I'm not a fan of how we've been handling recruiting lately. It makes no sense not to remain in contact with Gilbert. What exactly would be the problem with bringing Battle to Syracuse for his official visit AND remaining in contact with a five star recruit in Gilbert? You could simply tell Gilbert the truth: We've been recruiting Tyus since he was 14 and we owe it to him to continue that relationship.
It strikes me as very unprofessional and lazy to blow off guys like Gilbert
If you read the section that I quoted from the nunesmagician.com article (I hope it is ok to quote as I posted the link to the article, and it is a free article) You will notice that Gilbert said they slowed down contact, not cut it off, so I think your statement is off base.
http://www.nunesmagician.com/2015/6...-2016-syracuse-dream-school-alterique-gilbert
"I know what you're thinking - what's the catch? Well, Gilbert also told Daniels that Syracuse has slowed down their recruitment of him, much like Thomas Bryant. That's not to say the Orange have cut off contact all together, but it has decreased."
The kids are not complete idiots, they most likely read articles or have people keep them informed on the situation. I am very skeptical about the idea that Gilbert might not have a idea that SU has Battle as a higher priority. It isn't like SU has hidden how much interest they have in Battle.
So, say they keep very active contact. Then Gilbert decides he wants to visit. Let him visit? Sure. So, he visits, loves the place and wants to commit on the spot. What do you do now? Isn't it worse to say "Sorry, but we aren't willing to accept your commitment right now, because we like another player better than you." than to just reduce how often you contact a kid? Maybe you and others feel differently, but IMO, it is much harsher to tell a kid we don't want you to visit, or we won't accept your commitment right now, than it is to just not talk/text/etc as often in order to slow the process down and draw it out.
I am willing to bet that just about every D1 coach has done this exact think to many kids. It is the way things work. The system makes it that way. When you place limits on the number of scholarships, it is inevitable. Every single coach shows interest to far more kids than they ever accept offers from.
Unprofessional - no, it is the way the system makes JB have to act.
Lazy - not at all, see above.
You may disagree with the assessment that JB seemingly has, that Battle is a better player for SU than Gilbert. You may hate how the system makes coaches treat players. But, at least in this issue, it is not fair to call JB either unprofessional or lazy.