Right, and if current college recruiting trends continue, more and more of the top kids will be making their decisions before the Fall when they can start taking official visits. Junior days, summer camps, 7-on-7 tourneys, and unofficial visits seem to matter more and more every year. It's much easier to get kids within driving distance to your campus on their dime than kids in IL. We miss on those kids and we'll be scrambling.
The FL and GA kids we'll continue to get because there's just not enough slots at AQ schools in the area to take all the worthy kids (and some kids just want to get away for college). IL and MI going forward are losing population. So is PA. Thankfully, NJ and NY are steady. So is OH. MD and VA are growing population. Our 6-hour zone is getting healthier while the B1G schools' local recruiting areas are by and large getting worse over time. Not to mention that the schools are generally better in our region than elsewhere meaning the kids are better prepared for college work. Does you no good to bring in a kid who's just going to flunk out.
Check out the NJ commit lists this year. The B1G schools already have the jump on us. If we seriously devote resources there, we'll get our fair share. We have a good start now in the greater Philly area (if you count the Lehigh Valley, which is 50 mins away) with 5 recruits this season. It will be nice to build on that and get back into North Jersey and the DC metro area. Sure, the staff has connections to the Midwest but the longterm stability of the program will still be determined on how well we do in our backyard first, then the Atlantic seaboard, and finally everywhere else.