Recruiting Tips: Academics
In this series “Recruiting Tips” we will dive into a different issue in each story that deals with recruiting and can help guide the prospect through the world of recruiting. Here we look at how important doing your work in the classroom is to the recruiting process.
If you don’t do your homework you can’t go out and play! That is a common saying when you are a kid. The same should apply to potential recruits. If a prospect doesn’t do the work in the classroom they aren’t going to be able to achieve their dream of playing college basketball at the highest level.
The NCAA has raised their requirements for student athletes to play at the various levels of college. Even just a couple years ago it used to be easier for prospects with questionable grades to slip through and still be able to play at the school they committed too. It is not as easy anymore with the higher requirements. Because of this more prospects that should be playing at the D1 level have to play their first two years at a junior college to get their grades in order.
It is critical to get off to a good start right from the jump as a freshman. Many of the student athletes that fail to qualify realize toward the end of their high school careers how important academics are to them playing basketball at the next level and step it up, but it is their grades from early in their high school days that hold them back.
Staying on top of all aspects of your academics is critical. That is why it is important to be talking to school counselors to make sure you are on track for college. Also it is essential that a prospect is taking the proper core classes and getting the grades in those classes to qualify. Preparing for the ACT or SAT is beyond critical. These standardized test are a key part of the qualify process for playing college basketball.