Tales from the recruiting trail.(College Basketball)

The seats are too hard. There's no time to get a decent meal. The travel is murder. There are too many tournaments, too many teams, too many suspect players. The games start before breakfast and end after last call. It's so sunny and hot in Las Vegas that merely stepping inside your rental car gives you that Dale Earnhardt Jr. feeling. It's so far from one high school to another that, as Vegas sportswriter Steve Carp says, you've got to clear customs along the way.

Coaches complain a lot about summer recruiting. Those who have been doing it long enough, for too many years at too many different colleges, easily can forget this part of the job can be a pleasure. ...