(Dispatch photo by Kyle Robertson)
It's now in the middle of July, where the summer heat has risen and the 2019 travel basketball season will soon come to a close for everyone participating. The second half of this past week (7/11 – 7/14) included the last ‘live period' for the year, being an open window in which NCAA Division I coaches can attend events to scout potential prospects. Several renowned tournaments took place all over the country and, as expected, specific guys reached their desires of attaining more college interest and/or offers. For the players who picked up their first next-level scholarship offer at any point this spring/summer, I want to express a true congratulations. That also goes the same for those who added more to their list. We all know that exposure highlights one of, if not, the main purpose for hoops to continue in the summer time. It's been this way for years and I don't see it changing any time soon.
So yes, any time one receives an opportunity to play for a collegiate program, he or she, as well as surrounding loved ones, should always feel a form of excitement. It's for good reason too, as most have probably seen the small percentage of those that continue their playing years after high school. The official NCAA website, updated in April 2019, shows there are 551,373 high school boys basketball players in America and only 18,712 go on to play in college; roughly 3.4%.[1] On the girls' side, 4% of 412,407 players enjoy the same experience.[1] Honestly, securing a scholarship offer for any sport is a PRIVILEGE; not something coaches just hand out like coupons. Might sound like old news by now, I know. Still, I feel there's a small lack of awareness out there in some parts of the basketball community as to knowing what the entire situation entails. Some may find it difficult to answer what it exactly means to get offered by a college team. There's a few things one must make sure to understand during the recruiting process. Perhaps I can help out a bit.
Pay Attention to the Grade
One of the first things both the athlete and parent(s) should consider after receiving an offer pertains to what grade the player is in that moment of time. Most likely know that coaches can give verbal offers whenever they wish to; there are no restrictions, in terms of age, time frame, etc. for men and women basketball prospects.[2] It's not uncommon to see underclassmen pick up offers based off of their noteworthy promise. However, I've personally struggled to ever see a significant relevance in this notion since the recruiting process doesn't TRULY begin until one completes that second year of high school. NCAA rules state that Division I men's basketball coaches cannot begin to initiate modes of private communication until June 15, following a player's sophomore campaign.[2] Phone calls start to frequently happen more around this time, as they remain unlimited until a ‘dead period' arrives. The same tactic goes for the lady hoopers but not until September 1st of their junior year. Official visits do not become permitted until later on in that same junior year for prospects.
This all ties back to what I mean by younger players who currently hold offers. They have yet to experience the actual phase of being recruited. Frankly, if a player lands a Division I offer in the eighth or ninth grade, there's no guarantee that same offer will exist by the time senior year arrives. Things can change for different reasons. I feel that's a recurring issue on the basketball scene today: players getting offers at a young age. Still, if it happens, that's nonetheless something that's clearly deserving. I would just advise the youngsters to not become content early on. Use it as motivation to emerge as a bigger target by the time you reach those upperclassmen years.
Offers Don't Last Forever
That above section may have some questioning what exactly do I mean by stating offers don't have a guarantee to remain over the years. In the case of being in high school, they can disappear as a result of various reasons. Coaching changes in the college program, athletes not qualifying academically, the player having suffered an injury, coaches sensing attitude problems, or even the decision for a coach to move on and give the offer to another recruit. That's just naming a few possibilities. Like I touched upon earlier, it all depends on different circumstances. Remember this too, however: a verbal offer doesn't mean anything OFFICIALLY. It only becomes the real deal once players sign their National Letters of Intent as seniors.
After dotting that line to make the pledge as a college basketball signee, one can confidently say they're an incoming member within the next-level program. That being said, players need to know scholarships do not come in the form as four-year deals. A NCAA Division I compliance statement breaks it down best:
'Aid based in any degree on athletics ability cannot be awarded in excess of one academic year; the decision of whether a student-athlete is awarded institutional financial aid is made on a year-by-year or term-by-term basis, depending on the regulations of the institution.'[3]
Basically, schools maintain the power when it comes to deciding who does and/or does not deserve a scholarship, as another statement reads, 'Keep in mind that the decision to renew or not renew the financial aid is left to the discretion of the institution, to be determined with its normal practices for students generally.'[3]
College basketball brings a ton of enjoyment with it, no question, but the sport definitely becomes more of a job once high school wraps up. It's the players' responsibility to make sure they're doing their part to keep that job. Remember, it's a PRIVILEGE. It shouldn't require anything severe…mainly just showing a willingness to give your strongest effort in all aspects. If a coach starts to notice constant behavioral issues, tardiness to team activities, poor grades, injury outside of the sport, and other unsatisfactory observations, the staff can pull away the scholarship and roster spot quickly. Hours upon hours of hard work goes into making it to the college level; don't let it slip away by making foolish decisions.
Coaches Won't Wait Forever Either
Back to the high school process. Players need to also realize that the same coaches who extended offers are more than likely not going to sit around and wait until the last minute for you to finally commit. This mostly applies to high school seniors. As unfortunate as it turns out to be, some players in this age group end up waiting too late to make a decision. In waiting, just know that other recruits for that same program at your position can commit at any time to take away an open slot. Now, I'm in no way trying to tell players to hurry up and make the choice of where to attend college at the earliest possible time. Always make sure to heavily contemplate all options to determine the best destination for you before pulling the trigger. If this discovery arrives at a time earlier than expected, however, just know that there's never anything wrong with committing before your other teammates/peers. Prospects do not have to be seniors to know where they want to go to school; I see juniors commit all of the time. A main reason why many take time to wait before deciding involves a desire to build up their list of offers. I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing…but players should indeed recognize their own respective situations. For example, if you're a senior who's a late bloomer on the recruiting radar, it's best to not keep other coaches, who have offered, waiting. Or, if you're someone who's racked up plenty of mid-major offers and now finds yourself late in your senior year, then it's probably safe to say you're a mid-major player. Take a good look at what type of schools have offered you…they're entering the picture for a reason. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket, as they say.
Oh, I also advise recruits to make sure they follow up with coaches of teams they have a strong interest in possibly competing for. This doesn't have to become an everyday thing or anything, but it never hurts to communicate. That will give the coaches a strong sense that you're still working to stay on their radar.
There's a Clear Difference between ‘Interest' and ‘Offers'
While it may be blatantly obvious to some, I'm honestly not quite sure if there's a proper understanding of the distinction between recruiting interest from college coaches versus an actual scholarship offer. A main reason why I say this relates to the grand amount of times I've seen high school players post edited graphics of themselves surrounded by multiple college team logos. Active users of social media should immediately know what I'm referring to. These edits have become a norm for the players' different media platforms; typically indicating which schools have reached out. Nevertheless, it can lead to other ‘followers' being confused in determining which programs have actually offered the prospect featured in these same pictures. I've seen graphics that illustrate up to 20-25 different team logos. I think those edits present themselves nicely and serve as another fun aspect of the recruiting process but I simply recommend players to try their best in clarifying who's interested and who's offered, so others won't become misled. Maybe tried to include that clarification in the caption of your photo if posting on Instagram, Twitter, or whatever else. If it's a picture to express a ‘top 5' list of remaining choices, that makes more sense and shouldn't be too confusing. But, if a player chooses to make an edit that includes every program who has shown any sort of interest, including emails, sent questionnaires, phone calls, etc., things become more complicated. A ton of interest can happen over the years but it's never an offer until clearly stated.
Same Process Occurs at All Levels
This entire subject of ‘offers' mainly centers on NCAA Division I hoops, since they're obviously the top dogs who can provide the most opportunities for free education. Nevertheless, and I remember stating this in the past at one point, people need to realize that NCAA Division II and III programs, along with NAIA and Junior Colleges, and all give out offers too, just in a different type of fashion. The argument has been (and will likely continue to be) that lower divisions do not hold a same number of full-scholarships on the table; leading to a feeling that their offers lack relevance. There's no denying that ‘partial scholarships' makeup the majority of Division II schools' offerings, while Division III cannot give out athletic scholarships at all. I get that, but it still doesn't take anything away from the fact that players must secure an offered roster spot. I've spent time at events in the same vicinity with coaches from different levels of Divisions I, II, and III, watching them recruit. They all share a likewise approach to evaluating prospects that can fit into their system before ultimately deciding to offer their targeted prospect(s). Don't become fooled to think you can just arrive and join a lower-level program if you never achieved that sought-out Division I offer. It doesn't work that way at all…they need to offer you as well; it goes far beyond just scholarship benefits. Find out where you fit at best and be honest with yourself. Whether your athletic scholarship is full, partial, or none, just know you're a part of that exceptionally small percentage of players who earned post-high school playing opportunities.
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I certainly hope this doesn't lead to players now viewing offers as pointless…that was far from my purpose in beginning this subject. Like I mentioned earlier, any type of success in the recruiting pattern should give cause for optimism and motivation. Verbal offers will continue to happen and players shouldn't disregard them. Coaches truly see something in you if they take the initiative to say you have a future spot on their team. I just want to make sure all prospects, especially the younger ones, realize that an offer does not make one invincible. Most of the time, it's easier to receive something than it is to keep it. Never become completely satisfied and start to slack off once that first offer happens. Do the opposite to turn things up a notch and strive for higher gain. If you can maintain that mentality, the results should all fall in your favor smoothly.
[1] ‘Estimated probability of competing in college athletics.' NCAA. 15 July 2019.
[2] ‘NCAA Recruiting Rules: When Can College Coaches Contact High School Athletes.' NCSA Sports. 15 July 2019.
[3] NCAA.org
