Travis Montgomery with the NKY Bulldogs

PPG - 9.6

Rebounds - 3.7

Assists - 1.7

Steals - .8

Field Goal % - 50

Free Throw % - 75

It is interesting to see BigDP's questions as I have been through this situation. First off the high D1's are playing the rankings games...Rivals, Hoops, ESPN, whatever, etc. So if you want your player to go D1, get him viewed and ranked by one of these organizations. Secondly, the big group of mid-major type players are definitely influenced by their high school coaches. From experience, player I know had two D-1 offers, much interest from D-1 and 80% of them dealt with his high school coach, not AAU, despite the fact that he played for a very good AAU team and his AAU coach did a very good job supporting him. The colleges do not want to deal with the parents, and are prohibited for most of the time.

 

BTW, I would consider UAH a "high" D2...play games at Vandy and U. Alabama in preseason...play in the Gulf South...3 of the top 5 nationally ranked D-2 teams were in that conference....UAH lost in the conference championship on a last second shot. Made the D2 NCAA tourney....good chance this year to advance to Elite 8. Facilities and Coaching are very good...student interest was high and UAH is in the Forbes top 50 of educational value.

This is surprising to me..... if I was the HS or AAU coach, I would want to get the athletes recruited to the school(s) they are interested in and do whatever I could do to reach out to them on the athletes behalf. If I'm Mick Cronin at UC, for example, I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry athlete reaching out to me saying 'I want to play at your school, etc., etc.'. I would think the coach(s) of that athlete that reaches out to Mick would carry more weight.

I agree that it doesn't hurt if the athlete reaches out as well, however, coming from a coach to a college coach I would think would be a bit more credible. I would think that would be 'part of the job' as a coach to do that for the athlete if they want to play in college. Just my opinion.

 

A lot of what you are expecting from the High School and AAU coaches depends on their relationship with the college coaches. Some AAU and High School coaches do more networking with the college coaches and some do nothing.

 

Division 1 scholarships are earned in the AAU circuit. I don't know of a single Division 1 basketball player that has not played AAU ball at a "national" level for several years, at least at the 14U-17U age divisions. If a kid is good enough to play D1 basketball, especially if he is under 6'8, you better get them on an AAU team that competes at the national level once they get into high school; their chances to get that D1 scholarship will dramatically increase if they are out there being seen by the coaches, scouts and media.

 

High school coaches can really make a difference with the D2, NAIA and D3 schools. Coaches that have relationships with the in-state and local colleges can help their players get athletic scholarships (D2 or NAIA) or play at the D3 level.

Travis is a very good athlete and I don't have a doubt in mind that he could play basketball at the next level. Is he considering a career in the NBA? Probably not. Travis should focus on getting the best education he can and getting it paid for. If he has interest from a high DII school that is great. Will he get to play there versus sitting as a walk on at a DI school. There is the chance that Travis could earn a spot on a DI program, but he needs to consider all of his options and really address what he expects to get out of his time in college and go from there.

Let me open with... I think Travis is a tremendous athlete. I'm confident he will play at the next level, and I wish him nothing but the best. :thumb:

 

I'm not attempting to turn the thread or attention away from him, but all the talk about D-I vs D-II got the wheels turning.

 

Whether D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA or otherwise, earning the opportunity to compete at the college level is a big deal. Getting any or all of your schooling paid in return for your skills is a really big deal. From an academic perspective, some of the smaller schools offer better options. It all really boils down to what each student athlete's goals are.

 

I would never tell a young man not to shoot for a major D-1 full ride… but I would also encourage kids and parents not to overlook the significance (and relative rarity) of scholarship money at any level.

 

To better put this in perspective, I find it very helpful to look at actual numbers:

 

• There are about 104,373 boys attending 279 KHSAA member high schools.
  
• This is divides out to an average of 93.5 boys per grade level per school.
  
• Out of these, an average of perhaps 4 per senior class, (about 1-in-23) have the talent, work ethic and perseverance to compete in basketball at each school.
  
• This represents only 4.3% of all boys attending KHSAA member high schools. So, just making the high school team puts a young man in select company.
  
• Of an average of about 1,120 senior basketball players per year in Kentucky, maybe 50-80 (depending upon fluctuations in talent levels and recruiting interest from class to class) have the opportunity to compete for an official college team at any level. (D-I, D-II, D-III or NAIA)
  
• That’s only about 4% to 7% of all graduating senior ballers… and only about 1-in-500 graduating senior boys statewide.
  
• Of these, maybe 3 – 10 (depending upon fluctuations in talent levels and recruiting interest from class to class) actually receive a full ride at a D-1 school. That’s less than 1% of all graduating senior basketball players.
  
• This means that only 1-in-110 to 1-in-225 of all kids playing basketball in the state of Kentucky will ever have the opportunity to compete at the D-I level.
  
• Stretch this out to include all boys in each senior class and the odds leap to 1-in-2600 to 1-in-5200.
  
• Opportunities at the D-II level are only slightly higher with maybe 5-15 boys going to D-II schools.
  
• D-III schools technically cannot offer “athletic” scholarships, but will offer partial to full rides based upon academic achievement and financial needs. Very often, skilled athletes are able to procure “scholarships” but they are difficult to quantify on equal terms with D-I and D-II schools due to their differences in calculating scholarship money. Generally, D-III athletes tend to be really good students, or to a lesser degree, really good athletes from really needy families. While these kids have strong basketball skills, academics tend to trump athletics. The payoff is that D-III student athletes tend to get very good educations at some very good schools.
  
• NAIA schools capture the greatest percentage of graduating seniors, and though they do have the ability to offer full rides, many schools are faced with the need to stretch their scholarship dollars further, and generally only offer partial scholarships in varying degrees.
  

The bottom line is, it takes a special young man just to play high school basketball in Kentucky. For over 93% of all basketball players, this is as good as it will ever get, and they should enjoy the experience to the fullest.

 

For the 7% or less that get to compete at the next level, and the 5% or so who may receive any form of financial aid for their skills… congratulations are in order for using your God given abilities to the fullest of their potential. You represent only about 1-in-500 of all boys graduating high school in the state each year. ( Hopefully, your future bride and children will think you’re one-in-a-million. :thumb: )

 

Let your ego push you to be the best you can be, but don’t ever let your ego get in the way of genuine opportunity. :thumb:

Very well said and a tremendous amount of usefull facts.

Boone Co. lays a deliberate, half-court, motion style offense that does not really highlight individual talent well, IMO. Many smaller colleges like the dribble drive and run-in-gun, high scoring offense.

Great post FASTBREAK!!

This is surprising to me..... if I was the HS or AAU coach, I would want to get the athletes recruited to the school(s) they are interested in and do whatever I could do to reach out to them on the athletes behalf. If I'm Mick Cronin at UC, for example, I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry athlete reaching out to me saying 'I want to play at your school, etc., etc.'. I would think the coach(s) of that athlete that reaches out to Mick would carry more weight.

I agree that it doesn't hurt if the athlete reaches out as well, however, coming from a coach to a college coach I would think would be a bit more credible. I would think that would be 'part of the job' as a coach to do that for the athlete if they want to play in college. Just my opinion.

 

My point is a player and his family should not rely on their coaches to get them scholarships and their coaches are not to blame if they don't get one. I think most coaches will do what they can to help their players but liken it to a letter of recommendation if you are looking for a job. Yes, the recommendation can help but your own resume, experience and skills are what gets you the job - not the letter of recommendation.

Great post Fastbreak and I agree with you as well VOR on your post.

 

Knowing another parent of an athlete that is being recruited in a not so high profile sport like basketball, where after college, there really isn't alot available on the professional level, I told them the same thing, when you choose your college (and hopefully, you'll be one of the lucky ones that get to choose and have it paid for), you really need to make that decision based on the educational values, location, etc. whatever your priorities are, because once you graduate from college chances are you are going to be done playing your sport on an organized/competitive team.

 

Eyes an ears stated it correctly above, you need to take everything into consideration (playing time at DII, versus sitting DI, what you want to major in, etc.) when trying to determine which college is best for you.

 

Because, once you go off to college, hopefully, on scholarship, I have a feeling your sport now becomes a JOB and you need to make sure that the college is a fit and you know what you are getting yourself into.

 

Anyway, not to beat a dead horse on Travis and the recruiting questions, I've enjoyed the back and forth and we can continue definitely continue the discussion.

 

I just wish Travis (and BCHS) the best of luck this year and enjoy your senior season, have fun and I'm sure everything will work out for you in the long run at the next level. Congrats again Travis on the dunk contest and all the interest you are receiving from schools on the next level. Hopefully, that interest will continue and we'll be reading future threads about where you are commiting.

If the player wants a D1 scholarship, it falls 100% on the player and his family to do what it takes to try and make it happen. Anything a high school coach can do to help is a bonus. Anything an AAU coach can do to help is a bonus. The player and his family need to be realistic about where he may fit and market himself to the coaches. I think AAU helps more than high school because the college coaches have time to get out and see players during AAU season. During high school season, they are more focused on their own team. If the D1 scholarship doesn't happen, it is never the AAU or high school coaches fault unless he failed to follow up or offer feedback when asked by a college coach. Look at the list of players to go D1 out of N. Ky. There isn't a pipeline out of one particular school that would indicate one particular coach has some special ability. It comes down to the player's size, ability, grades and fit to a college coach and his program. Best of luck to Travis and any other talented player hoping to play at the next level. Do everything you can to make it happen and don't count on anyone else.

 

I would disagree with this on the D1 level as other posts have stated- they will find the player most likely based on AAU performance.

 

On the other hand, I absolutely agree that for D2 and D3, especially out of the local area where the player is in high school, the player or parent absolutely has to let the coach know that he is out there and then get the high school coach to contact the school and be an advocate. Most smaller schools look for kids from their area or kids that preemptively contact them.

Honestly, I don't see anyone from NKY in the 2011 class getting a D-1 scholarship playing basketball. There are several very good players that can play at the D2, NAIA and D3 level but not D1. Just look how many D1 scholarships that's come out of NKY in the last six or seven years, Johnson, Neltner, Brock & Doellman (can't think of any more).

 

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100% correct.

 

Like almost every NKY class its filled with D3 players. This one is no different.

Some of what has been said about No. KY kids being overlooked is true. I believe it has to do with the player rankings that come out of Louisville and Lexington. There's not many No. KY players even mentioned and I know there as good as some of the high ranked players in KY. I've seen it first hand in AAU play. With that said however, if you go to a National event, like Orlando, you have your eyes opened with the amount of talent and size of the kids around the country. 200 teams and almost every team had two 6'8" athletic kids that the D1 coaches are after. We have alot of very good smart players in NO. KY, but D1 players are good, smart and big.

 

So you believe college coaches decide who to recruit after the CJ or Leader comes out with their rankings? Seriously?

 

D1 coach when asked how his recruiting is going: "Don't know. Waiting on Demling to tell me who to recruit." Come on.

 

Players get seen in the summer. Period. Coaches will then decide who to come watch during the season.

So you believe college coaches decide who to recruit after the CJ or Leader comes out with their rankings? Seriously?

 

D1 coach when asked how his recruiting is going: "Don't know. Waiting on Demling to tell me who to recruit." Come on.

 

Players get seen in the summer. Period. Coaches will then decide who to come watch during the season.[/quote]

 

I agree 100%. I know several coaches and that is what they all say. I also know that NKY is begining to become more recognized as a basketball producing area. The coaches all talk and they like what is coming out of NKY.