how many kids get a scholarship to college in the USA and pull out after 1 yr.

I know more that have quit than have finished.

Why is that????

Most who don't stick it out are the ones who have gone thinking they are going to be the shinning stars they think they are in the small pool of australian basketball. They get there and find their bums sitting squarely on the bench that first year, AND they have to keep grades up.
You hear it over and over ' I'm going where I can get big minutes I'm not going to travel halfway round the world to sit on the bench' so they choose either a lower div college in a crap conference and find its not what they want, OR they choose a div 1 after thinking they WILL get good minutes only to find as a freshman they have to wait.

Better information and more realistic reasons to go to college as in education and development would be more beneficial than the so called 'glory' of I am going to college in USA.
But that being said, for those who actually stick it out and work hard the rewards usually come, it's not easy to be so far away from family and friends, but if their dream is to play at a good level , develop and experience life plus not have a massive hex fee at the end of uni, then it's a better option than staying in Australia for many.
Unfortunately very few ever really get into a top 20 college even fewer into a top 10, they are usually reserved for the elite USA kids, or the very very lucky Aussies/internationals who catch the eye of experienced coaches .

Here is the pathway folks (not necessarily in order).

Be big enough.
Organise your time. Get and stay fit and strong.
Learn fundamentals. Practice them over and over again.
Spend time improving your skills every single day between the ages of 12 and 17.
Repeat.
Find better kids to play against - if u are the best kid on the court you are on the wrong court.
Expect it to be hard and to get cut.
Don't expect/choose/manipulate every situation or team to be perfect for you. Work through adversity, get better.
Keep going.

*Apply the above to your school work as well.


This give you the best chance of getting there. And if you are truly elite, the rest will take care of itself.

^ just about sums it up lol

@Anon475, yes your right many do, but without hex fees and with more opportunities open to them should they do well over there.
Staying here limits most players as it's such a smaller pool, but college is not for everyone and both ways have their merits and pitfalls.
But when looking at pathways available in Australia, it's a very very very small percentage that will ever get the opportunities to play at an elite level, college fills more voids that's all.

To start with I will say this, our junior elite pathway offers great opportunity for those who can and are willing to do what it takes.

At one end we have:

IDENTIFICATION - JUSTIFICATION - RESPONSIBILITY - ACCOUNTABILITY - DIRECTION - TEACHING

At the other end you need to have:

CONSISTENCY - DESIRE - DEDICATION - APPLICATION - FOCUS - SACRIFICE - POTENTIAL

What can be improved in relation to all of this, let me have a think about it...

Yes it can offer great opportunities, however should you miss out on the early identification phase due to playing in a minor association then each year it will get progressively harder to get through that elusive elite pathway door, unless of course your 6'plus, many a good player both male and female have consistently been overlooked throughout the years because of this. You then find those kids begin to look to other sports or stop altogether.
Yes the amount you can take certainly is a factor, but it is and always has been a case of once your in , your in, and so if they are not reviewed seriously each year then that list rarely changes
Personally I think they need to put more into reviewing what they have each year rather than already having preselected names already on the list before they start.

That has changed anon^, they do reviews now and kids will either be asked to stay or not endorsed next time around. Those not endorsed have the option to work hard on their own and get noticed again if they are fortunate enough and perhaps be asked back in.

Whether the justification for every decision is for the benefit of the individual or the pathway can be debated, but as I see it the performance indicators can be used to review these athletes and a decision made accordingly.

It has changed over the years, but the elite athletes are told up front, if they don't perform they may not return, end of story.

Don't forget the purpose is to find a small group that will eventually play for Australia!

Have this in mind every time you think about all that goes on and it will help you comprehend some of the things that happen and some of the experiences people share...

I don't think the size of the association has a bearing on a players ability to progress thru the ID process. The players skill set has the biggest influence. U12's in VC are invited to ID camps. If they impress they are invited to another camp later in the year. If your child plays in VJBL 1 or lower the association DOC can instigate an invite for skilled players. In U14 VC players are invited to ID camp. If they impress they are invited to another camp some time later in the year. And then are invited to another more one on one camp if they impress again. Players in VJBL 1 or lower can be invited if there DOC believe they are good enough. U16 players can be invited to attend tryouts if there coaches/DOC nominate them to attend camps as requested by BV.Skilled players progress by their own individual means. Ongoing assessment of players thru their junior years continues. Playing for any particular association shouldn't influence a players nomination. So encourage all players even if they miss out on one selection process as all players grow develop at different times.Cheers.

Some of the posts have gone off topic.

However - One of my kids has played in 5 State teams and represented Australia at Junior Level on several occasions. So I think that qualifies me to have an opinion.

Having been through the NITP, NPP, State & Australian training regimes I'd have to say the coaches, generally over train the kids to the point of stress injuries. My kids have played basketball, soccer, football, cricket, tennis, swimming and I'd have to say without doubt Basketball at the elite level is the most frenetic and demanding of all the above sports. There has been times, we've thought it to be manic.

I know I'm generalizing, but this has been my own experience - The main problem is, and it was mentioned above, is that every coach 'wants there piece of ass'. So the Rep coach expects and demands nothing less than 100% effort at training, if not the parent/s of other players will complain. The NITP/NCC coaches expect nothing less than 100% and now they are Sunday, they usually follow a Rep training session. Then the State coaches, certainly through the selection phase, expect nothing short of 110%.

My experience is their is no middle ground or acknowledgement or shared information as to training workloads of the athlete.

^206 - I presume you are talking about Justin Scheuller? Justin, like all coaches has an opinion. I don't know if favorites is the right word, but he, like you would have an opinion as to the basketball talent/ability of your son. It doesn't mean to say his opinion is right. But similarly it doesn't mean you are right either.

The only advise I can offer is to persist and prove Justin wrong.

At the end of the day I don't think the basketball systems do enough to develop players.

Put simply, in my opinion, it doesn't matter if your kid is a point guard or a centre - You have to be able to shoot/score and that means from everywhere, including 3 point land and you have to have ball handling skills. These are mandatory to progressing at the elite level. There are other intangibles, competetiveness, contest, game sense/decision making (IQ), SIZE, Athletic ability, etc. But if you can't shoot and you can't dribble, then you won't go far.

Anonymous^ you obviously have some experience in other sports at the elite level, this is important in the context of the OP I think as you have made a point about something that has been mentioned already, overloading athletes.

I have to agree with you on your main point of view and having spoken to some people very high up in the basketball sporting landscape it is interesting that I get mixed messages from them in relation to the recovery and overloading question.

This may be something that needs further attention, focus and understanding, however I am not sure it will get the necessary attention to make a huge difference due to the nature of selection and how basketaball differs in its structure to some of the other sports you have mentioned, perhaps.

I would be interested in your opinion in how much better, if better at all, other sports get this structure in place and how it may benefit elite athletes in their particular sport?

In basketball, I also see a real problem in some areas in the concepts of governance, control and structure.

Specifically I guess what I would like to see improved is that there is a clearer understanding between all of the coaches involved in an elite basketballer's pathway so their agendas are all on the same page and the health, wellbeing and future of the athlete is considered first and foremost, not treated like a piece of meat or just a number (for want of a better example)!

It is good practise to learn from other organisations I feel...