Basketball Scholarships - What Coaches Look For
Basketball scholarships get a lot of press. Players are begin discovered earlier and earlier into their high school and some in junior high. It may seem that if you are not discovered then, you can't get a basketball scholarship. The media really skews the perception of what it takes to get recruited for basketball.
There are over 7,100 scholarships available for men in the NCAA and 9,200 for women. There are also NAIA and NJCAA scholarships. The media attention is only focused on the top 5% of high school basketball players which are considered "Blue Chip."
If you are not in the top 5% of the country in basketball, don't worry, you can earn a scholarship to play college basketball if you have some talent, room for improvement, and the drive to commit yourself to a long recruiting process.
Coaches look for 5 main traits in basketball recruits:
- Maturity- How do you carry yourself on and off the court? Do you complain to coaches and refs at every bad play? Or do you keep your head high, show composure and act like an adult on and off the court?
- Team Player- College basketball is very different than high school. You may not be the star anymore when you get to college. Are you willing to do what it takes to help the team more than yourself?
- "Coachability"- Do you show room for improvement and are you willing to do what the coach says to improve your game?
- Willingness- Are you willing to put the team above your personal goals? College coaches want to to win and will ask you to do whatever it takes to help the team. Are you willing to play multiple positions? Be a practice player? Sacrifice your stats for team wins?
- Academics- Players who do better in the classroom as easier to coach, cause less problems off the court and are better able to handle the pressures of the college game.
Basketball is a headcount sport in the NCAA. Scholarships are awarded on a full ride basis. For men in NCAA DI there are 13 scholarships per team. DII has 10. For women in DI there are 15 and 10 scholarship in DII. This may not sound like a lot but considering there are hundreds of teams in both DI and DII, you can find a college that will award you a basketball scholarship.
Follow a recruiting system that shows coaches you are the recruit for them. Be willing and able to commit months to the recruiting process and show coaches who you are as a person and player and you will earn a basketball scholarship to play in college.