLax NCAA Teams

[greenielax]

Opposed to early recruiting. On principle

[Uklax]

I don’t really follow high school lacrosse, nor do I really want to, I wouldn’t be keen on this early recruiting thing

[ohmilax34]

Matt, I like the idea, but I think there needs to be a way that this would possibly backfire. It sounds like as you describe it that there is no risk to draft a player early. NCAA coaches do take risks by recruiting early. I think fantasy teams should have some risk. And just like in NCAA, some fantasy teams will take the risk and others won't.

[nclaxin]

Want risk? To draft a player early from a class, you automatically lose your 1st rd pick for his entry year no matter what. If I take a 2021 early this June, when 2021 rolls around, I have to use my 1st pick on him no matter what even if he is ranked like #88 by Inside Lacrosse or whatever...

[admin]

I'm not sure if it's a vote (though it very well may be) but for sure it'd be discussed. Historically, we've voted and that's worked so i don't know why it wouldn't be the case for this choice, too. I can't remember if we voted or discussed and it just made sense when we dropped Dartmouth and Hobart and picked up Denver and Yale. Either way, I think these two posts below should play no small role in who our next new teams should be.

HOW FANLAX SELECTS OUR NCAA TEAMS

FANLAX NCAA LACROSSE TEAMS (BY CONFERENCE)

[admin]

Want risk? To draft a player early from a class, you automatically lose your 1st rd pick for his entry year no matter what. If I take a 2021 early this June, when 2021 rolls around, I have to use my 1st pick on him no matter what even if he is ranked like #88 by Inside Lacrosse or whatever...

Wow, that's good. You can always drop him during Add/Drops but... You have to take him. Wow, NC, I like that.

UK, don't panic. As mentioned above, we're just talking. Not doing, committing to anything, etc. Just talking. Also, UK, for what it's worth, you wouldn't have to follow HS Lacrosse. Others do it for you. There's more similar lists but these are some. 2018 and 2018, 2019 and 2019, 2020.

Greenie, had the same thought. Though a Fantasy League and the real world has 3,000 times more of an effect on some recruited 8th grade kid, we're contributing. Though fantasy, we're contributing to the expectations, etc. that these young men should not be dealing with as 8th graders. And i say this with a smile. Funny that there's any reality to our fantasy league.

[Uklax]

Thanks admin, although I really wouldn’t want this fundamental change if I’m honest, I like our game as it is.. by all
Means discuss etc... but I’d definitely vote nada on it