Each year thousand of high school athletes compete to get the very limited number of basketball scholarships that are available to them. This is the Top Prospects guide to help these high school basketball athletes earn an athletic scholarship.

Talent

First and most important you have to be the best basketball player you can be. My coach always use to tell me “everyday you’re not getting better, someone else out there is.” Work on your skills, conditioning and strength as much as possible. NCAA basketball is very different than high school ball, players are bigger, stronger and more experienced. The game is faster longer and way more physical, so your training has to be geared towards getting you ready to make that jump to the next level.

AAU basketball

Recruiting has changed drastically, it is no longer good enough for you to be the best player on your high school team. Nowadays college coaches go to places where they can scout multiple prospects at one time. These places have become the huge summer recruiting camps and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments.

AAU sponsors spring, summer and fall tournaments in multiple age groups; the age brackets are 19 & under, 17 & under etc. The biggest advantage of the AAU system is that it allows you a chance to play up a bracket to play against better competition. Tournaments are often played during “live” recruiting periods for college coaches. I strongly recommend that you find an AAU team in your area if you are not currently on one.

Camps during the summer months that attract big name players also attract college recruiters. Most of these camps are private camps and are not owned by universities, colleges or high schools. They offer top notch instruction and highly competitive games. The best advice to give is to call or email a couple of college coaches to find out what camps they attend to scout players and try to attend those camps.

Summer basketball is the most critical aspect in basketball recruiting. Today college coaches can go to an AAU tournament or summer camp and evaluate a couple hundred of players at a single time. Being where the coaches are greatly increases your chances of landing a scholarship.

Be assertive

Don’t wait on college coaches to find you go find them, if there are schools that you are interested in, contact them and let them know you are interested. Visit a few campuses and invite the coach to come and watch you play. Make sure all the coaches that you or your coach contacts on your behalf have all the tools necessary to evaluate you. Game schedules, summer schedules should all be sent to the schools you are interested in.

Hit the books

College coaches want good players with good grades, they really don’t like to take chances on academic risks. Get the highest grades you can and take theSAT or ACT as early and often as possible. You must register with NCAA clearinghouse, this is the organization that will evaluate your school grades with your SAT or ACT scores to determine if you will be eligible to play collegiate basketball.

My coaches use to tell me, “If you can play, they will find you.” Being able to play is not good enough anymore. You have to get out there and be where the coaches can find you. Top Prospects is a great way to put yourself in front of coaches from across the country. Make sure your Top Prospects profile is up to date with your latest stats and information.