The “El Paso is so remote” recruiting excuse

[unihorn]

Texas’ population is exploding. It’s always been a football hotbed, but it’s quickly becoming a major high school basketball talent spawning ground, too.

UTEP should be able to get fat on the scraps.

I’m watching New Hampshire play Texas in basketball right now, and they have four nice starting players from Texas.

CUSA was also supposed to give us better Texas exposure.

I’d hire a football and basketball coach with Texas ties and roots.

 

[ShovelMan66]

It's a lame excuse. Western Michigan can get recruits to play football there. I've never been to Kalamazoo, MI, but I'm pretty certain El Paso has a lot more to offer.

 

[El Paso 777]

The fact is people judge El Paso before they even visit here. I just had a conversation with somebody living in Houston. They said they hate El Paso and it's such a boring city and there is nothing to do here. I asked them why they felt that way. They later stated they have never been to El Paso.

 

[axingfools1]

The fact is people judge El Paso before they even visit here. I just had a conversation with somebody living in Houston. They said they hate El Paso and it's such a boring city and there is nothing to do here. I asked them why they felt that way. They later stated they have never been to El Paso.

Is it a cultural/racial thing or a desert thing?

 

[NY/NJminer]

Is it a cultural/racial thing or a desert thing?

All of the above

 

[MinerDave]

It has a reputation of a dirty, poor,
remote town. I wouldn't put race into the equation at all though

 

[El Paso 777]

Race could be part of the problem. I don't know. It just has a bad reputation because of its proximity to Mexico. That's fine, I like El Paso being the way it is and those people can stay out.

 

[axingfools1]

It has a reputation of a dirty, poor,
remote town. I wouldn't put race into the equation at all though

I love EP but the trash and disregard around here kills me..

 

[MinerInWisconsin]

The "too remote" issue can be overcome. Price did a much better job of recruiting than Kugler. Price had summer clinics in east Texas where the recruits are. Kugler did not. Price brought in recruits for visits during the season to attend games. Kugler did not. In Price's last years as coach he had to contend with a big perception problem. Coaches recruiting against him used the horrible situation in Ciudad Juarez and the rest of Mexico against him as if El Paso was just as dangerous because it's right on the border. Wasn't true because even in the worst of the cartel violence in Mexico, El Paso was getting high marks for being one of the safest cities of it's size in the U.S. Stull even referenced that as a recruiting problem for Price the year he "retired". Price once said that it was hard to get recruits to visit but once they did, they loved it and he had a high rate of commits from those that did visit.

The geographic remoteness doesn't seem to hurt Washington St which is very remote compared to the rest of the PAC 12 or Wyoming which is remote too and both of those schools are in small cities with not a whole lot to do and some harsh winter weather. We just need a coach that will work at recruiting rather than settling for whoever doesn't get recruited by his rivals.

 

[unihorn]

El Paso is on the upswing. Whenever I have friends visit from out of town, they love it and come again. Sell it!

 

[Firstdowndash]

Race is part of it, people just won't say it. Poor is the other part.

A poor mexi town. So after we get the recruit over that stigma, we have to sell them on the university. What can UTEP offer that other schools can't? Not much. Let's go back to the city, what can ELP offer that another city can't? OK, let's sell our football history?! Pfffft.

What we need is a used car salesman for a coach. That's why Gillespie, Barbee, and Price did well here. They know how to close the sale. UTEP is not a brand new Cadillac, UTEP is a 1998 Ford Escort (sport style coupe, at least we aren't the 4 door version), and we have to sell the recruit on the Escort over the Cadi. Tough job but a good salesman can do it.

 

[unihorn]

Race is part of it, people just won't say it. Poor is the other part.

A poor mexi town. So after we get the recruit over that stigma, we have to sell them on the university. What can UTEP offer that other schools can't? Not much. Let's go back to the city, what can ELP offer that another city can't? OK, let's sell our football history?! Pfffft.

What we need is a used car salesman for a coach. That's why Gillespie, Barbee, and Price did well here. They know how to close the sale. UTEP is not a brand new Cadillac, UTEP is a 1998 Ford Escort (sport style coupe, at least we aren't the 4 door version), and we have to sell the recruit on the Escort over the Cadi. Tough job but a good salesman can do it.

What are you saying, that black and white recruits are racist against Latinos? I don’t buy it.

 

[axingfools1]

What are you saying, that black and white recruits are racist against Latinos? I don’t buy it.

Talking about the perception of El Paso in east Texas or how people judge El Paso that haven't been here.

 

[jamasterj]

Spent this past weekend in Austin and one of our Uber drivers asked us where we were from and we proudly responded with El Paso. After a minute of silence he quipped, “ahh, the safest city in the U.S.” Well my wife and I were impressed and my wife felt compelled to let him know. Little did we know this bastard had made that comment in a sarcastic manner. He later explained he once drove through El Paso on his way to California and had to stop for gas and claimed he feared for his life cuz he was in a shady part of town. What really ticked me off is when he told us, “well you believe whatever you wanna believe.” This idiot was originally from Corpus Christi and Hispanic. That type of ignorance is what we’re up against and it’s prevalent in the rest of this state.

 

[utep2step]

I have a child that attends a small east coast school in a basketball hotbed. This school is in the A10 and has impressive talent sent to the NBA within the recent past. They can't win diddly.

Good trained leadership that see diamonds in a pile of rocks win anytime, anywhere and solves many ills.

 

[DAYDEV]

Coaches who recruited my son used Juares against UTEP. They tried to sale us on danger as a reason not to come. I'm not going to lie I was worried until we came on a recruiting visit. Loved the city every since. Once you get kids in town you can win them over. I truly miss coming to El Paso.

 

[minermx07]

What are you saying, that black and white recruits are racist against Latinos? I don’t buy it.

Not all obviously. But enough to make a difference. And it' not always racism, just enough ignorance to make people not sign with UTEP. The Juarez violence and the fear it might spread or that it has.