The participants included the following:
Male
|
65%
|
Female
|
35%
|
|
|
Men's
teams
|
50%
|
Women's
teams
|
50%
|
|
|
15+
years experience
|
28%
|
14 or
fewer years experience
|
72%
|
|
|
Post-season
play last year
|
53%
|
No
post-season last year
|
47%
|
|
|
Head
coaches
|
33%
|
Assistant
coaches
|
67%
|
|
|
NCAA
Div 1
|
48%
|
NCAA
Div 2 or 3
|
32%
|
NAIA/junior
college
|
20%
|
The
general question the coaches were asked was “what characteristics are you
seeking when you recruit high school basketball players for your program?” The coaches completed an online survey that
included demographic information as well as an opportunity to rank the
following six groups of characteristics on a 1-4 scale, with “1” being “very
important” and “4” being “least important.”
The following tables represent the results, with the percentages
representing how many of the coaches ranked each characteristic on the 1-4
scale.
Technical Skills
Ranking
|
Rebounding
|
Shooting
|
Passing
|
Ball Handling
|
1 (most important)
|
6%
|
73%
|
6%
|
15%
|
2
|
32%
|
10%
|
21%
|
37%
|
3
|
34%
|
8%
|
29%
|
29%
|
4 (least important)
|
29%
|
9%
|
44%
|
19%
|
Worth mentioning is the fact that 73% of all coaches ranked
shooting as most important, while 44% of coaches ranked passing as least
important of these 4 abilities.
Skill-related
Fitness Abilities
Ranking
|
Jumping Ability
|
Defensive Ability
|
Speed
|
Quickness
|
1 (most important)
|
8%
|
31%
|
13%
|
48%
|
2
|
14%
|
22%
|
29%
|
36%
|
3
|
29%
|
27%
|
36%
|
9%
|
4 (least important)
|
49%
|
20%
|
23%
|
8%
|
Almost half of all coaches cited quickness as being most
important, while half considered jumping ability to be the less important than
defense, speed, and quickness.
Size and Intensity
Ranking
|
Height
|
Weight
|
Aggressiveness
|
Competitiveness
|
1 (most important)
|
9%
|
8%
|
8%
|
74%
|
2
|
21%
|
4%
|
64%
|
11%
|
3
|
60%
|
9%
|
22%
|
8%
|
4 (least important)
|
9%
|
78%
|
6%
|
7%
|
Everyone has seen the player that is just 6’ and runs the
court like his own personal playground.
Coaches agree that competitiveness is more important than height,
weight, and aggressiveness, and weight is least important of these four traits. Keep in mind that many college players gain
significant amounts of weight during college due to maturity and strength
training.
Intangibles
Ranking
|
Attitude
|
Coachability
|
Basketball Intelligence
|
Performance Under Pressure
|
1 (most important)
|
38%
|
32%
|
22%
|
8%
|
2
|
29%
|
40%
|
19%
|
11%
|
3
|
17%
|
22%
|
42%
|
20%
|
4 (least important)
|
16%
|
6%
|
17%
|
61%
|
Somewhat surprising was that 61% of coaches rated
performance under pressure as least important.
Interestingly, coaches were certainly not united in their opinions about
the important of these four traits.
Cognitive
Abilities
Ranking
|
GPA
|
SAT/ACT Scores
|
Common Sense
|
Self-Discipline
|
1 (most important)
|
25%
|
18%
|
16%
|
41%
|
2
|
27%
|
22%
|
31%
|
20%
|
3
|
35%
|
16%
|
20%
|
29%
|
4 (least important)
|
13%
|
43%
|
33%
|
10%
|
Many coaches are more interested in self-discipline than
they are measured academic performance.
Note that while SAT/ACT scores can be a stumbling block for many
individuals (athletes and non-athletes) seeking college admission, 43% of
coaches indicated that those scores were of less importance that GPA, common
sense, and self-discipline.
Experience and
Demographics
Ranking
|
Classification (size of the school
the athlete attended)
|
Level of competition the athlete
faced while in HS
|
Race of the athlete
|
From a two parent household
|
1 (most important)
|
5%
|
82%
|
7%
|
6%
|
2
|
70%
|
7%
|
5%
|
18%
|
3
|
21%
|
4%
|
21%
|
54%
|
4 (least important)
|
5%
|
7%
|
67%
|
21%
|
Coaches made it clear that the level
of competition faced in high school and the size of the school the player
attended are more important than the race or household makeup of the
athlete.
We hope this information is helpful
to coaches and players alike, and we welcome comments and questions regarding
this research.
About the Authors:
Dr. Sandy Kimbrough is the assistant
department head of Health and Human Performance at Texas A&M
University Commerce. Jamon Copeland is
an assistant men’s basketball coach at Texas State University and completed this project during his
graduate coursework.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Dr. Sandy Kimbrough
Texas A&M University-Commerce, Department of Health and Human
Performance
PO Box 3011, Commerce,
TX 75429
903-886-5555, Sandy_kimbrough@tamu-commerce.edu
Jamon Copeland
Texas State
University
jc73@txstate.edu
|