For Tyus Jones -- and so many other elite, teenage basketball prospects -- a smartphone is a life source.

It's the device the Minnesota prep star (@Tyusjones06) uses to tweet quick thoughts such as, "Bout to see what all this batman hype is about..." to nearly 7,000 followers.

It's the camera that snapped the photo Jones took with LeBron James when his national 17-and-under squad met the Olympians in Las Vegas last month. And it's also a music hub that offers easy access to his favorite tracks off rap star Tyga's latest album.

But the coaches that make his smartphone buzz throughout the day, via private tweets and text messages, recognize it as a crucial connection to the top-ranked point guard in RecruitingNation's rankings for the 2014 class.

And while the traditional avenues of recruiting remain pertinent for Jones and other high-major prospects, new rules and new technology have dramatically changed the landscape in a short stretch. The kid that valued a handwritten letter or home visit in 2002 may prefer a text message or tweet from a coach in 2012.

"I think a text message is probably easier just because kids, we're always on our phones and always texting," said Jones, a standout for Apple Valley High School. "If they just text us real quick, it takes two seconds to text back. I know me personally, if you send out a lot of letters, it takes some time to open all those up. Sometimes talking on the phone takes a long time."

Since the NCAA took the restraints off coach-to-recruit communications this year -- unlimited phone calls, text messages and direct messages are now permitted after a prospect completes his sophomore season -- coaches have attempted to find the proper balance for each prospect.

Do you write a note or will the memo get lost in the pile that Jones and his blue-chip colleagues receive by the truckload each week? Do you attempt to out-text your rivals or back off so that you don't overwhelm the kid?

Whatever the case, the opportunity to build relationships in different ways seems to offset the potential drawbacks for many coaches who want to convey their interest in whatever format top prospects desire. So the significance of texting and tweeting in recruiting has surged.

"I just think that's what kids today are most comfortable with," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. "That's their form of communication."

Recruiting in the 21st century

In the movie "Blue Chips," college coach Pete Bell, played by Nick Nolte, goes to the hometown of stud recruit Butch McRae (Anfernee Hardaway) and makes his pitch. He even walks into Neon's church and joins the worshippers in song. Anything to woo a top talent.

In reality, those trips no longer anchor the recruiting effort for many coaches.

Kids take more unofficial visits now, so they meet coaches and see campuses long before they're allotted the official visits that can now begin Jan. 1 of a prospect's junior season. Text messaging and social media direct messaging have increased the stream of communication too, so players and coaches know more about one another prior to their first face-to-face meeting.

"I haven't made a home visit in I can't remember how long," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "Our recruiting has been one of commitments early on. Official visits have almost been like celebratory things."

The value of a letter has changed, too.

On Sunday, Jones and his mother sorted through the endless letters he's received in recent years. They used to keep the mailings in a shoebox. By the time they finished organizing everything over the weekend, however, they'd filled an eight-gallon bin.

"I think a call and text seems to be more personal than a letter," said Jones' mother, Deb Jones. "When a letter comes, it's not really a letter, it's a flier."

Jones -- who has offers from Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State and Michigan State among others -- said he reads some of the letters, but views most as informational brochures. He's more strategic, however, about filtering electronic communication.

Jones and his mother spoke to coaches prior to the NCAA's rule change on electronic communication and asked them to respect his time and adolescence. In other words, don't blow up his phone.

When Jones returned from the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in Lithuania last month, he still worried coaches would overwhelm him. But they've respected his wishes thus far.

"It hasn't been too bad," Jones said. "The schools that we've been talking to, we kind of communicated with them beforehand and they respected that and said they wouldn't be over the top."

The conversation that Jones and his mother had with coaching staffs has become more common, as coaches cater recruiting plans toward each player. Sometimes that demands more contact. But it can also warrant less.

Personality can dictate the means of communication. A shy kid might not like to talk on the phone. Another prospect might prefer phone calls because he's sick of letters. And some kids just want to see a direct message in their Twitter inboxes.

"It's almost specific now to the kid involved, to his family, to his support system," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said.

Potential pitfalls

These days, in his comfortable spot as head coach at Tennessee, Cuonzo Martin can laugh about it.

Martin, then an assistant at Purdue, thought a top recruit lacked effort during an AAU tournament. He sent his general assessment to another Boilermaker assistant via text message. Then, in a moment of horror, he realized he'd accidentally forwarded the same message to another person: the very prospect he was criticizing.

"He never responded but you know he got it," Martin said. "We didn't get him."

The influx of social media and do-everything phones has not come without complications in the recruiting game.

Pushing "send" has proved problematic in recent years. The coaches that bombard prospects through social media and texting today will tell the same players to use caution with electronic communication once they reach campus. But coaches aren't immune to hiccups.

On Friday, Indiana's Tom Crean tweeted to his 81,000 followers, "I am doing great. I have been thinking about you alot since last weekend. A whole lot. How are you doing?"

It was quickly deleted and replaced with, "Sorry. That was to a new recruit. Wish I could tell you who. Sent it by mistake. Don't panic. Lol."

It's not always a laughing matter, though.

Recruits have unwittingly diminished their stock with distasteful tweets. Yuri Wright, a cornerback from New Jersey ranked 40th in the ESPN150 for the 2012 football class, reportedly lost a scholarship from Michigan after he was expelled from his high school for...