The reason I bring this up because I believe hype does influence the recruiting process. I'm not sure of the science applied for rankings but as the PG influence continues to grow, I wonder if it isn't creating a degree of laziness on the part of the RC. It's not PG's fault for bad due diligence but I do think schools will find that certain players aren't what they had thought there were and the kids tearing it up at a mid-level or Juco have always had talent as evidenced by their in game performance.
Have you actually spoken to a few Recruiting Coordinators about this; or are you extrapolating the conclusion from your observations?
The reason I ask is that every Recruiting Coordinator I know is adamant about the value of seeing players several times, themselves, before deciding whether to add them to their list of active recruits. If not, my son and dozens like him are wasting their time spending summers on the road virtually full time.
They know from their experience that Perfect Game's and other organizations' ratings only amount to so much in helping them identify players; and that, once identified as being worthy of evaluation, they have to see them...preferably, several times.
This summer, that translated into 8 days in the office between 5/25 and 8/2, with no days off for my son; and I think his schedule is typical of his peers.' If it were all about PG, it's hard to imagine that anyone would put themselves through that.