Richard Barron has recently been posting photographs on Facebook of scenic vistas, ornate hotel lobbies and meals from cities all across Europe.
To the uninformed, it might seem as though the head coach of the University of Maine women’s basketball team has been enjoying a vacation overseas.
Au contraire.
Barron is scouring the region — from Italy to Finland — for student-athletes who can help transform the Black Bears program back into a consistent winner. He believes he has found some.
“I have seen elite national team players play on this trip, and [ones] who aren’t being overrecruited,” Barron said Tuesday as he waited at Riga International Airpoirt in Latvia for a flight to Brussels, Belgium. “I’m extremely excited about that.”
The journey encompassing at least 10 countries began March 13 with a flight to Rome. He proceeded to Belgrade, Serbia, then headed to Helsinki, Finland, for more player evaluations.
Then it was on to Stockholm and Sodertalje, both of which are located in Sweden. Barron also visited Oslo, Norway, before heading to Berlin, Halle and Leipzig, all in Germany.
“This [Europe] is the best place to get the best players right now for our program and to get us where we want to be,” Barron said.
Barron then trekked to London for a connecting flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, and stopped in Latvia on his way to Belgium, where he was scheduled to spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Brussels before heading to Milan, Italy, then Rome for his trip home Saturday.
“I’ve spent most of my time in airports, hotels and bus stations,” said Barron, who noted it is a tremendous challenge to negotiate the public transportation systems in numerous countries without being able to speak the language.
“It’s not easy,” he added. “It’s a leap of faith, but I’ve not been delayed or missed any meetings.”
While waiting in Riga, Barron said Tuesday he has received commitments from four young women who hope to continue their educations and their basketball careers at UMaine. He is prohibited by NCAA rules from discussing those recruits until the university has received their signed National Letters of Intent. The regular signing period begins April 11.
While criss-crossing Europe might seem unconventional, Barron said it is the best way for him to boost his program’s talent level quickly. He said that in Europe he has access to more outstanding players than he could find with similar effort and cost in the United States.
“All these things are a positive,” Barron said. “This program needs to take these steps to get to where we want to be. We’re rebranding the program.”
Any European recruits who sign this spring would join a list of three American players who committed to attend UMaine back in November.
“The best thing to do for Maine is to overhaul this roster,” added Barron, who predicated that statement by praising the returning players for buying into his philosophy.
However, the proverbial cupboard continues to get more bare.
The returnees include two players (Rachele Burns and Amber Smith) who have experienced significant health concerns and may not be able to return to the court next season. That means UMaine would have only four healthy players (senior Corinne Wellington, junior Ashleigh Roberts and sophomores Danielle Walczak and Courtney Anderson of Greene) along with junior Ali Nalivaika, who is coming off a second knee surgery.
Shareka Maner, Kelsey Mattice and Amber Dillon all left the program during the 2011-12 season, then freshman Rebecca Knight of Alfred recently announced her intention to transfer to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.
Barron said his recruiting trip, though extensive, has been a cost-effective process.
“I don’t want anyone to think this has been an expensive or an extravagant trip,” Barron said.
Barron said before he returns, he will have met with 12 prospects at “well less than $1,000 per prospect.” He said he could easily spend more money to evaluate players in the U.S.
Recruiting on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean has been an integral part of recent efforts by coach Ted Woodward’s staff with the UMaine men’s program. Spearheaded by the efforts of associate head coach Doug Leichner, the Bears featured seven foreign players on this year’s roster.
That included two from Canada and one apiece from Finland, Bulgaria, Scotland, Israel and Serbia.
Hopefully Barron will have more success than the men have had in terms of Wins & Losses with these players. If not, then just give the scholly’s to Mainer’s, cause they can finish below .500 just as well as a bunch of foreigners, and they’ll stay in Maine after receiving their degrees and contribute to the economy ;)
I’m tired of these kids stealing scholarships and producing crappy results, only to return back home with a US College degree. That just ain’t right.
Show me the money, Jerry!!!!! :)
Hey, coach – You could have recruited in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgrade, Rome, Calais and a dozen more places and never left the State of Maine. It would have been a lot cheaper, money that could have been used for scholarships, and I’ll bet you could have come up with a half-dozen players that would have helped you. You could have slept in your own bed at night and in the meantime, met a lot of nice folks who are paying for all this.
So 12 grand for three weeks in europe….when most people are happy to earn that in 6 months. half the assistant coaches at maine are making that in 6 months. all that to meet with 12 kids? how many kids could he meet in the usa before he spent 12 grand?!
Effing waste.
Consider it a potential investment. If he is successful at helping put UMaine on the map that $12,000 will be repaid in ONE semester of out of state tuition. Is this plausible? Why not? What was UConn before Calhoun and Auriemma got there?
I hope you are right but he could also be setting up a revolving door. Of the 7 Freshman he’s bringing in, he’ll be lucky to have 4 stay. I’m surprised he didn’t or wasn’t able to recruit any JUCO’s…. a potentiallyl much better and quicker return on investment without long term commitment if things don’t work out. He’s supposed to be a great recruiter and hope he proves me wrong.
Good job Richard!!! Winning teams fill the areana with fans, which in turn means$$$.
He is doing all the right things. Those who think the university is wasting money don’t have a clue as to what this program needs. They need to get good, really fast, so the program becomes attractive to players closer to home. There are no D1 players in Maine, but there are plenty on the east coast.