Basketball and life are about decision-making. Should you shoot or pass? Well it depends on your abilities and the person’s abilities you might pass to relative to where they are on the court? Should I help or not? That again depends on the situation.
Should I do this or do that? Should I go to this school or that school?
My answer is always the same. “It depends.”
Your answer should 100% depend on you and your situation. There is no single answer for everyone. And anyone who answers that question without knowing you is answering based on who they are and their experiences. You are different. You are unique. The “popular” answer might fit you, but it might not. There are plenty of people who make the “unpopular” choice because they believe it’s better for them. I’m not encouraging you to be a contrarian either. Sometimes it’s very obvious what you should do. But sometimes, what looks obvious isn’t necessarily the best choice for you.
There have been plenty of players who have turned down the “obvious” opportunity for something else. Would you rather be the best player on a bad team or sit on the bench and never play on a national championship contender? Would you rather attend school on a full scholarship and sit on the bench, or pay to attend and get to start?
Coins always have two sides. Both sides of the coin have advantages and disadvantages. You have to be able to figure out what is the best fit for you based on who you are.
Any time there is a decision to be made regarding a basketball player’s “next step,” the first thing that should happen is to evaluate that person both as a person and as a player. Where are you in your development? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are you looking to get out of the “next step?” What are you willing to do between now and then to prepare for whatever you choose? What things are you going to have a hard time changing about either yourself or your environment that might limit you in your next step? Which aspects of your “next step” are most important to you?
For instance, I can give you the pros and cons of JuCo vs. prep school. But that assumes all JuCos and all prep schools are the same. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Never mind the obvious differences between the different levels of JuCos, every coach is different. Every school and location is different. There are some JuCos I would never encourage anyone to attend.
And then if you want to look at prep schools, that’s the wild wild west. There’s very little regulation in the prep school industry. Especially in the prep school environment, one school may have multiple teams. The team that you’re playing for matters a lot, no matter what the reputation of the prep school is. Just like with JuCo, every situation is different. It takes a lot of research to figure out which situation is the best fit for you.
All of this information matters and it matters relative to you and who you are. There are way too many factors for anyone who doesn’t know you to expertly advise you to “Do this.” They need to know you, who you are, and your situation.
