[Durty Nelly]

Sometimes it is just how players mature.  Some stop growing in high school while others continue to develop in their college years. 

A naturally gifted athlete in high school may not have the passion and work effort to excel at the next level.

I was a walk-on basketball player at my first university.  Despite being sub 6 ft, I was a starter and the co-captain of the team after a couple of years.  Lots of highly rated players fell by the wayside due to academics, distractions (girls &/or booze), or homesickness.  I loved basketball and played with athleticism, intensity, and passion.  I always believed that the game started with defense.  Many of my team mates were still drinking the kool-aid of their high school press clippings. 

The game got so much quicker than at high school.  I saw many players get discouraged, and they were not willing to stick it out.  They expected immediate success and very few found it.

There were also so cases of some of the taller players actually losing coordination as they got older.  We had a starting forward who was 6' 7" my freshman year who was only a warm body by my junior year.  He could drain 15 footers like clock work when I joined the team and was a fluid player at both ends of the floor.  When I left after my junior year, he could barely hit a 5 footer and was an awkward mess of a player.

[Durty Nelly]

Sometimes it is just how players mature.  Some stop growing in high school while others continue to develop in their college years. 

A naturally gifted athlete in high school may not have the passion and work effort to excel at the next level.

I was a walk-on basketball player at my first university.  Despite being sub 6 ft, I was a starter and the co-captain of the team after a couple of years.  Lots of highly rated players fell by the wayside due to academics, distractions (girls &/or booze), or homesickness.  I loved basketball and played with athleticism, intensity, and passion.  I always believed that the game started with defense.  Many of my team mates were still drinking the kool-aid of their high school press clippings. 

The game got so much quicker than at high school.  I saw many players get discouraged, and they were not willing to stick it out.  They expected immediate success and very few found it.

There were also so cases of some of the taller players actually losing coordination as they got older.  We had a starting forward who was 6' 7" my freshman year who was only a warm body by my junior year.  He could drain 15 footers like clock work when I joined the team and was a fluid player at both ends of the floor.  When I left after my junior year, he could barely hit a 5 footer and was an awkward mess of a player.