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On another thread talking about college freshman being cut I made the comment about why more kids don't go the JUCO route and there were some interesting posts.

Please tell stories you have experienced, or personally know someone that has experienced, going to a JUCO. Let's try to stay away from "I heard of this one kid"...some things can get lost in the telling, so please only share what you witnessed.

JUCO, the good, the bad, and the ugly...whatcha got?

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What do you want to know? Juco is a grind. No scheduling rules in the fall, you can play as many games as you can schedule year round. Pretty much every team in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma we played bring in 40-100 guys and make cuts. Then at Christmas break, more players are brought in that are transferring. If you're able to contribute and help the team, juco is a great time. 

Talent level in our conference was on par with some of the schools I play now in D1. Everyone had a stud pitcher or a few that were hoping to get drafted. School is easy, workouts are hard. 

Be careful with credits and the classes you take. Make sure you receive an associates or take all the classes needed to transfer.

My son was recruited by several JUCOS. They sell themselves (as least these did) on their ability to get you to a D1 or drafted. One school got the Vanderbilt coach to text my son saying if he decided to go JUCO to let them know, as they would be interested in following him. He was pretty ecstatic!

Eventually opted against JUCO because of the academics. My son has taken a lot of AP and dual credit classes and after going through what he actually could take at a JUCO that would have moved him ahead academically, he had maybe a semester of course work, tops two.

Having said that, the schools we looked at here in Iowa had beautiful facilities, teachers seemed very engaged and enthusiastic and some of them did some of the best recruiting effort of any schools we talked to

Didn't actually go so we can't speak to the baseball side of it, but two points — most JUCOs only provide housing for athletes. One HC told us he thought he was lucky because he wasn't "required to recruit to fill the dorm." So you want to make sure you are recruited to play, not to occupy a bed.

That brings me to the second point. No matter where you go, at what level, you have to do the work. You need to see the team play, watch a practice or a few games and be realistic about what you're getting into. A couple of schools my son looked at he said with confidence — I could go there and play today. A couple of others, he said — if I work hard and know I need to earn it, I can play there.

That's truth no matter how many people show up for practice.

The good is a chance to develop into... whatever that next level goal is (draft, D1, D2, D3 or NAIA). For some, it is a chance to improve grades for that next level. If you're good enough, they will find you.

The bad is that you may end up at a non-residential junior or community college that has no real collegiate atmosphere or typical college activities. In the case of a non-residential school, freshman are living in off campus apartments with  no RA, and no campus security. The neighbors will be adults and families and real world situations.

The ugly would be some of the facilities which can range from very nice to much worse than a kid's HS field. In some cases, JUCO's play at a high school facility or have to play at two or more fields. I've even seen one that was a city field located at an elementary school.

Additionally, the good is a chance to attend a school for academic or athletic reasons that didn't recruit someone the first time around.  My oldest son played with a few talented, mature JUCO transfers that contributed a lot to his program    The players wound up with a degree they normally would not have thought possible.

CACO, I know you wanted to stay away from "I heard of this one kid...", but nevertheless, I feel the need to share some info from a client who just called less than an hour before I saw this thread.

His son was a freshman at a JUCO in the western US.  After arriving at the college this Fall, he was not feeling well and consequently was falling asleep in class and was late to practice, which resulted in him being suspended from the team.  To make a long story short, he was initially diagnosed with strep throat, but a second opinion resulted in a diagnosis of mono.  

While I can't fault the coaches for suspending him from the team as that is their decision, they have never followed up with the athlete or family to show any concern for his well-being, and the college dean refuses to classify his withdrawal from his classes as a "medical withdrawal" which could be helpful to him later on if he needs a waiver to become eligible due to earning zero credit hours this semester.  

Also, regarding D1Catcher's comment, it is very important to know that classes that must be taken and the credits that must be earned to earn the Associates Degree and to meet the NCAA transfer requirements.  Many JUCOs don't know the academic requirements that the athletes must satisfy to be NCAA-eligible as a transfer, and sometimes give misinformation regarding the courses required for the Associates Degree.  

The Good: Local multi-sport kid never focused on baseball. Very good athlete. Never played travel ball. For some reason I am not privy to, he decides very late to play college baseball. Attended local high-level juco, and quickly develops his game all fall and spring. Puts up great offensive number during his freshman spring season, and gets drafted in a middle round.
 
The Bad: Spent one year in the GCL and was released. He probably accumulated about 24 "easy" credits during his year at juco (maybe less). I don't know what his future plans are now.
 
D1catcher posted:

What do you want to know? Juco is a grind. No scheduling rules in the fall, you can play as many games as you can schedule year round. Pretty much every team in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma we played bring in 40-100 guys and make cuts. Then at Christmas break, more players are brought in that are transferring. If you're able to contribute and help the team, juco is a great time. 

Talent level in our conference was on par with some of the schools I play now in D1. Everyone had a stud pitcher or a few that were hoping to get drafted. School is easy, workouts are hard. 

Be careful with credits and the classes you take. Make sure you receive an associates or take all the classes needed to transfer.

This is spot on.

Funny how people think this is an easy alternative, not true.  The ones who do get to a D1 or D2 work their buttts off to make it there. 

JUCO was a great experience for Ryan. 

Pros

  • He developed as a pitcher and a person.
  • Lived in the Dorms.  He really enjoyed this aspect, because they kept the team close together.  He said it was like having a sleep over every night.
  • Loved his pitching coach.
  • Earned Recognition which led to a D-1 Scholarship
  • Played for free, so he had no student debt after 2 years.

Cons

  • Small Town
  • Some credits did not transfer
  • Strength/Conditioning program was not where it needed to be.
  • Team didn't have the success that it should have.

Overall it was a great experience, and it all worked out for him, but it was definitely a gamble.  He turned down some pretty good offers to go the JUCO route, hoping that a great offer would result.  It did...

 

Very few JuCo's have housing on campus.   As Stafford posted, housing is apartment complexes in the area.  If there is trouble, the local law enforcement will be called, not campus security.  Though I do remember the authorities were called to a party that got out of hand during my son's freshman year (actually the first weekend he was there).  The cops ended up calling the baseball coach.   There was a lot of running at the next practice for those involved.   Fortunately, my son wasn't involved.

Facilities can range from HS fields to very good stadiums.   The JuCo my son attended and played ball at was fortunate to use the city stadium which was also used by the local HS and collegiate summer team.

At his JuCo, a vehicle was a necessity as most off campus housing was at least 3-5 miles from the campus and the stadium was another 3-4 miles in a slightly different direction.

The good for him was the athletic department was well run and the baseball team had a good booster club.  This particular JuCo had teams in several sports, M & W soccer, baseball, softball, M & W basketball, M & W volleyball, and golf.  Because of this, this JuCo had more of a big college atmosphere.

Although by NJCAA rules, D1 & D2 JuCo's can offer scholarships, be sure to check with the state.  Some states, such as Virginia, by law do not allow JuCo's to offer athletic scholarships even though NJCAA says they can.

Like the big colleges, the athlete had best come prepared to compete for a roster spot, then starting position every day.   Nothing is a given.  And most important - Keep. The. Grades. Up.  I heard of at least 3-4 athletes who failed to make the spring roster due to bad grades.

Stafford posted:

 

[...]

The ugly would be some of the facilities which can range from very nice to much worse than a kid's HS field. In some cases, JUCO's play at a high school facility or have to play at two or more fields. I've even seen one that was a city field located at an elementary school.

Sounds like USC Lancaster ;-) - Although it is also where the HS team plays... The field was a homer-dome for past HS age players, but not really a "nice" venue and it was next to an elementary school.

Our experience w/ JUCO was mixed.  Still like choosing any school, know what you're getting into, understand the costs, understand what credits may transfer in or out, understand that there are no guarantees over anything, understand the competition and schedule. Lots of practice/games. Where we were was considered a D1 school, but the schedule was loaded with D2 teams and games against NCAA D2 JV programs. It was a joke watching hitters just hammer the weaker D2 teams. The real litmus test was playing other D1 teams who had more than 1 or 2 good pitchers - then our hitters struggled, but once #3/#4 came in - watch out. Suffice to say there's a lot of diversity in the talent - a lot depends on where you are. In the playoffs a ranked team from MD came to SC and didn't far so well because #1 it was F-g hot/humid and #2 they had to play much better competition. Here's a link to the national website page that you can do some research if you're so inclined - you may have to alter the addresses once there to see 2016-17 instead of the current 2017-18 schedules, but you should be able to find the schools near you and then figure out their schedules based on that.

http://www.njcaa.org/sports/bsb/teams-page

There are credit and grade rules from NCJAA, but not all coaches or programs understand all facets - make sure you know them. We had to inform and prove to our school's "compliance officer" that he was wrong and our son was eligible to play. Our son isn't academically gifted and getting help was always a challenge especially when a few of his required classes were evening classes part of the adult education program and the instructor (not necessarily a normal college trained professor) had limited office hours.

Agree with others about the on/off campus aspects - our son commuted a bit (25 miles) and stayed a bit with teammates at their apartments. We were always nervous because he was 21 at the time and had a few 19s/20s around him - which meant if alcohol was involved in some party they'd look at the 21 yr old first... and later he might have to "prove" it wasn't him supplying (luckily we never actually had it happen, but the fear was there). The off campus housing was "overpriced" because it was the only game in town. There was no meal plan at the school - so as you can imagine lots of nights at local fast food places because these kids don't know how to cook or have a chance at eating healthy.

On the field - there's a full roster of players - some with no business being there other than perhaps being there because they were paying to go to school. The coaches had their rotation of players pretty much set and we were coming in from the outside as a 2nd yr student (our son was at a NCAA D2 program before, redshirted his soph year due to injury). In the fall, son got lots of innings, did well, and was happy. Worked hard during winter, expected to be in the mix in the Spring, but come to find out coaches already had 4 starters locked in who didn't play much in the Fall. Remember, Fall is a tryout of sorts... When you play 2 7-inning games against weaker competition (many ending in mercy rule), generally the starters go the distance and there's no need for a closer, so son got frustrated and well, rusty. That also hurt the team in playoffs because only 4-5 pitchers ever got meaningful innings, so others were either rusty, untrusted, or not "battle tested". In playoffs you need pitching, especially when games are 9 innings. Of course son felt he was better than few and we tried to "help" him understand the process, but naturally he doesn't listen to us. His feeling was he throws 90+ so he should play - coaches had other ideas and he just didn't understand. We shrugged our shoulders and told him to be ready whenever, be a good teammate, and work hard. When he got in - he was generally lights out. He bailed out starters a few times going 3-4 innings, but mostly he was "a" closer option. The other option was a kid the coaches had known for years since they also coached travel teams in the area during the summer - so guess who usually got the first closing opportunity? Come playoff time son did OK until the last game (Eastern District championship) where he got thrown into a bad situation, threw more gas on the fire, and was taken out - thus ending his JUCO "career". It happens, he didn't handle things well, and for him left a sour taste. For us - it was perhaps the best thing for him to understand that baseball wasn't going to be his full time career. Unfortunately for him because he's not a good student his options for this year were limited and in the end decided to hang 'em up and move on with his life (which we're again trying to help him through now). 

OK more than asked by the original poster, but if you wanted a story from someone who experienced it - that's it in a nutshell albeit perhaps a bit too long 

To add to JohnF's post, it can be tough to crack the starting lineup as a freshman.   Like the big schools, if the JuCo has a well run program, every  athlete recruited is a "stud".  And at a JuCo, you have less time to make the starting lineup.

As a freshman, my son was able to make the starting lineup as a DH.  He was the back up to 1B.   He did have a few games at 1B, but for the most part he was the DH for most games as a freshman.  When son went to the first practice, there were 50+ players trying to make the squad.  Spring roster ended up around 35 with 15-20 players self cutting due to grades, injury or disillusionment.  His sophomore year he was the starter at 1B and had a great year - good enough to get an offer from a D2 university.

This may have already been posted, but once the player makes the squad it's a fight to get in the starting lineup and make the travel squad.   At my son's JuCo, the bus only held 25 players plus the 3 coaches and gear so on away games, at least 10 players were staying "home".

I can't speak for other coaches, the coaches my son had at JuCo tended to stick with the same starters (position players) for most of the season unless there were injuries or off field issues.  So in reality, only about 15 (including pitchers) were seeing any decent amount of playing time.  The rest sat the bench for most of the season except for some spot duty.

Good - Most JUCO coaches seem to be very well connected and know tons of 4 yr coaches.  They work hard to get their kids to the next level, partly because that helps them sell their program to the next crop of kids.  But the ones I know really want to see the kid go to a place where they will be successful.  You will get seen as most teams attend pro-days and such in the fall, and I have seen lots of scouts at the weekend series and tournaments.

Bad- As has already been said, 50+ kids may be there on day 1.  After fighting all of that to win some playing time in the fall, a new kid could transfer in spring semester and that is that.  I have seen lots of recruiting going on this time of year through the first day of spring classes to get new kids in who are not happy elsewhere.  Most programs are run by former 4 yr asst coaches who want to move on, so they are tough on their kids.  That is a good thing in a way, but the kids cant just stop by the dining hall on the way back to their room for dinner.  After a long day of conditioning, classes, and then practice the kids go home and cook or eat drive-thru crap. 

Ugly- A lot of parents do not want to hover and instead let the kid grow up and do their own thing.  But they really need to know what is going on with the academics.  If Junior is not key to winning, the coach may not care what classes are being taken or if Junior is even showing up.  Or if Junior is key to winning and may not be the best student, then he may be in a bunch of PE credits to keep him eligible.  The players talk about what classes and instructors are hard or easy, and the schedule mom blessed on Aug 1 might be completely different on the first day of class.  If I'm meeting with my kid's future coach, I ask to see the form that has to be filled out by the faculty and returned to the coach showing progress in the classroom and I ask how often he requires the form to be completed.  I also want to see a team schedule to see if Study Hall is on there anywhere.       

FoxDad posted:

To add to JohnF's post, it can be tough to crack the starting lineup as a freshman.   Like the big schools, if the JuCo has a well run program, every  athlete recruited is a "stud".  And at a JuCo, you have less time to make the starting lineup.

As a freshman, my son was able to make the starting lineup as a DH.  He was the back up to 1B.   He did have a few games at 1B, but for the most part he was the DH for most games as a freshman.  When son went to the first practice, there were 50+ players trying to make the squad.  Spring roster ended up around 35 with 15-20 players self cutting due to grades, injury or disillusionment.  His sophomore year he was the starter at 1B and had a great year - good enough to get an offer from a D2 university.

This may have already been posted, but once the player makes the squad it's a fight to get in the starting lineup and make the travel squad.   At my son's JuCo, the bus only held 25 players plus the 3 coaches and gear so on away games, at least 10 players were staying "home".

I can't speak for other coaches, the coaches my son had at JuCo tended to stick with the same starters (position players) for most of the season unless there were injuries or off field issues.  So in reality, only about 15 (including pitchers) were seeing any decent amount of playing time.  The rest sat the bench for most of the season except for some spot duty.

This is a pretty fair and accurate description of what you can expect at an established JUCO program 

JohnF posted:
Stafford posted:

 

[...]

The ugly would be some of the facilities which can range from very nice to much worse than a kid's HS field. In some cases, JUCO's play at a high school facility or have to play at two or more fields. I've even seen one that was a city field located at an elementary school.

Sounds like USC Lancaster ;-) - Although it is also where the HS team plays... The field was a homer-dome for past HS age players, but not really a "nice" venue and it was next to an elementary school.

Our experience w/ JUCO was mixed.  Still like choosing any school, know what you're getting into, understand the costs, understand what credits may transfer in or out, understand that there are no guarantees over anything, understand the competition and schedule. Lots of practice/games. Where we were was considered a D1 school, but the schedule was loaded with D2 teams and games against NCAA D2 JV programs. It was a joke watching hitters just hammer the weaker D2 teams. The real litmus test was playing other D1 teams who had more than 1 or 2 good pitchers - then our hitters struggled, but once #3/#4 came in - watch out. Suffice to say there's a lot of diversity in the talent - a lot depends on where you are. In the playoffs a ranked team from MD came to SC and didn't far so well because #1 it was F-g hot/humid and #2 they had to play much better competition. Here's a link to the national website page that you can do some research if you're so inclined - you may have to alter the addresses once there to see 2016-17 instead of the current 2017-18 schedules, but you should be able to find the schools near you and then figure out their schedules based on that.

http://www.njcaa.org/sports/bsb/teams-page

There are credit and grade rules from NCJAA, but not all coaches or programs understand all facets - make sure you know them. We had to inform and prove to our school's "compliance officer" that he was wrong and our son was eligible to play. Our son isn't academically gifted and getting help was always a challenge especially when a few of his required classes were evening classes part of the adult education program and the instructor (not necessarily a normal college trained professor) had limited office hours.

Agree with others about the on/off campus aspects - our son commuted a bit (25 miles) and stayed a bit with teammates at their apartments. We were always nervous because he was 21 at the time and had a few 19s/20s around him - which meant if alcohol was involved in some party they'd look at the 21 yr old first... and later he might have to "prove" it wasn't him supplying (luckily we never actually had it happen, but the fear was there). The off campus housing was "overpriced" because it was the only game in town. There was no meal plan at the school - so as you can imagine lots of nights at local fast food places because these kids don't know how to cook or have a chance at eating healthy.

On the field - there's a full roster of players - some with no business being there other than perhaps being there because they were paying to go to school. The coaches had their rotation of players pretty much set and we were coming in from the outside as a 2nd yr student (our son was at a NCAA D2 program before, redshirted his soph year due to injury). In the fall, son got lots of innings, did well, and was happy. Worked hard during winter, expected to be in the mix in the Spring, but come to find out coaches already had 4 starters locked in who didn't play much in the Fall. Remember, Fall is a tryout of sorts... When you play 2 7-inning games against weaker competition (many ending in mercy rule), generally the starters go the distance and there's no need for a closer, so son got frustrated and well, rusty. That also hurt the team in playoffs because only 4-5 pitchers ever got meaningful innings, so others were either rusty, untrusted, or not "battle tested". In playoffs you need pitching, especially when games are 9 innings. Of course son felt he was better than few and we tried to "help" him understand the process, but naturally he doesn't listen to us. His feeling was he throws 90+ so he should play - coaches had other ideas and he just didn't understand. We shrugged our shoulders and told him to be ready whenever, be a good teammate, and work hard. When he got in - he was generally lights out. He bailed out starters a few times going 3-4 innings, but mostly he was "a" closer option. The other option was a kid the coaches had known for years since they also coached travel teams in the area during the summer - so guess who usually got the first closing opportunity? Come playoff time son did OK until the last game (Eastern District championship) where he got thrown into a bad situation, threw more gas on the fire, and was taken out - thus ending his JUCO "career". It happens, he didn't handle things well, and for him left a sour taste. For us - it was perhaps the best thing for him to understand that baseball wasn't going to be his full time career. Unfortunately for him because he's not a good student his options for this year were limited and in the end decided to hang 'em up and move on with his life (which we're again trying to help him through now). 

OK more than asked by the original poster, but if you wanted a story from someone who experienced it - that's it in a nutshell albeit perhaps a bit too long 

Thanks for sharing that experience.  I truly appreciate your honest reflections.

Observations from  my son's  year at one of the top JUCO  programs

Good: 

Tons of exposure to D1 and MLB.  Lots of eyes in the stands at almost every game. Some programs have excellent relationships with Scouts, head coaches, and summer leagues.

Cost of attendance was near zero AND he could take as many classes as wanted.  If you have a general idea of a major, and an idea of what type of school you would like to land at, you can work with an academic adviser to make sure you are taking the correct classes.  I believe all of my son's 36 credits transferred to his current school.

Quality of play is very strong.  Son's team had 11 players move on to MLB or D1.

Academic workload was not particularly hard.

Bad/Ugly

As has been mentioned, no rules on practice frequency and length.  It can be a real grind.  I believe my son's team practiced 97 of 99 days in the fall.  A couple days each week they had 2 full practices!

Lots of quality players for sure, but everyone on the roster has a different agenda (MLB, D1 transfer, some just want to play another year of baseball)  Not your traditional "band of brothers" scenario that some may be seeking.

Lots of long bus trips, with some sketchy accommodations.  Son didn't seem to mind, but the travel can definitely take its toll.

In summary, my son's JUCO experience was pretty much exactly what he was told it would be.  Some good, some bad, but ultimately it yielded the desired results.

wattsboro posted:

Ugly- A lot of parents do not want to hover and instead let the kid grow up and do their own thing.  But they really need to know what is going on with the academics.  If Junior is not key to winning, the coach may not care what classes are being taken or if Junior is even showing up.  Or if Junior is key to winning and may not be the best student, then he may be in a bunch of PE credits to keep him eligible.  The players talk about what classes and instructors are hard or easy, and the schedule mom blessed on Aug 1 might be completely different on the first day of class.  If I'm meeting with my kid's future coach, I ask to see the form that has to be filled out by the faculty and returned to the coach showing progress in the classroom and I ask how often he requires the form to be completed.  I also want to see a team schedule to see if Study Hall is on there anywhere.       

Regarding academics and studies, my son's JuCo coach required all freshman and sophomores with a GPA under 2.5 (I think) to attend study hall.   He would also spot check to make sure they were attending their classes.  If they skipped and did not have a valid reason (sick, etc), then they would be doing extra running at practice.

Two weeks ago, I spoke with a young man (RHP) who is a freshman at a very well respected, successful JUCO in Texas.  I feel somewhat sorry for him as his parents obviously don't read this board nor did they do much research for their son.  I think they were sold at the word "free."  He told me that 55 guys came out for the fall season including 12 D1 drop downs.  He was very surprised by the numbers especially the transfers.  When he told me that the pitchers work out and practice separately from the positions players, I was curious how they schedule the catchers (my son is a catcher).  He said the catchers are expected to be at both practices.  I asked how many of the 55 were catchers, and he said 6.  He said that three will be cut this fall and were really only brought in to catch bullpens.  Big wake up call for parents with catchers!!!!

My son spent one year at a D1 Juco.  He had no offers out of high school, decided on JUCO and a chance to get to a D1 over some D3 opportunities he had, his academics were very good. He received several D1 offers for the rest of his education after his freshman year and graduated after 3 years at a good Mid level D1.  There was definitely some talent there but a lot of the players put the minimum effort into their classes, they just didn't care.  Several received  D1 offers but didn't do the work to get in to the D1 school.  I guess my point is at least in my sons school many of the players were less than good students and one better be willing to put in the work to get good grades and avoid getting caught in the trap of hanging with the guys and not doing the schoolwork.

gunner34 posted:

have you watched any of "2nd chance u" on netflix?

I love the show, but that's not how most Jucos are like.  You can't just walk into your advisor's office several times a day just to chat.  Now imagine if that advisor from EMCC wasn't so motivating and concerned, many of the players would not make it far academically.  So you have to be very self motivated.  

GOOD: The JUCOs I have experience with have student housing. Most with apartment style living. The cost is low for classes, housing/meals can be high.  There are cafeterias in all but 1 that we visited. They are more like baseball/softball/basketball academys disguised as schools. 

BAD: Food is a huge issue when you are talking about athletes leaving home and fending for themselves. Even with a full meal plan, my boys lost significant weight in the first year. Adequate calorie intake is difficult.

Smashing guys into a shortbus and staying in rough hotels happens. D1s have the major advantage here and in travel, nutrition and overall comfort.

GOOD: The players arrive in the fall, most are scholarshiped a least a little. 50-60 is a normal number of guys. 25% or so are not from the USA. Canada, Australia, and all of Latin America are represented heavily. Players play with and against good talent

Their day starts at 6am with weights, breakfast, then class, then lunch, team practice, individual practices, study hall then bed around 10:00. Weekends are spent either traveling and playing double headers or fundraising (many contract with Universities to provide security for games etc). Didn't see any of them for more than 24 hours until Winter Break.

GOOD: Not a lot of off time to get into mischief.

GREAT: Fall scout days are huge. 

UGLY: Winter Break. They return to campus and there or 5-10 new transfers and several who decided not to come back. Buddies are gone. Most don’t tell they are leaving until they do it. Transfers didn't fit at other schools and guys from out of the country. The replacements may have just arrived.

Not everyone will travel. Midweek games might include players who don't travel on the weekend. As a parent this part can suck.

GOOD: There are MLB and college scouts at most games at the top tier schools.  

Grades were not a determining factor for most of the starters. They chose JUCO. Path to the draft is in their eyes

The AA's transferred well when they graduated. Multiple offers/interest.

.

Last edited by GameDayToday
can-o-corn posted:

My son spent one year at a D1 Juco.  He had no offers out of high school, decided on JUCO and a chance to get to a D1 over some D3 opportunities he had, his academics were very good. He received several D1 offers for the rest of his education after his freshman year and graduated after 3 years at a good Mid level D1.  There was definitely some talent there but a lot of the players put the minimum effort into their classes, they just didn't care.  Several received  D1 offers but didn't do the work to get in to the D1 school.  I guess my point is at least in my sons school many of the players were less than good students and one better be willing to put in the work to get good grades and avoid getting caught in the trap of hanging with the guys and not doing the schoolwork.

This is 100% true.  Son had several teammates that were very talented, but they didn't want to complete their coursework.  I asked him about one particular kid that was extremely talented, nice kid, top end D-2 gave him a scholarship after soph. year, and he quit shortly after transferring.  I was pretty shocked.  I asked Ryan what happened, and he said this kid just wanted to play video games.

It is true, You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink....at every educational level.

Many of the good bad and ugly can happen at any level.  My son played at two different d1 schools and a juco. 

There were plenty of D1 players that didn't put much effort into classes.

There are plenty of  counselors at D1 schools that don't understand degree or transfer requirements.  The most knowledgeable consular my son had was at the JUCO. 

Bottom line is whether its a D1, D2 or JUCO you are responsible for figuring it out, relying on someone else to spoon feed you is a receipt for disappointment.

I might add many of the JUCO comments will vary greatly by state, conference  and school. i.e. there are no scholarships at CA JUCOs

 

Small rant:

We have had a user or two opine here on HSBW that JUCO is for dummies and lazy kids.

Today on my Facebook feed, somebody posted a photo of a kid who played basketball with my 2017 during his freshman year of high school.  He was really solid player who went to the local Juco to play basketball, but found his mission in the firefighter certificate program, gave up sports, and concentrated on school.  The photo today was of him in his uniform, dirty and gritty but smiling, after 11 days battling the hellish NorCal Firestorm on behalf of the people in his home town.

Atta kid.  They should all be as dumb and lazy as you.

Last edited by JCG

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