NCAA DIVISION I

Point Guard (6’0″ +)

  • Great ball handling skills
  • Great passing skills
  • Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
  • Displays exceptional floor leadership
  • Excellent court awareness
  • Exceptional athleticism and lateral quickness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Shooting Guard (6’2″ +)

  • Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
  • Extremely athletic with very good lateral quickness
  • Good ball handling skills
  • Good passing skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Good court awareness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Small Forward (6’4″ +)

  • Extremely athletic with good lateral quickness
  • Very versatile all-around skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Power Forward (6’7″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
  • Very good rebounding skills
  • Extremely athletic
  • Ability to run the floor extremely well
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Center (6’9″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Very good rebounding skills
  • Ability to run the floor extremely well
  • Extremely athletic
  • Minimum of 10 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6’10” and above

NCAA DIVISION II

Point Guard (5’11” +)
*Very good ball handling skills
*Very good passing skills
*Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
*Displays very good floor leadership
*Excellent court awareness
*Very good athleticism and lateral quickness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 10 PPG
Shooting Guard (6’1″ +)
*Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
*Very good athleticism with very good lateral quickness
*Good ball handling skills
*Good passing skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Good court awareness
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 10 PPG
Small Forward (6’4″ +)
*Very athletic with good lateral quickness
*Versatile all-around skills
*Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
*Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
*Minimum of 10 PPG
Power Forward (6’6″ +)
*Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Very Athletic
*Ability to run the floor well
*Minimum of 10 PPG
Center (6’7″ +)
*Ability to play with back to the basket
*Very good rebounding skills
*Ability to run the floor well
*Very Athletic
*Minimum of 10 PPG with the exception of student-athletes 6’8″ and above

NCAA DIVISION III:

Point Guard (5’8″ +)

  • Good ball handling skills
  • Good passing skills
  • Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
  • Displays good floor leadership
  • Good court awareness
  • Good athleticism and lateral quickness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Shooting Guard (5’11” +)

  • Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
  • Athletic with good lateral quickness
  • Good ball handling skills
  • Good passing skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Good court awareness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Small Forward (6’2″ +)

  • Athletic
  • Versatile all-around skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Power Forward (6’4″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Good rebounding skills
  • Athletic
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Center (6’5″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Good rebounding skills
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Athletic
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

***All student-athletes who score 25 and above on the ACT, or equivalent on the SAT, will be an exception to the minimum of 10 PPG for NCAA Division III

NAIA DIVISION I:

Point Guard (5’11” +)

  • Very good ball handling skills
  • Very good passing skills
  • Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
  • Displays good floor leadership
  • Very good court awareness
  • Very good athleticism and lateral quickness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Shooting Guard (6’1″ +)

  • Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
  • Very good athleticism with very good lateral quickness
  • Good ball handling skills
  • Good passing skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Good court awareness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Small Forward (6’3″ +)

  • Very athletic with good lateral quickness
  • Versatile all-around skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Power Forward (6’4″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket or facing the basket
  • Very good rebounding skills
  • Very Athletic
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Center (6’7″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Very good rebounding skills
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Very Athletic
  • Minimum of 10 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6’8″ and above

NAIA DIVISION II:

Point Guard (5’10” +)

  • Very good ball handling skills
  • Very good passing skills
  • Ability to knock down open shots from the perimeter
  • Displays good floor leadership
  • Good court awareness
  • Good athleticism and lateral quickness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Shooting Guard (6’0″ +)

  • Exceptional shooter from the perimeter
  • Good athleticism with good lateral quickness
  • Good ball handling skills
  • Good passing skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Good court awareness
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Small Forward (6’2″ +)

  • Good athleticism
  • Versatile all-around skills
  • Ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor
  • Ability to break defenders down off the dribble
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Power Forward (6’4″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Good rebounding skills
  • Athletic
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Minimum of 10 PPG

Center (6’5″ +)

  • Ability to play with back to the basket
  • Good rebounding skills
  • Ability to run the floor well
  • Athletic
  • Minimum of 10 PPG with the exception of student-athletes who are 6’7″ and above

Preferred Grades for All Divisions:
3.0 GPA + 24 ACT + 1000 SAT (out of 1600)
(No scores needed for underclassmen)

In order to compile these Recruiting Guidelines, NCSA tracked hundreds of former NCSA student-athletes who have gone on to compete at the collegiate level, polled college coaches across the nation, and analyzed college rosters at all levels of competition.

Men’s Basketball – Statistics Help Tell The Story

In an effort to better serve our basketball recruits, NCSA recently surveyed DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and JUCO Men’s Basketball Coaches about the role that statistics play when reviewing college recruits.
The overall feedback from the survey was that coaches highly value statistics, from average points and rebounds per game to assists, so keep your information updated as much as possible, especially when you are logging higher stats. For example, Division I Coaches said that on a scale of 1 – 5, with 5 being very important, they rank statistics as a 4 in terms of overall importance. So what numbers are college coaches expecting to see?

Level of Play Importance of Statistics* Avg Points Per Division Avg Rebounds Per Division Avg Assists Per Division
NCAA I 4.00 out of 5.00 12.3 6.2
NCAA II 3.31 out of 5.00 12.0 3.6 3.1
NCAA III 3.27 out of 5.00 10.9 5.9 3.8
NAIA 3.60 out of 5.00 10.5 4.7 2.7
JUCO 3.23 out of 5.00 11.9 5.0 3.9

* Scale of 1.00 – 5.00, with 5 being Very Important

Although statistics are an important factor, they do not tell the entire story, especially in regards to specific positions and overall playing performance. Our feedback indicates that coaches are looking for wing players to be able to score, point guards to distribute and lead and post players with great size, footwork and hands. In some instances, these skill sets are as important, if not more important to college coaches than statistics. Level of competition also plays an important role in stats. In addition, work ethic, attitude, leadership and a winning mentality are all factors that gain the attention of college coaches.
NCSA reminds players that AAU is one of the biggest recruiting tools for college coaches. Finding a quality AAU team that competes nationally will allow student-athletes to gain maximum exposure.

Basketball by the Numbers

Schools Offering Basketball
NCAA Division I 333
NCAA Division II 288
NCAA Division III 412
NAIA 228
Junior College 348
Total 1,609

Athletic Scholarship Opportunities
NCAA Division I 13
NCAA Division II 10
NAIA Division I 12
NAIA Division II 6
NJCAA 15

Student-Athlete Participation
NCAA Division I 5,051
NCAA Division II 4,666
NCAA Division III 6,923
NAIA 4,090
Junior College 6,292
HS Student-Athletes 556,269

Note: Division III schools offer merit, academic, and need-based scholarships.