Want To Play College Basketball?

If you are interested in playing college basketball, you need to understand that there are various levels of college basketball.

The most familiar level of college basketball is NCAA Division I, which is on television and radio regularly and is featured in newspapers and magaine headlines. However, many other levels of competition in college involve plaers of different avilities and interests. Here is a breakdown of various levels of college basketball competition:

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Website: www.ncaa.org

Currently more than 1,041 colleges and universities participate in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. These programs range from full scholarships for some athletes to Divison III non-scholarship programs.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
Website: www.naia.org

Currently more than 300 colleges and universities participate in the NAIA. It has both Division I and II levels of competition. Many participating colleges do offer athletic scholarships, but availability varies among the institutions. Population size of the school usually determines which division a school participates in. The NAIA is a different governing body from the NCAA for college athletics and has a similar but different academic requirements.

California Community College Commission On Athletics
Website: www.coasports.org

Currently more than 100 junior colleges in the state of California participate in this organization.

Northwest Athletic Association Of Community Colleges (NWAACC)

Currently more than thirty junior colleges in the states of Oregon and Washington participate in the NWAACC athletic championships. All of these schools are junior colleges.

National Christian College Athletic Assoiation (NCCAA)
Website: www.thenccaa.org

Currently more than 120 colleges and universities are involved in the NCAA. Typically these schools belong to the NCAA, NAIA, or NJCAA fields of competition as well.

playing college basketball can be a realistic goal for most players who are willing to do the work. Keep in mind – around two thousand colleges in the United States have basketball programs.

Here are three things to consider in your pursuit of a college basketball career:

Practice Is Repetition.

Every year in high school, more than 600,000 players participate in varsity basketball. In college, more than 20,000 players are involved in college basketball each season. Therefore, if you want to play college basketball, during your high school years you will have to complete 580,000 more repetitions of skill work than your competition. It is that simple!

And by the way, of the more than 20,000 college players each year, fewer than 1,000 will go on to play at some level of professional basketabll college. You guessed it – the work cycle starts again when you get to college. You will have to practice 76,000 repetitions more than everyone else. That is 19,000 repetitions each year throughout your college career more than your competiton. This is just to have a good chance of playing pro basketball in the United States or overseas. So, go to work!

Go Where You Are Wanted, Not Where You Want To Go

Are you getting recruited by a junior college, but you have dreams of playing at NCAA Division I? Go to the junior college. It’s better to be a big fish in a little pond than a little fish in a big pond. Go where you can get playing time, not get cut from a team. That would be an expensive education. Here is a hint: if a college does not recruit you, they do not want you. Be smart. That’s what school is for.

Attend A College Development Camp

These can be hard to find. The premier college development camp run with college coaches as instructors is the Converse College Camp. It is open to players ages sixteen and over and is run once a year.

By Coach John Scott – The BASKETBALL DOCTOR®