BLD, I hear you, it would be more difficult to land a recruit if the coach is straight with him about the kid's abilities and the JV team. To that, some would -- maybe naively -- still say that straight-shooting should be the norm. And, the flip side of that coin is that in certain circumstances the program is intentionally not being straight with certain kids/families and, based upon less than perfect information, the kids/families are making huge (and sometimes bad) decisions. Buyer beware indeed (unless and until things change).
Personally, I'm grateful for this forum such that you all have educated me on the issue(s) and we know what to ask.