Clear Lake Falconhoops

Preparing High School Players for College Basketball

 Having spent my entire life as the son of a Head College Basketball Coach, I have been blessed with the opportunity to see what lies ahead at the next level. Throughout the years, I have seen many student athletes make the jump from the high school level to the college level. Unfortunately, I have also seen many capable young athletes never reach their goal of becoming a College Basketball Player. In many cases, this pitfall could have been avoided. There are several ways  in which we, as coaches and mentors must assist these student-athletes in their path toward success at the college level.  

As a former Division I player and Assistant Coach, I have learned some things that I would like to pass on in order to help familiarize you with the recruiting and player development processes. In order to make college opportunities attainable there are several items that must be taken care of academically, on the court, off the court, and finally in the recruiting process.

Academics

If you are fortunate to ever have a player who can play at the next level, you will hear immediately: “Is he/she qualified academically.” The worst thing we can say is, “I am not sure.” Foremost, a player must fulfill certain academic requirements to be eligible at the Division 1,2,3, and NAIA levels. Always remember, if a player is not qualified, there may be an opportunity lying ahead at the Junior College levels. The common mantra is that JC’s do not afford quality academic and athletic atmospheres for student-athletes. This is simply untrue. In fact, there are many outstanding coaches and programs at the JUCO level and this opportunity must not be ignored. This may be the only path for the student-athlete to succeed and the competition is at an extremely high level. There are four important steps to take in making sure a student-athlete is at least afforded the opportunity to qualify for college:

    1. Make sure the senior registers for the NCAA Clearinghouse (www.ncaaclearinghouse.net) This organization plugs the student’s GPA in the 14 Core Classes to help determine eligibility. Not sure if a certain class is a core class—the site has a program that finds out exactly what courses at your high school count. Note: the NCAA is requiring 16 core classes for the class of ’08.

    2. Make sure your student athlete takes the SAT/ACT in the spring of his/her Junior year. The higher the core GPA—the lower the score needed to qualify and vice versa. All score requirements are posted at the above website. One important notice—the SAT now has a writing component. This part is not counted in the NCAA Clearinghouse. Simply add the critical reading and math scores and that is the SAT score according to the clearinghouse.

    3. Keep checking on your student’s progress. Does he/she need to raise the SAT/ACT score? Is the student going to need to take the test again? Does the athlete have enough core courses to qualify? Although guidance counselors are very skilled at their jobs, most are unfamiliar with the NCAA qualification process. We need to check ourselves to make sure business is being taken care of by the student.  21 22  

    4. Be helpful with interested colleges. If they need transcripts, contact the guidance department and furnish them with one. If you do not help the colleges, they will think you are hiding something.  

While some of these guidelines may seem trivial, I can guarantee you they are of the utmost importance. I spent many a day during my recruiting days pulling my hair out nervously awaiting a transcript only to find the student did not have the correct amount of core courses, or the SAT score was computed incorrectly. That is probably why I have no hair right now.

 On the Court:

One of the things I noticed as a college coach is how many fine high school coaches there are. Upon my move to Texas high school coaching, I can tell you there are so many good coaches out there pushing their players to high levels of excellence. If you have a player who has the potential to play at the next level, push him/her to work harder. Looking back, these are some of the things I have noticed that have worked as a student-athlete progresses:

    1. Encourage the athlete to go to a college practice. These practices have become tremendous eye-openers for our kids. They will see for themselves right then and there whether or not they can make it to college. All of a sudden they are aware of the hard work and dedication it takes to compete at the university level. In addition, the prospective student-athlete has a clear idea of what it will take to survive if he/she is blessed to have the opportunity. After the player attends a college practice, you will notice the effort level of the player increase immediately when real practice begins at the high school level.

    2. Work on the little things. College coaches often become very frustrated when a player gets to campus the first time and doesn’t understand the use of the correct pivot foot on the perimeter, man to man defensive principles, taking charges, staying low with the ball, etc. These little things can make a noticeable difference in how the player develops regardless of the level of college ball.

    3. Don’t stop after the senior year is over. College conditioning is a nightmare. Get the player on the track, the floor, in the weight room. Whatever you can help the athlete with—do it. Sure we condition our athletes in high school, but college conditioning is a whole different banana. In high school, the players have bodies and minds that are simply not ready for the workouts they do in college. By the summer following their senior year they are ready. Get them started early and really encourage them. Take the time during the summer to work with the player or give him a workout that is much harder than what they did in high school for conditioning.  

Off the court and off-season

The life of a high school basketball coach is fun and rewarding. At the same time, it is an endless cycle. As coaches there are several ways in which we can help make the difference in a student-athlete’s life. Whether it is during the season or in the off-season, we need to be there for the kids at all times. These are some of the things I have learned along the way, many of the ideas were stolen from very successful coaches at all levels:

    1. “Tape it!” Kids simply do not watch college ballgames. Go home and tape a game that you think would help your player learn from. Sit down with the athlete and break it down. First of all, he/she will enjoy it and much more there will be a high level of learning that evolves from it. As a result, the player will begin watching college basketball and see the game the way it should be played: hard and with tremendous effort on every possession.  

    2. Stay involved during the off-season. Know what your players are doing during the spring and summer. Encourage the athlete to play AAU ball, but be there to watch him/her from time to time. Open the gym as much as possible. These are times when kids have nothing to do and the majority of them want to be in the gym. Let them know that you will provide time for them. If the player has true aspirations to play at the next level, he/she will be there. Most importantly, just make sure you stay within UIL guidelines. No vacation time, find an assistant or a junior high coach that can help out.

    3. Be a cheerleader. During the off-season, many high school basketball players get down and depressed. They start to wonder if they are good enough, or if there is a place they can play besides open gym after their final high school game is played. Encourage them to keep working. Believe me, there are hundreds of colleges that would love to have a hard working, determined kid on their squad.

As we all know, basketball is a challenging sport with many ups and downs. We have players playing fall leagues, AAU, summer leagues and during the season we have practice and games. Sometimes, a player needs the extra encouragement to be able to keep up with the peers and keep enjoying the game. Be positive and be that extra wing of support.

The Recruiting Process

By the time the prospective college athlete’s senior season rolls around, it is time to start thinking about college. From my days as a college coach, there are several things I have learned that may help make the process more successful. At this point, you will probably have an idea of whether or not this player can get to the next level. Be honest in the situation with both the player and the player’s family. Let them know that you will do whatever you can in order to assure their child that he/she can fulfill their dream. At the same time, if the athlete does not have the ability, be forthright. Here are some helpful hints that will make the recruiting process more productive:

    1. Interact with the college coaches. College coaches want to talk to you (the high school coach) more than any other person involved in the recruiting process besides the kid involved. We are the ones who interact with the athlete on a day to day basis. We teach them, we condition them, we practice everyday, we are with them in the weight room. Above all, we are educators and they want to have the high school coach involved in the recruiting process. If you maintain contact with the student athlete on a year round cycle, there will be fewer problems with outside influences along the way. Take the initiative, if you feel uncomfortable remember this: the coaches want to talk to you. The head coach is the lone entity that knows the athlete best on the athletic and academic level.

    2. Tape it II. Send tapes to college programs that you think are on the prospect’s level. Especially at the smaller schools. Many Division 2 and 3 programs do not have the resources to get out and see for themselves. These game tapes will help them tremendously. In addition, the coaches do look at them. Be careful not to send a highlight tape. The colleges will think there is something you are hiding from them. Finally, discourage the parents from making initial contact with the college. Look at it from a college coach’s perspective – do you want to hear from every parent? They want to hear it from you.