“You’re not a failure if you don’t reach your dreams, you’re only a failure if you don’t commit yourself to your dreams. ”
– Jay Wright, Villanova Basketball
5 Tips to Navigate the Transfer Portal Era as a High School Player:
- Be Open Minded to All Opportunities:
- Love who loves you. Most colleges at each level are only going to be recruiting 1-3 High School players each season. In the past this number could be 5-7. The total number of players that are being recruited at each level is smaller, so each opportunity is a blessing. If a college coach is recruiting you hard and wants you, keep them as an option through the process
- Be a “Zero Issue” Recruit
- This may seem like common sense, but the sliding scale for talent to issue is much lower now. Before a college would potentially turn a blind eye to a player that has bad grades, a bad reputation as a teammate, or a bad track record of getting in trouble. Now, colleges are much quicker to cross you off their list in a world where they will be recruiting less high school players.
- Be Highly Mature, On and Off the Court
- Coaches have less tolerance to wait now than ever. The more mature you can be as a player, which means your basketball IQ, Body, and the way you conduct yourself, the more likely you will be recruited. Coaches are looking for impact players that can help them win now, and this goes for Freshmen as well.
- Maximize Your Opportunities to get Seen
- The windows in which Division 1 coaches are allowed to be on the road recruiting are very small. However, scouting services, Division 2, Division 3, NAIA, and Junior Colleges have far less restrictions. The basketball world is a tight knit community, and you never know who is one degree of separation from your dream school. Don’t pass up opportunities and always assume your dream school is watching.
- Don’t Wait
- Often a recruit will lose an opportunity that he or she really wants, by being overly picky and waiting on something “better”. If you have a school that is serious about you and you like that school, don’t wait too long to say yes to them. The Spring is when the transfer portal is open and there is a good chance that an opportunity that was there in the Fall, will no longer be an opportunity for you in the Spring.
________________________________________________________
About the Author
