NAIA
- Thread starter wobycat
- Start date
I went to Pikeville and we actually had some pretty decent ballers. One thing I did notice is if a guy who is pretty decent can't qualify for D1 he sometimes will shoot down to a NAIA school so he can play. Had a buddy in college who actually did just that until he could qualify
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Only 3 out of every 10,000 high school basketball players get drafted to the NBA.. Only 2.9% of high schoolers make it to college ball..
Here's a link that breaks it down..
http://www.hoopsvibe.com/features/285631-the-odds-of-playin-in-the-nba
I attended Freed back 72 they then had 2 6 foot 8 guys and two 6 foot 6 guys and a lightning fast point guard very good team.
Sorry for the repost - Jedar, our youngest son attended Freed-Hardeman. Great school.
I've been around JUCO and D2 ball my entire life. Honestly the athleticism across the board is the main thing separating a lot of these guys from the D1 crop. You'll find a lot of guards\wings with D1 skills, but not D1 size/athleticism; while there are a lot of D1 sized/athletic bigs who couldn't hit the ocean if they fell off a boat or catch a cold.
And (as a former JV and HS coach), you have 100% of the parents thinking their kids should start or get more playing time.
If you like NAIA, should check out the good D3 teams then. Save for the very upper echelon of NAIA, D3 generally has better teams.
I went to Union University in Jackson, TN Jedwar, also in West Tennessee and also an NAIA school. When I was there, the men's team wasn't great nationally, but there is no question there is some high quality talent at that level.
Ah cool. I played church league against Steve Jett. He was pretty good. Know Jackson well since I was in Henderson several years and worked in Jackson.
I remember going down to Freed and watching them play Martin Methodist a few years ago, if you remember Desmond Allison transferred from UK to Martin Methodist and Freed led them the whole game till Desmond went Ballistic on them and MM won by 1 point, I believe he got in some kind of trouble at Kentucky maybe while Tubby was coaching he looked like Micheal Jordan out there against Freed...but remember thinking what a contrast from playing in front of 23000 to 2300.
The quality of NAIA basketball is excellent. D3 is ok, but NAIA is typically better. Next to high school basketball, NAIA is about the purest form of organized ball. Those kids are playing mainly because they love the game. Most realize they don't have a future after they graduate or their eligibility is up. A few go overseas to play pro ball and very rarely someone gets into the League. If you really want to see good basketball make the trip out to Kansas City for the NAIA Men's Tournament in March...32 teams, one arena and a bunch of great games.
i salute naia athletics. maybe not five star recruits but great former high school players, solid traditions, great rivalries, and good coaches. when the term "student athlete" gets thrown around i usually picture someone from the naia in my head.
I almost went there to play basketball in the mid to late 80s. Almost. I would've sat on the bench, decided too far away for that......
Ah good story. I do remember him going to MM but didn't know he played against Freed. Good stuff. Sad ending for the young man.
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