Indianapolis ? Jim Larranaga still talks about George Mason’s incredible Final Four run everywhere he goes – at fundraisers and camps, around coaches and especially when he’s recruiting.

If last year’s success has done anything, it has given Larranaga more credibility when he walks into a home. Prep players now are more willing to take calls and make unofficial visits, and no longer confuse the northern Virginia school with neighbors such as George Washington and James Madison.

To Larranaga, it’s a small but necessary step in the endless quest to woo college prospects.

“It’s nice because they recognize your face a little more, they recognize your name more and George Mason gets some name recognition now,” he said after spending a few days at the Adidas camp in Atlanta.

Those who criticized conferences such as the Colonial Athletic and the Missouri Valley for getting multiple bids were proven wrong when Bradley and Wichita State reached the round of 16 and George Mason did the unthinkable by going all the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

The coaches association even cited those conferences’ results when arguing for tournament expansion this summer.

For mid-major programs, such as George Mason, last year’s tournament success has helped in recruiting, though it has not exactly been a boon.

While most top recruits still dream of playing for prominent programs, the next wave of recruits does appear more receptive to considering a mid-major. That’s progress.

George Mason fans welcome the men's basketball team back to its home arena on March 26. GMU 's victory against Connecticut to advance to the Final Four has given coach Jim Larranaga more credibility on recruiting visits.

“I think the fringe guys used to wait it out a little longer to see if they could get to those (bigger) programs,” Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. “Now they’re more willing to make a commitment to a mid-major a little quicker.”

Jacobson and others understand they likely never will be able to compete for players with powerhouses such as Duke, Florida, Kansas University, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA.

But at July’s Nike All-America Camp, where 120 of the top prospects played, some players acknowledged that last year’s tournament successes did get their attention.

Keenan Ellis, a 6-foot-10, 187-pound forward from Indiana, played last season at North College Hill in Cincinnati, where he was flanked by two of this year’s top recruits – O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker.

He lists his final choices as Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama-Birmingham, where former Hoosiers coach Mike Davis landed.

Players say mid-majors do have some attractions: The potential to play early in their career and earn more minutes, and the opportunity to become a national darling, like George Mason, come tournament time.

Now that the Missouri Valley schools and George Mason have proven they can win in a high-profile, high-pressure environment, more players are willing to give them a chance. The question is whether they can win the big summer battles.

“If you’re going up against a Big Ten or ACC school, you’re still going to play second fiddle,” Weber said. “There’s no doubt our run at SIU helped and you have a chance to get maybe someone from the next group, but it’s tough at that level.”