Calling all very tall people. Calling all slightly less tall people who can jump really high. Calling all not tall people who can fetch Gatorade for the tall people.

He may not appear all that short, but this photo is actual size.

Do you fancy yourself a hoopster hopeful? A bodacious baller? A dynamic dribbler? A jubilant jumper? A radical rebounder? Fine…we'll stop. Here, you'll learn the tricks of the trade to help you realize your dream of playing college ball. If you're really, really good at what you do, that is.

We don't have to tell you that basketball is a popular sport. It's the kind of popular that attracts millions of fans and billions of dollars. However, the universe of college basketball is complicated and, at times, controversial. So Momma (Poppa?) Shmoop is here to help you navigate the ins and outs of this crazy universe and shed some light on a few serious issues that don't get much coverage in the press. 

First of all, for most athletes who end up going pro, college basketball is just a stepping-stone. While NCAA football players usually spend at least three years in college getting ready for the NFL, basketball players can go pro after only a year.

Basketball greats like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Love all left for the NBA after the one-year minimum of college ball that's required by the league, as well as the age limit (source). Lebron James and Kobe Bryant jumped to the NBA right from prep school because they graduated before the rule existed. No college required.

It's actually pretty rare for an extraordinary basketball player to stay in college for the full four years before moving on to the NBA. Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, and David Lee are some of the few professional ballers that actually got their diplomas. We bet their parents made them stay. (Smart move, 'rents.)

Let's be real, though: you're probably not going on to the NBA. There are about 500,000 boys who play high school basketball. The NBA has about 450 players and another 360 in their Developmental League. Each year, 48 new players are added during the two rounds of the draft. Basically, the odds of a high schooler eventually going pro are really, really, ridiculously tiny. Like .03%. And those are just the odds of getting drafted, not actually making enough money to live or succeeding in the NBA by any standards (source).

How tiny are those odds, you ask? Muggsy Bogues tiny.

Not challenged enough by his diminutive stature, Muggsy would sometimes refuse to even open his eyes while playing. (Source)

Even making it onto a college team is really hard. NCAA basketball teams have smaller rosters than most college sports. Division I programs have 14 players, while D-II teams only have 10.

Right now, there are 351 D-I teams in the country and about 1,500 D-II, D-III, NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), and junior college teams (source). That comes out to about 32,190 men's basketball players in college, and only 5.9% of high school basketball players get to play in college and less than 1% play for a D-I team (source).

Talk about bad odds. Yeesh.

Those itty bitty odds of playing ball aren't what really raises eyebrows in NCAA basketball land, though. The really big money in the sport is what makes it truly remarkable. The NCAA, an officially non-profit organization, makes lots of dough off the sport. 

The highest-earning college basketball coach to date, John Calipari of the University of Kentucky, will make $32 million from his eight-year contract. The basketball program at The University of Louisville, national champions in 2013, makes $39.5 million every year (source).

Not exactly chump change.

So, the players must get a slice of this big money pie, right? Wrong. In fact, players usually owe money to the university.

First of all, the "all expenses paid" scholarships tend to fall short and players have to pay another $3,000–$4,000 every year (source). Most college athletes don't go pro, so they enter the workforce with big debts. Won't find too many Cinderella stories here, folks. 

Plus, the NCAA doesn't allow college athletes to make money from the sport. Players who accept money from coaches, boosters, or fans can be suspended indefinitely. Athletes can't even sell their autographs. 

They basically don't even own their own names and their own fame, you know? This sounds a bit like free labor to some people. What do you think? (Enter: all that controversy we mentioned before.)

Now, what does all of this information really mean to the baller-in-training? Well, college basketball is tough—it's tough to get in and it's tough to stay in. Getting into a D-I program is rare, and getting into a D-I program at an elite school is nearly impossible. In 2013, there were 4,511 roster spots available for 6 million high school hopefuls; that's a 1 in 1330 chance that a typical high school student gets into one of these programs (source). 

(That same source states that having a dad who played in the NBA will make you at least 62x more likely to play college ball. Genetics really matter.)

In any case, if you make it, you're extremely lucky. Maybe you should buy a lottery ticket. Get one for us, too.

Okay...who's got a quarter?

Even if you somehow get into a D-I program at a great school, you probably won't make it to the NBA. So, while men's basketball is the most lucrative one in the world per player (source), the odds of any given NCAA baller snagging one of those 48 spots available each year for new NBA players are crazy small.

The total number of NBA players in any given year is also usually significantly smaller than 450. In 1990, there were only 324 players (source), for example.

Are you following our math here?

The moral of the story is this: get a good education. Seriously. Or you won't have a job when you graduate…let alone when you finish your couple-year stint in the NBA or on an NBA-D League team.

And playing basketball at the college will eat up a lot of time, so you'll need twice the discipline of an average student to succeed. Especially if you defy the odds and choose a really challenging major.

Here are some questions we want to ask you:

• Will you have the skill set to succeed in the workforce after college?


• Will you be in debt?


• Can you school everyone at a pickup game?


• Are you potentially willing to sacrifice absolutely everything, including any chance at future financial stability, in order to play the game that you love at the college level?

Yes? If so, it's time to throw on the hi-tops and get yourself on the floor.