ESPN Men's Basketball

Updated: March 31, 2006, 10:24 PM ET

Final Four teams show homegrown talent, foreign finds

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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

John Brady had a built-in excuse to see Glen Davis and Garrett Temple in high school: His daughter went to the same school.

And get this: It was only a few blocks from his office -- on campus.

That's how close the LSU head coach could get to Davis and Temple, then students at Baton Rouge's University High school. So, the unintended sightings could occur as regularly as Brady would go see his daughter.

That doesn't mean Brady didn't need to work Davis and Temple like he would any other recruit. It just made it easier, a lot easier, just to take a stroll, get some exercise and oh by the way end up seeing two players who ultimately would lead him to a Final Four, and potentially a national championship.

This LSU team has eight Louisianans on the roster, five from Baton Rouge. UCLA, LSU's Final Four semifinal opponent, has four players who aren't from California. Arron Afflalo is from a few miles away in Compton as the closest Bruin to campus. George Mason's five starters are all from Maryland, an easy drive from the Fairfax, Va., campus. Only Mason's Final Four semifinal opponent Florida is dotted with more national recruits than in-state signees, with Taurean Green and Chris Richard the exceptions.

Is this the norm? Or are we seeing a trend of more teams recruiting closer to home, and as a result, benefiting by winning big in the NCAA Tournament?

It might be a little bit of both. There are certain programs -- notably Duke, North Carolina, Connecticut, Arizona, Kentucky and most recently Florida -- that will recruit nationally and mostly out of the region unless there is a big-time player in their backyard. But the majority of schools can't afford to invest the time necessary to recruit around the country.

LSU was fortunate there was such a banner crop from Baton Rouge and the state three years ago.

"It's really a unique, talented group of young people that have played against each other since junior high, and four of them have known each other since they were 6 or 7 years old," Brady said of Davis, Temple, Tyrus Thomas and Darnell Lazare. "They played on a successful team, and they wanted to stay together."

The number of California guys on UCLA's roster shouldn't be a shock. UCLA usually gets the top player in Los Angeles. The population base is so rich with talent that it's hard to imagine a UCLA team without a strong SoCal bend.

The most distinctive school in this Final Four because of its historic run, George Mason naturally is recruiting from the local area. The Colonial Athletic Association school doesn't have a national name that would draw players from out of the area. And, it usually attracts players who don't mind staying close to home after being bypassed by the local big-time schools (see: Maryland) because they weren't ready for that level.

"Recruiting has gone that way because of the rules and the limitations on [contacts and phone calls]," Drexel's Bruiser Flint said of more local kids staying home. "The people that are most familiar with you are the ones in your area. It used to be that you couldn't call juniors before June or July [before their senior year; it has been pushed back into the academic year]. So, it's harder to get someone interested in your program unless they live 40 minutes from you, like the guys at George Mason. They'll watch games, come to campus and build a relationship.

"Hey, LSU had two kids that went to school on their campus, and you can't get closer than that," Flint said. "Philly kids have been like that a lot, always wanting to stay closer to home."

Villanova was a good example of that this season, with a roster led mostly by players from Philly and the New York-New Jersey area. It was easy for those guys to make their way in a car down to a Nova game or practice. Unofficial visits are becoming commonplace.

But that's what makes Billy Donovan's run of mining just about every outpost (Matt Bonner from New Hampshire, Mike Miller from South Dakota and most recently Joakim Noah from New York/Paris) even more impressive during his tenure as the head coach at Florida.

"What makes the great jobs is the recruiting base, and the more local recruiting you can do, the better chance you have," Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings said. "But that's why you have to admire what Billy has done. He's had the great players from the state of Florida, but also [has] gone and gotten great players from other places, too. I can assure you that what he's had to do is more difficult. … Recruiting is never easy, but what Billy has done is remarkable."

LSU's celebration in Atlanta on Saturday was beautiful because the Tigers took ownership of their school's name and their state. They weren't hired hands, brought in to a school for four years with loyalty only to the university. These players were born and bred in Louisiana, which made their comments about Hurricane Katrina victims and their love and passion for winning at LSU more genuine. That's not to say Florida's crew doesn't want the title just as much, but those who play for the school in their area have even more passion for the greater goal -- bringing a championship back to the community, not just the university.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.