College basketball recruiting is structured in a time-sensitive and fast-paced manner: student-athletes are offered scholarships as early as 8th grade and college basketball coaches have set dates regarding when they can initiate first contact with recruits, make home visits, and receive a recruit’s binding National Letter of Intent (NLI). A big mistake high school student-athletes and parents make is assuming that a recruit’s high school coach or AAU coach will handle the recruiting process for them and take care of the details. It’s imperative to keep in mind that not all high school coaches have knowledge of or prior experience with the NCAA recruiting process; many do not have direct contacts with any college basketball coaches.
A common misnomer is: “If you’re good enough, coaches will find you...” With the rise of advanced technology and different types of student-athletes college basketball coaches are recruiting, it’s simply not true. You must be proactive in your recruiting process!
Here are four ways to take control over your recruiting process:
Keep Up With Your Own Stats
Stats are an absolute vital component in getting recruited to play college basketball. Every college basketball coach in the country will want to analyze your stats before deciding to initiate the recruiting process. However, many high school coaches around the country do not keep detailed stats; additionally, many high school coaches do not upload stats to prominent sites, which have databases that contain players’ game, season, and career stats. As a result, a sure way to take control over your recruiting process is to keep up with your own stats.
When you contact college basketball coaches, you will have this information readily available and, thereby, will not have to track down your coach to get them. Another benefit of keeping your own stats is that you will be able to analyze the stats to get the attention of college basketball coaches. For instance, instead of telling a coach: “During the season, I averaged 19.8 ppg.”, you could say: “Recorded 20 straight games scoring in double figures during the season.” which would more likely catch the attention of college coaches.
Ask Yourself: “Do I have my own stats from each individual game that I played, season stats, and career stats?”
Film Your Own Games & Keep Them On File
In order to get recruited to play college basketball, college basketball coaches will want to see game film. Many high school coaches around the country film games. However, filming your own games and keeping them on file is crucial - you will have access to every game at your dispersal!
If you want to send a game film where you did well scoring the ball, a game where you played smothering defense & recorded a high number of steals or blocks, or even a game where you lost but showed tenacity while making a comeback attempt, you will have those games at your dispersal. A big key in attracting the attention of college basketball coaches is having an array of types of game film available to show.
Ask Yourself: “Do I have complete game film available and uploaded for my own usage and dispersal?” 3. Contact College Basketball Coaches On Your Own
A big part in getting recruited to play college basketball is simply contacting the college coaches - there are thousands of coaches across the country at all levels! Many coaches do not have large recruiting budgets, so their opportunity to travel to AAU & travel basketball tournaments or travel outside of their geographic region are limited. Some schools might only have one member on staff that handles recruiting. Doing your own research and contacting college basketball coaches who coach at schools that you are interested in attending and playing college basketball at can pay dividends during your recruiting process. Ways to contact college basketball coaches include: emailing the coach, visiting the campus & attending games, and attending camps hosted by the school.
Ask Yourself: “Have I researched which schools I am interested in attending and playing at? Have I contacted coaches to express interest in learning more about the school & basketball program and desire to be recruited?”
Register On Your Own
If you desire to get recruited to play college basketball at the Division I or Division II level, you will need to get registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse, an eligibility center created to ensure that student-athletes are academically prepared for college and have met eligibility standards. If you desire to play at the Division III or JUCO level, you do not need to register. It’s important to note that registering with the NCAA Clearinghouse does not guarantee that you will get recruited - it’s merely an eligibility center that handles your amateur and academic eligibility. If a basketball coach at the Division I or Division II levels is interested in recruiting you, he or she will ask for your NCAA ID to check your profile in order to ensure that you are on track and meet standards to be a college student-athlete.
Ask Yourself: “If I aspire and have potential to play Division I or Division II college basketball, am I registered with the NCAA Clearinghouse?”
Take control over your recruiting process as early as your freshman year! Do not make the mistake of thinking that your high school or AAU coach will handle everything for you. Utilize available resources, research, and ask questions about the recruiting process and recruiting timelines. Being proactive and taking initiative is absolutely vital in ensuring that you ultimately find the right school that’s the perfect fit for you and will allow you to fulfill your athletic and academic dreams!
