It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing the game of basketball since you were 6 years old or 12 years old, a college basketball scholarship is a dream of anyone who loves the game enough. Of course, receiving one is reserved for a select few throughout the country. In order to ensure you get noticed by a college, you have to know what it takes.
Although talent and ability will play a major factor, college coaches know that talent is far and wide. There’s so much more that goes into a coach’s decision to recruit someone. By doing the right things, you will catch the right coach’s eye and he will be able to give you the opportunity you need in taking your basketball career to the next level.
Getting Noticed By the Right People
When you think about it, there are a lot of high schools in the country. Think about how many are in your city, let alone your entire state. Coaches and scouts have a lot of ground to cover and simply can’t visit every high school in the country to scope out every player.
You not only need to stick out, but you need to stick out in the right places. Be prepared to go up against some of the best players in your age group, those are the players you will have to compete with.
Luckily, AAU basketball can be a place where you can make a name for yourself. If you impress here, you will surely have eyes on you throughout the season. And when they do decide to send a scout, they won’t send them to an easy matchup. They want to see you when your most vulnerable.
Protect Your Grades
When you receive a college basketball scholarship, you have to understand that there’s two sides to that: college and basketball. If you can’t keep your grades up in college, you won’t be seeing any time on the basketball court.
Think about it, what coach will want to waste his time with someone he won’t even be able to play? If you want a scholarship, you have to prove you can perform as well on the court as you do in the classroom. If not, your journey will be much more difficult than it should be.
Be a Good Teammate
Your abilities and skills as a player will matter, but your ability to be a teammate is what coaches are after. They would rather have the guy that makes his team better and wins, than the guy that puts up 50, but loses.
Being a good teammate requires hard work, effort, communication, knowing your role, and most importantly being coachable. If you’re not prepared to learn and improve your game every single day, you’ll struggle to find a coach that’s willing to teach you.
There are plenty of reasons why someone might scout you, but you’re trying to get someone to call your cell phone and offer you a scholarship. That only happens when all the chips line up, but it can be done with patience and dedication.
