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Get Scouted Scouting CareersSuccess Rests on a Prospect Possessing Four Characteristics
It could be easily argued that earning a college basketball scholarship is one of the toughest of all undertakings for an aspiring high school athlete. It’s akin to finding a hair on the top of Dick Vitale’s head — it’s hard baby!
Hundreds of thousands of American kids, not to mention those in foreign countries, play hoops in some organized fashion, starting as early as five years old. Late winter afternoons, evenings and weekends alike are crammed with youth practices, games, showcases and tournaments. Hardly a night passes from the middle of November through July that an indoor basketball court in the U.S. goes unoccupied.
Squeezing through the enormous crowd of aspiring players to emerge with a college scholarship in hand is quite the accomplishment. Think for a minute about everything which has to happen for that singular outcome. Numbers aside, all sorts of variables, predictable and unpredictable, come into play. And then, of all the kids taking up the game during their formative years, only a handful, relatively speaking, will actually secure the opportunity to play college basketball.
A quicker step here, a made shot there, a knowledgeable coach here, a knee injury there — any number of these interrelated incidents, could separate the achiever from the dreamer. So, especially early on who’s to say 10 or 12 years ahead which kids will have dodged all the obstacles and grabbed the proverbial brass ring?
A perfect example is Charles Barkley. Could anyone have predicted that a pudge ball of a kid from Leeds, Alabama, a junior reserve on his high school team and only recruited by one college, would be offered a college scholarship and go on to become the fourth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points, snag 10,000 rebounds and dish out 4,000 assists? No way, not even the Round Mound of Rebound himself would have dreamed of such other worldly things.
Coaches, parents and peers all have a part, however significant or small, in a basketball player’s fortunes, but to get there, that is, to earn a college basketball scholarship, a prospect has to achieve it on his or her own merit and no one else’s. Coaches can’t execute for a kid. Parents can’t shoot last second free throws. And peers can’t look deeply into a kid’s soul and make him or her put forth the tiniest of extra effort every day at practice to get better then better and finally great.
How a youngster will respond to winning and losing, praise and criticism along with unforeseen outside influences are unknowns, too, but they all must go through it as a kind of right of passage because those are the trappings of top high school athletes. Yet, something innate allows the successful ones to progress beyond the emotional landmines, unforeseen social trials and physical challenges with which others are inexplicably incapable of coping.
Looking back at hundreds of basketball prospects I’ve observed both develop into legitimate prospects and fall to the wayside, there are recognizable traits of the successful and unsuccessful. Some qualities are uplifting while others are sad to witness. But, there are four traits which stand out in practically every basketball, scholarship recipient.
Here, then, are the four characteristics high school basketball players must have, or adopt, to win a college scholarship offer:
Talent. If a kid doesn’t have the talent to play basketball at the college level, it’s not going to happen. Granted, extreme height will trump talent at times, but talent is the overriding issue in recruiting. Here’s the thing, though. Coaches will disagree about talent. Some see it as athleticism. Others view it as playmaking ability. Some, quickness. Others, game intelligence. It boils down to individual coaches weighing and perceiving the characteristics of talent differently with each one putting more value on one feature or attribute than another. Regardless, we know that from countless evaluations over the years combined with retrospective views of a multitude of college players’ performances that talent is why basketball offers are primarily extended to prospects.
Competitive drive. This attribute is second for a very good reason — if there is a lack of talent, competitive desire will often, in time, push talent to the next higher level. On nearly every college basketball roster in America a coach can point to kid and say, “I recruited that one because he works so hard to win.” Every team needs this player, but if it is coupled with excellent talent, i.e. Michael Jordan, then a program can do more than compete, they can win titles and championships. With a modicum of talent, the basketball player who possesses strong competitive drive will positively influence practices and games, giving the team a chance to improve each day and win every time they take the floor. This is the kid who shows up early, works to exhaustion in practice, gives one hundred percent until the whistle blows, aims to win very wind sprint, and pushes other players to improve.
Team orientation. Today’s game revolves around team play on both ends of the floor. Coaches need every player to fill a specific roll up and down the court, offensively and defensively. It all fits together like a puzzle. Yes, there will be some go-to offensive players. And there will be defensive stoppers. But, the overview of practically any college game plan focuses on total team awareness and execution. Gone are the days of Pete Maravich and Cheryl Miller, players who controlled the game offensively and scored at will while their teammates set screens, rebounded and fed them the ball endlessly. Today’s player has to be willing to sacrifice individual stats for team wins.
Intelligence. Consider these three statements: 1) College athletic governing bodies are focusing on academics and graduation rates more than ever. 2) College entrance requirements have become more stringent. 3) Winning college basketball strategies and techniques are much more complex and advanced in the modern game. These are all true statements which point to a single player requirement: intelligence and the productive use of it. The NCAA has been the leader in the effort to require more academically from high school student-athletes to gain eligibility for athletic participation and then to remain eligible play. The NAIA with its newly instituted academic clearing house is following suit. The NJCAA has a ways to go, but in fairness their objectives are more individualized to their communities and specific needs as opposed to the overall association body such as the NCAA or NAIA. Regardless, academic advancements have been made which have forced high school prospects to be more attuned to their academic responsibilities. This has in turn produced better student-athletes for college athletics and for colleges as educational entities. The increase in academic responsibility has permitted basketball coaches to introduce more sophisticated strategies to their players which have improved the technical skills and game performances.
When prospects pull these four characteristics together, they are in a position to be recruited by a number of college programs. Without possession of any one of these, a prospect is likely to fall short of reaching the goal of securing a college scholarship. The competition is simply too tough and there are plenty of kids available who have these qualities in abundance for a college coach to take a chance on a long-shot prospect.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.