Recruiting

Charles Norbert "Chuck" Sudina, founder of a Timonium recruiting firm that specialized in placing professionals working in the fields of finance, accounting and information technology, died Sunday of heart failure at his home in Phoenix, Baltimore County. He was 61. At his death, Mr. Sudina, who suffered from a rare form of heart disease, was waiting for a heart transplant, said his daughter, Kristin A. Sudina of Canton. Mr. Sudina was born in Baltimore and raised on Chesterfield Avenue.

While the Maryland men's basketball staff waits on a decision from Memphis point guard transfer Antonio Barton , Baltimore Sun reporter Don Markus this week took a look at the Terps' 2013-14 roster with and without the Lake Clifton graduate . I have to assume Turgeon is bringing Barton in with the intention of starting him, or at least giving him every opportunity to start. That said, Barton and incoming freshman Roddy Peters should share a majority of the minutes at point guard.

It looks like the recruiting season is shaping up as a tough one for many new college graduates.On most campuses across the country, recruiting by employees is down. And that, in turn, reflects the fact that most employees plan to hire fewer college grads then they hired last year.In fact, hiring by the employees surveyed by Michigan State University's Career Development and Placement Service Center will be down a whopping 9.8 percent this year -- and down even more in a few specific industries.

With city schools CEO Andrés Alonso's announcement last week that he is stepping down at the end of this school year, Baltimore finds itself in the market for a new leader who can continue and expand upon the reforms he instituted. Whoever succeeds Mr. Alonso will have a hard act to follow, and finding a replacement who possesses the right combination of leadership, management and interpersonal skills won't be easy. That's why the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners must insist on conducting a thorough, nationwide search for the city's next schools CEO and resist pressures from some city leaders to short-circuit the process by rushing to name a successor.

Former assistant coach Art Perry was not the scapegoat for Maryland basketball's recruiting problems. How do we know? Because head coach Gary Williams said, "I don't think there is a problem."If there is a problem -- and one talent evaluator rates the Terps' latest class as the worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- it's the perception that Williams doesn't bring the same intensity to recruiting that he does to coaching.Williams denies that charge, saying, "I'm out there as much as anyone."

After struggling to retain some of the top high school players in the state, the University of Maryland went elsewhere to fill its needs, and is expecting at least 21 national-letter-of-intent signatures today. In mid-December, Maryland's recruiting class was ranked No. 19 in the nation by Rivals.com, but has since dropped to No. 29 with the recent change of heart of a highly touted offensive lineman. A top-30 ranking is respectable after back-to-back 5-6 seasons, but recruiting experts agreed the expectations were higher for Maryland during a year in which there was an abundance of talent in the state.

CHICAGO -- In the summer of 1988, all seemed right with the world of 17-year-old Deon Thomas.Entering his senior year at Chicago's Simeon High School, Thomas was one of the most gifted basketball players in the country. And he was qualified academically to play for the universities he was considering.Three years later, Thomas is entering his junior year at one of the country's leading schools, carrying a C-plus average studying pre-law. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 15 points a game and was named third team All-Big 10.But what should be a success story for the athlete and his school -- the University of Illinois -- has turned into an acrimonious legal and recruiting dispute that keeps growing and already has cost Illinois nearly $1 million in legal fees to defend itself against NCAA charges.

Shannon Quinn, 26, wants to work for the FBI when she graduates from Towson State University in May, and she found a hopeful sign at the university's annual job fair yesterday.After several years absence, the bureau had a recruiting booth at the fair this year.There was good news for other job seekers, too. Alice M. Feeney, the fair's chairwoman, said the number of firms out recruiting rose by 60 percent this year, to a total of 112. Theyincluded some sought-after employers, such as Bethlehem Steel Corp.

Frostburg State athletic director Loyal Park expects to be swamped with applications for the football coaching position that was vacated when Dennis Riccio moved to St. Lawrence (N.Y.) after five years with the Bobcats.The university wants to name a new coach by May 1. In the interim, the Bobcats' program will be under the direction of assistant coach Paul Barnes, who played for Dulaney High in the mid-1970s and then at James Madison.Barnes had much to do with recruiting the talent from central Maryland that allowed Frostburg State to go 26-6 during the past three seasons.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- After longtime assistant coach Eddie Fogler left Dean Smith's staff at the University of North Carolina four years ago, there were some doubts whether the Tar Heels would have the same success recruiting they had in the past.The whispers along Tobacco Road were that Smith had lost his touch for attracting the bluest of blue chippers. The Tar Heels lost a number of players to other high-profile schools. Alonzo Mourning chose Georgetown. Billy Owens went to Syracuse. Kenny Anderson opted for Georgia Tech.

Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso's resignation at the end of this academic year is a major blow to a city whose trajectory he helped change. There can be little doubt that the energetic and rapid reforms he implemented in the city's long-struggling school system have set the stage for broader renewal and growth in Baltimore. But city leaders also need to look on his departure as a tremendous opportunity, a chance to bring in a new superintendent who will build on Mr. Alonso's successes.

Baltimore will hire a recruitment coordinator to look for city residents who can help fill the 1,700 jobs expected to be created by the construction and operation of the new casino. The city's Board of Estimates authorized the temporary position Wednesday. It will pay up to $60,000, plus benefits, for 12 months of work. The position is being funded by the casino operators, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the agreement with the casino, expected to open next year along Russell Street near the stadiums, represents a "commitment to make local residents aware of and give them access to the casino's jobs.

In a perfect world, Randy Edsall can envision the day when the Maryland football team plays before packed crowds at Byrd Stadium, when the Terps challenge perennial powers in their league, when he and his staff attract most of the top high school talent in the state as well as from other parts of the country. Then Edsall quickly snaps out of that world and gets back to reality. And back to work. This is Edsall's reality right now: the Terps have won just six games in his first two seasons since he replaced Ralph Friedgen, four of the victories coming in the first six games of last season before injuries decimated his team, particularly at quarterback.

The Baltimore City Fire Department created a new division two years ago in an effort to increase recruitment of minorities, specifically African-Americans, who made up 65 percent of the city's population but only half so large a share of the city's firefighters. The effort was an unqualified success; thanks to the efforts of its small staff, Baltimore amassed nearly 3,000 names of prospective firefighters, 80 percent of them minorities. The effort was also entirely ineffective; the department was 32 percent African-American when the division was created, and it's 32 percent African-American now. The problem?

Maryland has self-reported a series  of secondary violations to the NCAA. The violations involve a number of teams, including football, women's basketball and men's soccer, but are not  considered serious, according to an official with knowledge of the infractions. Most, if not all, of the violations involved calls or texts to recruits. In some cases, the official said, a coach returned a call or text not knowing they were contacting an unsigned recruit. The rules governing such communications have been evolving.

Recruiting capable employees might seem like the last topic on a manager's mind during these days of downsizing.But not everyone is slicing staff. Some companies continue to grow, and for them, finding the skilled, diligent employee remains a challenge."

COLLEGE PARK -- Before he ever talks to a high school senior, Jim Miceli is on the spot.Miceli joined the Maryland football staff as recruiting coordinator in June, but his job is in jeopardy. It's not that the Terps are disappointed with his work, but the cost-containment proponents in the NCAA have proposed that the position be abolished. It's one of the cuts that Division I-A football is expected to face at the NCAA convention next January."It's going to happen one of these days," Miceli said.