I didn’t know you have to reapply for financial aid every year.
– This from a mother whose son received about $20,000 of financial aid last year as a college freshman and had a very good academic and athletic experience. Now, this high school principal with a master’s degree is scrambling to convince the school to give her son the same financial aid for the upcoming year. This is a smart woman. Don’t think this type of thing can’t happen to you.
After seeing the body of work, the development that occurred, the maturity that occurred, I know it was the right decision (to play college ball).
– This from a mid-level D1 college baseball player who was drafted in the 35th round out of high school, but opted for college. Three years of college (and a 3.6 GPA in finance) later, he’s signing after being taken in the 13th round. His high school and college ball were both played at schools in the northern US.
Question: What % of all men’s basketball players who enter Division I directly out of high school depart their initial school by the end of their sophomore year?
Answer: 40%
Here’s the link to the complete article on the NCAA website.
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/tracking-transfer-division-i-men-s-basketball
There’s a perception that Ivy League men’s basketball players, while talented, are on the low end of the athleticism scale among D1 basketball players. It’s often said that prospects with marginal D1 athletic ability “might be able to play at the Ivy level”. There’s also the old inference that non-scholarship schools can’t reasonably expect to recruit the same level of talent as scholarship schools, so they have to settle for less athletic kids.
Here are eight recent examples, including six from this year, that will probably surprise most people. All eight players started and/or contributed significantly at schools and in leagues most perceive to have more athletic players and higher levels of ball. Seven of the eight are graduate transfers, having used up their Ivy academic eligibility before their athletic eligibility (the Ivys don’t allow redshirting). They opted to transfer in order to play their final year instead of doing what some, including Columbia’s all-Ivy selection Alex Rosenberg, have done and withdraw from school for a year.
The major roles being played on successful teams by all of these former Ivy athletes eliminates any possible arguments that they are just sitting on the bench on more athletic teams or getting playing time for really bad teams. Size and/or position can also be eliminated as factors, as these players cover the range of size (5’11” to 6’9″) and position (guard to center). Finally, if measured by all-Ivy honors, only 1-2 of these eight were even the best players on their own Ivy League team. Clearly, athleticism in Ivy League men’s basketball is much better than many give it credit for.
Aside from proving the perception of low Ivy League athleticism is false, these examples also raise an interesting question. Is the league hurting itself by forcing nearly all of these players to leave when they still have NCAA eligibility? On the surface, certainly. Is the rule obsolete? Maybe. Would they have left anyway? Is this year is an anomaly? Perhaps. But in this country where we’ve completely lost our perspective when it comes to sports, there’s plenty to be said for the dog still wagging the tail in the Ivys, and not the other way around, as at most schools. On the other hand, even the Ivys have adjusted with the times every once in a while. Their recent addition of a post season tournament is a good example.
Finally, as five of the eight are from Cornell alone, you’ve got to feel for recently fired Cornell coach Bill Courtney, who must have felt like the basketball gods were not on his side. Who could blame him if he occasionally wondered what might have been.
The Top 9 mistakes made by parents:
Most athletes, parents and high school coaches don’t understand what it takes to get playing time as a college freshman. When they talk about playing time they usually start breaking down an athlete’s game or the returning players on the team, and it gets complicated and confusing in a hurry. It’s really pretty simple. In most instances, playing time as a freshman comes down to two factors – not making mistakes and physical strength. This is particularly true in the high profile sports.
Most outsiders think college coaches are inclined to not play freshman. In fact, it’s the opposite. Coaches want to play freshman. Generally, freshman don’t have to give them a reason to play. The trick is to keep from giving them a reason not to. That means not making mistakes. It sounds simpler than it is, of course. All else being equal, a younger player gets time over an older player. It’s a time honored truth.
Almost every college athlete, especially those at the scholarship level, was a standout or star in high school. In order to be a star they had to do great things. That usually meant producing lots of great stats that generated attention and lead to college recruitment. Once they get to college they quickly see everyone else is as good or better than they are. Their natural instinct, and it’s a hard one to fight, is to try to stand out by doing what got them there. Because the level of play is so much higher than high school, that reaction often results in the athlete trying to do too much. That’s rarely a good thing. All they really need to do is not make mistakes. That is usually more than enough to generate praise, which leads to playing time.
The physical aspect of college is different than high school. The athletes are no longer kids, they’re adults, making strength a huge factor that affects virtually all aspects of play. Lack of physical strength keeps the majority of college freshman from any significant playing time. Ironically, this weakness is easily fixed while in high school. Compared to improving individual skills, learning to understand offenses and defenses, or adjusting to the speed of the college game, improving strength is so simple. It’s also easy to measure and compare yourself to others. For example, if you’re a boys’ basketball player and can bench over 200 lbs., you are ahead of the curve. Most can’t. It doesn’t matter if you’re from a big city with a high level of play or a small, under recruited town in the middle of nowhere. Everyone and anyone can know if they are physically ready to play at the college level and they can do what it takes to be ready. There is some knowledge involved, but it’s easy to access. The real keys are desire and dedication. It sounds simple, and in many ways it really is. Doing it is another story. If it were easy most athletes would not arrive in college physically unready to compete.
Figuring out what it takes to be successful at the college level is a process that takes time for most incoming athletes. How quickly the athlete figures things out and makes the transition can be the difference between having a good career and never getting off the bench. Some incoming freshman simply are not even close to ready. A small percentage have talent that transcends mistakes and physical strength. Certain teams are just loaded with talent, so even the most college ready freshmen have no choice but to wait and be patient. In most situations the opportunity for playing time is there, if you know how to take advantage of it. Any athlete who doesn’t make mistakes and is physically ready is going to have a great chance to play right away.
The NCAA uses a sliding scale to determine D1 eligibility and will be using one in the future to determine D2 eligibility. Today’s quiz regarding these eligibility requirements has two parts.
Part 1
Question: What year do the new eligibility rules go into effect for D1 basketball?
Answer: For students entering college beginning in August of 2016
Part 2
Question: What year do the new eligibility rules go into effect for D2 basketball?
Answer: For students entering college beginning in August of 2018
While this will certainly be funny to many, it’s just one example of mistakes commonly made by families trying to navigate the recruiting process. So enjoy the laugh, but don’t think others aren’t laughing at similar things you’ve done.
Devin is a talented basketball player. He and his mother recently told me and others he was being recruited by a good mid-level D1 school. Skeptical, I asked them to define the recruitment. They showed me an email inviting them to a reception for prospective students to be held at an upcoming basketball game at that university. What they didn’t understand, as they interpreted this invitation from their subjective point of view, was that the invitation was a mass mailing sent to many prospective students by that university in a general marketing attempt to increase applications and enrollment. It had nothing at all to do with his basketball talent or any basketball recruiting. The reception just happened to be at a basketball game because it was that time of year and basketball is the high profile sport at this particular university. They didn’t know that. They thought it meant he was being recruited for basketball. Most would have instantly seen that this was a mass emailing. In Devin’s defense, he is talented enough to get some D1 basketball interest. This just goes to show recruiting is a tough thing for most families to interpret. So remember, don’t laugh too hard. This might already be you, and you just don’t know it.
The Patriot League and Ivy League have been linked together in many minds since the inception of the Patriot League about 25 years ago. There are three good reasons for this. One, the Patriot League was conceived, in part, to provide another league similar to the Ivy. Two, they are perceived as the two best academic D1 leagues in the country. Three, for a while they were the only two leagues in Division 1 that didn’t offer athletic scholarships. Ivy’s have never offered athletic scholarships. The Patriot League started out as a non-scholarship league, but that changed some time ago.
For some reason people, even those who should know better, still talk about Patriot and Ivy League schools as competing at the lowest level of D1 sports. They mention them as possible options for athletes who don’t have scholarship offers or are perceived to be marginal D1 athletes. This is particularly true in the revenue producing sports of football and basketball. Statements such as “well, he/she might be good enough to play at a Patriot or an Ivy” are still heard regularly. It’s an old perception that hasn’t been accurate for quite a while.
Here are two of the erroneous assumptions that lead to the misconception, followed by the reasons they are false.
Here is just some of the evidence that Patriots and Ivys are anything but the lowest level D1 leagues.
Parents and players are the ones losing out due to this lack of awareness. Too many dismiss these schools without even considering them, when choosing them should be an easy decision. When the facts are known, it’s shocking how many people pass up these educational opportunities without giving it a second thought.