inRecruit: former NBA player Malik Allen launches social network for sports recruitment

Top high school athletes don’t have a problem catching the attention of colleges upon graduation, but what about the players who are good enough to continue playing but not the very elite?

Former Villanova and journeyman NBA basketball player Malik Allen launched InRecruit, a social network focused on recruitment to solve that problem. The platform, which launched in beta in July, aims to connect lower-level student athletes with colleges that could be looking for their skills.

More than two dozen colleges and two dozen high schools are using the platform right now, said cofounder Joseph Rocco, including more than 200 athletes and 50 club coaches. InRecruit initially targeted Philadelphia area schools, but the user base has expanded to include schools from more than 10 states, as well as schools in Canada, Rocco said. There are also about a dozen professional athletes who have joined InRecruit to support students from their alma mater, Rocco said.

The team of five operates out of Allen’s home in Wayne, Pa.

A Jersey native, Allen, 35, spent ten years in the NBA after graduating from Villanova in 2000. Rocco, 35, also attended Villanova and previously worked as a real estate and corporate lawyer. He lives in Mt. Laurel, N.J.

Read more on NBCSports and in this profile of Allen in the Courier-Post.