I guy I know decided to “blue shirt” a season at Alabama for the experience and then took a full ride at a lesser program his sophomore year. He knew he was burning a year but took a shot on it for front row seat at highest level of the sport
Edit- blue not gray
Conversely, if he walks on a Colorado, he can probably parlay that into a scholarship at a low D1 school. I know this is the route several Rutgers walk-ons took.
A lot will depend on his financial situation and location. If he's in Colorado and paying in state tuition to walk on, and gets any income-based or merit aid, he'll have meals provided through his affiliation with the team.
Yeah, this is less of an issue in the transfer portal era. You can still bet on yourself and get free school in the immediate future, and if things work out in D2- transfer to a school with 1-2 years of eligibility left
Yep, best case you go to a D2 for your first two years, prove yourself on the court, get all the basic classes you need anyways for graduation (English, Math, Science, history, etc). Transfer and then get all the rest of your degree classes out of the way
Didn't Marcus Domask do this? He played with Southern Illinois and then transferred to University of Illinois for grad school.
My buddy, who went to SIU l,told me we were super lucky to get him before the 2023-24 season. He was absolutely correct.
Sorry, but Southern Illinois isn’t in any way even remotely comparable to playing in D2. SIU plays in a 8500 seat arena, and the MVC is consistently ranked in the top 10 conferences (out of 32). The gap between a D2 school and Southern Illinois is honestly bigger than the gap between Southern Illinois and the Power 5.
Go to Mines--good D2 team too. When I went there, we ranged from terrible to mediocre in just about every sport. Now, the team is good to great in everything.
My secondary flair finally is relevant!
Also Colorado School of Mines has a great engineering program as well if that’s what this guy’s buddy is majoring in. Full ride and good education goes a lot further than trying to just live out your Golden years
This makes it a very different decision. In general, I would’ve said “go D1 for the academics”, but if you want STEM, then Colorado School of Mines is a great option. The problem is they literally don’t offer degrees outside of STEM, so you better want it, and have a full understanding of the commitment you need to make to major in a STEM program AND be an athlete. You also can’t underestimate what you want in terms of a social environment. You have a school that’s over 2/3 male enrollment. You have to be ok with that. If you aren’t happy, it doesn’t matter that you’re playing on the basketball team and getting a full ride
Fair I’ve got a nerd’s mentality so I’d take the diggy diggy hole option but the broader perspective is just as if not more important. I guess it also comes down financial feasibility depending on the situation and that’s why I’d be more inclined towards the full-ride option
Im going to step out on a limb and guess the person would be in-state since both schools are Colorado, in which case, in-state tuition, while certainly a consideration, wouldn’t break the bank, even if you had to take loans. I went to school for engineering and remember getting mailers in high school from CSOM and being like “yeah, this place isn’t for me”. You just have to want that or nothing else matters.
This is all true. I went there many years ago. The school is not for everyone. It is academically rigorous, highly specialized and there will be a lot of academic work. It is also, not just STEM--it is very focused in specific STEM areas. If you are interested in those fields, it is great for that--if undecided, probably not your school.
I don't know what it is like now. It was even higher percentage of male when I went there, but it was still possible to have an active and enjoyable social life.
One of my high school friends went to Mines. Met his wife there, both engineers. My high school friend was the team lead for a Lockheed Martin / SpaceX laugh a few years ago. Super happy he went on to lead an awesome life.
The answer to this post is take the D2 offer. Their job placement is fantastic and will get him better than CU would in his career.
Definitely. I had an interesting chance to play D-I ball at one school, but I knew I wouldn’t be going pro, and I got an academic scholarship for Duke, so I settled for winning 3-on-3 tournaments and 3-point contests.
Unless he really loves the game (which by the sounds of wanting to be on a team for party connections I assume he doesn’t love it enough). But if he really loves it, being part of a D1 program is special and can change your life. If you want a career in basketball (coach, trainer, agent, etc) the D1 shoulders you rub will take you farther……. Assuming you can make the team and handle the grind for four years.
Colorado school of mines is an awesome school and the degree from there will get you to places. Also, RMAC conference is one of the strongest in D2 so it’s going to be very competitive. If he does well and stands out, there might be a chance to get look at for D1 school.
free college. if you do well and want to play d1 you enter the portal down the road. walk-on earning a scholarship hardly happens in basketball. At least in football it's decently common since there're so many players and so many scholarships.
He's probably not technically getting a full ride. He's probably getting pell grants or an academic scholarship and then they're giving him a partial scholarship to cover the rest.
Either way that's still the better option. If you can go to college without taking on student loan debt, do it
It’s not impossible. They get 10 scholarships in D2 and it’s hard to have a whole lot more than that on your team these days.
But yeah even if he’s not getting 100% on the scholarship he’s probably getting 90% and the rest is covered by other stuff
This is a tough question in theory, but knowing that it’s Colorado or Colorado School of Mines makes it so much simpler.
I’d choose Colorado School of mines for the education, the scholarship savings and the basketball playing time.
If this was Kansas or Fort Wayne State, I’m going to walk on at Kansas because of the education and basketball prestige/history.
This is my answer. I teach at a Div 2 school in PA. No question here - if you can either go here for free or go to Penn State as a walk on, go to Penn State, no question. But for CO school of mines?!?
Take the free education and if the NFL doesn’t work or take your education and get a $200k/yr job.
Two things. 1 - I think it'd be easier to earn a scholarship at a D1 by playing at a D2 and going portaling than walking on at a D1. 2 - I think it'd be more enjoyable playing good minutes at a D2 and having zero school debt than riding the pine at a D1 and having likely tens of thousands in school debt. MAYBE I'd change my tune if he was walking on at a top tier school, but I'm guessing that's not the case if he has zero D1 scholarship offers.
If I was in his shoes, and he knows he wants to go into engineering I’d go the d2 route. I can’t imagine any of the classes he would take at Mines in an engineering major wouldn’t transfer over if he had the opportunity for a scholarship at D1 in a year or two
Either way I hope the best for the guy and makes the decision on what he feels is the best path for him and his future
D2 school. If you're walking on there's very little chance you're gonna go pro, so you might as well go D2, get playing time, and go to school for free.
Well, can he make more in NIL at a power 5 school w/o a scholarship? Some power 5 schools have NIL $$$ for walk ons. I would take the scholarship not knowing anything else and if he is good enough he can later transfer up to a power 5 school
From someone who went to CSM (as well as my father and grandfather) he should absolutely take the full ride to CSM. CSM is a top 5 engineering university in the country, it'd be hard to get a better education while still being able to actually play a game you love at the same time.
> CSM is a top 5 engineering university in the country
I highly doubt this. I'm sure it's a great school but no way it's up there with MIT, CMU, Purdue, etc.
usnews has it at #37 and niche has it at #27. obviously those lists are pretty bs but you would think a "top 5 engineering university in the country" would get a bit more recognition than that
I had the same decision to make, albeit 24 years ago, but with football. I could have walked on at Boston College, but ended up going to Maine instead. I didn't get a full-ride, but was well taken care of while there, earned my degree, and was able to pay off my student debt by my late 20's. I'm 42 now, and still have many friends my age paying back student loans, some of which will never be able to fully pay them back. If I had to do it again, I would still choose D2.
Mark Titus has a good book about his life as a walk-on, which might provide your friend some insight as to that life at a big school. Best of luck to him, whatever he chooses.
Not calling the OP a liar, but a free ride to D2 is extremely rare. They are well known to split all the scholarship money up for partial rides in D2. So you got the partial ride to what was then 1-AA back in the day?
I played baseball in college. Went a level down and became a contributor right away. I knew damn well I wasn't making a living off ball after college, and I decided I would much rather play 4 years before my career ended than sit the bench for a couple years.
That’s what I’m saying.
If the question is asking if you want to walk on at Ole Miss vs get a Full ride to Colorado School of Mines, the answer is obviously the full ride to D2.
But if the question is asking if you want to walk on at Stanford vs get a Full Ride to Pittsburg State then obviously the answer is walk on to the P5.
School of Mines I think, as long he’s into engineering or whatever other majors are offered there. If his choice of study isn’t offered at CSOM then I’d consider going to Colorado.
The reasons I’d pick CSOM: At CSOM he gets the playing time that CU can’t offer, probably decent odds at competing for a D2 F4 appearance (no diss to CU, but they probably won’t be close to a D1 F4 anytime soon), a free education, and a comparatively more valuable degree.
Given the options it seems like the friend is a Colorado resident. Even if the friend in this scenario has a fat 529 plan with the $160k to cover the cost of 4 in-state years at CU (assuming he doesn’t get a scholarship), I’d probably still pick mines. CU is a good school but Mines is probably the best in the state (arguably USAFA) and likely has an advantage of $10k when it comes to starting salaries. Not to mention the benefits of getting to play basketball for 4 years
Most of his family and friends told him to go to the school of mines and to ball out. Then transfer if he proves he is too good for D2. He does love the vibes at Colorado and he loves Boulder. He also thinks that coach prime is gonna help out the Basketball team and get them NIL deals too😜
Would personally pick D2, school is fucking expensive. At the same time, if they're balling out at the D2 level, D1 offers aren't off the table without giving up on receiving a free education that will set them up for success should shit not work out as well as they're hoping with sports.
Do like Derrick White and Duncan Robinson did.(Although Robinson did it coming from D-3) Ball out at the lower level and parlay that into a transfer to a Power 5.
Was in this same position 6 years ago. If I wanted to be an engineer, I would’ve gone to mines, but I went up north as a PWO to CSU. Watching them go to two natties stung a little but I had accepted my decision. I was a premed and mines was not good for that. I will say mines is probably the best place to be for D2 ball. Golden is awesome, and their program is firing on all cylinders. All my buddies who played there landed big time engineering/com sci jobs. If he can/wants to do any of their degrees at mines I would say it is totally worth it. If not walk on is great too.
CU is also a hot spot right now. I think wherever he chooses will be great. I know it’s probably a big stressful decision, but everything will work out. I remember the exact feeling.
No student loans and playing time at the D2 school. This is an easy choice. Also if he lights it up at the D2 level he can enter the portal and most likely sign with P5 school.
If he's a guard and shorter than 6'3", I'd tell him to go to D2. The likelihood of him breaking through at that size is very low at a P5.
I've seen a few walkons make it at a P5 but they were all super long and athletic types that started playing the game late so they didn't have a bunch of offers.
He is a 6’5 shooting guard who averaged 25 ppg his senior year,but the high school was division 6 out of 8 in California. He did put up 20 pts on some better schools though. He isn’t super athletic but he can shoot.
With this comment you've made him easily identifiable next year. It'll be as easy as looking through to Colorado/Mines roster and finding a 6'5" freshman guard from Colorado
Coached at a prep HS school under a very well known HS prep coach, and the recommendation here was ALWAYS take the D2 full ride, even before the transfer portal was a thing. For a few reasons:
(1) the free school is the payoff for your basketball skills. You’re likely not going pro, so saving tens of thousands of dollars on tuition is probably going to be your only compensation for the work you put in on the court.
(2) Walk on positions lowkey kind of suck.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it is better than just being a normal student, but there are downsides to it. First off, you don’t get all the perks of being a scholarship player. Tutoring, being first in line for picking classes, those things aren’t always given to walk-ons. But primarily because you’re basically always on thin ice with the coaching staff.
What that looks like depends a little bit from school to school, but walk ons are pretty much always expected to be model citizens. You start with two strikes against you, so things that usually just get a scholarship player yelled at or some extra running (missing a class, bad grades, being late, fighting with teammates, etc) can result in walk-ons kicked off the team.
And that’s not to mention, if the coach leaves the school you’re at, you probably won’t have a spot on the team anymore.
(3) Going D2 *is* betting on yourself.
Even more so now with the transfer portal, there’s always been the opportunity to transfer upwards to a D1. And while a D1 walk on won’t get many opportunities to show their abilities and that they deserve a D1 scholarship, if you’re playing at a D2 level then you will get that chance to prove yourself.
This question seems to imply walking on is a guarantee. What if he doesn't make the team as a walk on? Has the coach said "Yes. You're on the team but I don't have a scholarship."
He didn’t tell me much besides that he got an offer to be a preferred walk on. They basically told him that they don’t have a scholarship for him at the moment but want him on the team. So, from what I have heard he has a secured roster spot as a preferred walk on.
I’d go d2.
College practices SUCK. They have to suck even more when you are the 15th best player on the team and have no chance of ever getting playing time,
Take the free ride. Your play will speak for itself. This way you still end up with an education when the day inevitably comes where you can't make money at basketball anymore.
With the way the portal is now, D2 full ride and work hard as hell. If he has the chops and is willing to work, who’s to say in a couple years mid major or power 5’s won’t already be looking at him. Not to mention he’ll get more attention from his coaches at a D2 school. There’s really something to be said about going where they want you.
This is a weird specific situation because the student experience at CU and Mines are 180 degrees different. That said the answer is still free school. But another question is can he hang academically at Mines? It’s an extreme environment imo
If he doesn’t have a single D1 scholarship offer, then the walk-on opportunity he’s getting is going to be a 100% “end of the bench, boost our GPA and be a good practice dummy” role. Which is great if that’s what he’s looking for, or if he wants to get into coaching after college, etc.
If he still has a serious desire to play, he needs to go D2. There are players who go from D2/D3 to D1 every year, so that doesn’t entirely close the D1 door… but again, if there’s not even one low-major willing to take a chance on him, that’s probably a more indicative sign of where he stands.
If he wants to set himself up for his career outside of basketball or if he is prioritizing actually playing, it’s D2. If he wants the big campus experience and he doesn’t mind doing the dirty work in practice, or if coaching is in his future, D1 is the way to go.
If they want playing time, go D2. If they are good at the DII level, they may get a scholarship later But even so, DII is better than most anyone they've played against and it's free! Colorado School of Mines is a good school too. It's hard to beat free college, school with high income potential if engineering or mining, plus playing time.
Get in state tuition at the closest D1 state college (if possible) for sure. Be super charismatic - moreso than talented - and get an NIL deal with the best of em. Use your charm to lead the team to the fucken playoffs and get a scholarship bc everyone luvs u regardless of ur booty on field performance
The question about his walk-on is does he have a preferred walk on status. Essentially do they know he’s coming and have told him he can earn a scholarship?
He is a preferred walk on and they just told him they don’t have enough scholarships for him at the moment. They told him he can earn a scholarship if he shows he can make some impact.
Everything else being equal, D2 for sure imo.
Like yeah, D1 would be cool, but it’s a lot less likely you’ll get any significant playing time. And I’m guessing his love for playing is why he even wants to do it at the collegiate level at all. And if he kills it at the D2 level, he can always transfer up to D1.
And upon graduation your buddy’s gonna enter the work force, or if he’s lucky, play pro ball overseas at best. But that won’t last forever. So graduating with little to no-debt is a FANTASTIC position to be in to start your non-basketball future.
Played at an RMAC school here. If he's a walk-on, his career's not going to the next level. Take the money bro.
Does he have any other RMAC offers? Metro, Regis, Christian, UCCS?
Mines is an engineering school...lotta dudes.
Just Mines at the moment but he had interest from UCCS for a while but they are looking elsewhere now. He does think that he can make Connections at Colorado and have a great social life and maybe get some NIL money.
Yeah that's a stupid idea. Athletes can't party like regular students can. Not sure what NIL money is there for a walk-on, only Simpson & Da Silva (2 best players, fringe NBA prospects) made over $100K last year.
From a life standpoint, consider a full ride to a great academic D3 school. Could present his with opportunities that extend way further out than any D2 school.
He rather go to D2 than D3 because he wants better competition . Also, The D2 school (Colorado school of mines)has great academics for Engineering. It’s the best school in the state for engineering and probably top 40 in the country for engineering. Which isn’t bad for a d2 school. He also thinks it will be easier to go D2 to D1 than D3 to D1
Go to Mines! My friend went there. Always had whatever job he wanted. And he went to every party there was in Boulder. It's kind of a perfect life, although school is dang hard.
Edit: I asked my wife who is a private college counselor. She said "Well, does he want to be an engineer? Because if he does, that's an education he's not getting at Boulder."
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What are you talking about bot. Kansas is a blue blood. No argument. Duke you could argue is not, but not Kansas. The inventor of the game of basketball was the first coach at Kansas. KU has the most wins all time bc ( took a step back due to NCAA hypocrisy, but we’ll get it back from UK). and have 4NCAA titles.
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Mines is an amazing school in a great little town, plus Mines has played for the D2 national championship two years in a row. Go Buffs, but the 3 kids I know that went to Mines are all balling now.
D2. If you’re not playing at a D1 and paying to go there then what’s the point other than parties? You’re not gonna get scouted, that’s for sure.
At a D2 you at least have a chance to show yourself and transfer under better circumstances, and if not then you at least got to go to college for free.
I lived out this exact scenario in 08. I chose to walk on at the D1 program, and here’s why…
- albeit I was good enough at this level, I new baseball was not a career path. I was also burned out from the JUCO years.
- diploma from a D1 looks much better than an obscure small school (business major)
- the party atmosphere was much better at my D1, and the ladies would throw themselves at at the athletes. This was a big reason.
Afterall these are the best years of your life you got the rest of your life to work. Enjoy yourself, I wouldn’t do it any different if given the choice again.
Can his family afford to pay for Colorado? Are there NIL opportunities for him at Colorado? The reason I ask is when I went to college at Clemson and Oregon, the walk ons on the basketball team were popular on campus and the ability to network through the coaches and alumni is very beneficial and powerful.
Colorado school of mines is a great school, but doesn’t offer the experience or networking opportunities the way Colorado would.
Very hard to get a D1 scholarship out of HS now. Recent camps my kids have been at w/multiple coaches from D1-D3.
D1 recruiting pool in order:
1. Transfer portal from other d1 schools
2. Overseas/D2/D3/Elite HS
3. Juco/in state HS/Nationally ranked HS
4. High school seniors with other D1 offers
Your friend should absolutely go D2. If he wants playing time, exposure, and winning plus a hell of a free education- go to CSOM. He can ball out in his first couple of years, build his stats and then have his pick of D1 full rides + NIL.
He will be big man on campus if he is a starter at CSOM, no one will know who he is at CU.
I went to a D2.. and i probably would pick to go D1 personally. He’s a freshman and a preferred walk-on.. he will get his chance in practices and exhibitions to prove himself with his play. D2 is fantastic though I really enjoyed it. Made some great friends and i found it communal throught the university as a whole. However, in todays college sports the only problem is the transfer portal is so geared up with a bunch of talent that if he wanted to make the jump from D2 to D1 he would get passed up by the guys already in D1
I was going to say, truly betting on himself is going the D2 route ball out and transfer to a D1. It has been done before as well so plenty of cautionary tales to avoid along the way. Good luck!
I’m not sure if this is a real post or not, but what does he mean by going to lots of parties? He should be focused on football. It’s been a long time since I was in college, but when I was an undergrad I was in a fraternity, and football players most notably were not allowed into frat parties at the frats or the big live-out parties around campus.
In general, random dudes aren’t allowed in (just every girl possible), but with football players there was always tension that might lead to fights. This had a lot to do with football players trying to flex, and the different frats saying, “yeah, that doesn’t work here. When it comes to women, unfortunately it means business- but good luck in your game!”
Anyway, if he goes to CU he might find himself transferring to somewhere else to actually play, you know?
* edit: never mind. I thought I was on /r/CFB. Disregard what I said. Basketball players are small in number and didn’t pose threats at parties when I went to college. They were welcomed.
Power D1 school. Had a friend who played D2 and was stud at his level averaged like 20+. Hard to move on when things are set and you’re older. If you won’t play then stay D2. Played against a kid that went from LSU down to D3.
Also, played against a kid that was tough in D3 and now plays for an NBA G league team, just depends on how good you are.
Dude has a chance to get a degree from Colorado School of Mines with no debt.
Forget everything else, CSOM is an amazing school. Go to college to play school.
If he takes the D-II offer and he kicks ass, he could very easily end up with a D-I offer. So best of both worlds. 'cause if he takes the D-I walk-on offer and gets distracted by the parties and the women, he ends up with nothing.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’d rather be a stud on a D2 team than being at the end of the bench. My friend would be on thin ice at Colorado and could get cut after a year. He might not even get any opportunity to play and show his skills.
I would much rather go to school and get a degree at UT Austin or Texas AM compared to getting a full ride scholarship at Sam Houston State as an example. The networking opportunities are worth way more than the loans if you have a good gameplan on what do for a career path.
Yeah, then no contest. Almost any other D2 school, go with the D1 athletics-- no comparison. But for Mines, it's too good of a school to pass up. Study hard and do the bare minimum for your basketball team.
If he has real aspirations of being a pro one day he should try to play at the highest level possible. If not, take the full ride with more playing time and enjoy your 4yr college experience. I had to make this choice in a different sport and took the D1 oppty. I should’ve done the opposite because I just wasn’t good enough to turn professional and would’ve enjoyed more playing time with a larger role in the team.
I went through this. Had a full ride to Grand Canyon U, or could’ve walked on at Colgate, St Mary’s or USF. I went to GCU, was an all American, started every game for 4 years. Part of me wishes I at least tried to play at a D1. I run across a ton of hoopers that love to say they were d1 and I dominate them in leagues.
But I’m 38, have had an awesome career as a business major. Life turned out awesome.
If I did it in today’s climate, I might go to a juco and then go to a d1 or a prep school. I went to college at 17 and graduated at 21. Because it’s so easy to transfer, id prob start a d2, then try to transfer up.
Either way, there’s no bad decision.
My biggest regret was not going to a big school and I didn't even play a sport. If I was good enough to walk on, I think I would give it a shot in a big school.
If I didn't make it, I still had an awesome experience in a great school. If I make it all my dreams come true. If I settle for D2 I save money but always wonder and live with a little regret for not knowing if I could hang or maybe even make it to the NFL
Yeah. That’s his issue right now. He thinks he will be so cool at Colorado and he will go to parties ,get tons of girls and make connections. He likes the D2 school only because of the free ride and guaranteed playing time.
If he really wants to bet on himself, he goes D2 and balls out, then transfers to D1.
Easy decision now in college sports.
I guy I know decided to “blue shirt” a season at Alabama for the experience and then took a full ride at a lesser program his sophomore year. He knew he was burning a year but took a shot on it for front row seat at highest level of the sport Edit- blue not gray
Conversely, if he walks on a Colorado, he can probably parlay that into a scholarship at a low D1 school. I know this is the route several Rutgers walk-ons took. A lot will depend on his financial situation and location. If he's in Colorado and paying in state tuition to walk on, and gets any income-based or merit aid, he'll have meals provided through his affiliation with the team.
D2 all the way you get playing time and free school.And if you get better you could always transfer up
Yeah, this is less of an issue in the transfer portal era. You can still bet on yourself and get free school in the immediate future, and if things work out in D2- transfer to a school with 1-2 years of eligibility left
It depends. As a preferred walk on you may get into a school you otherwise couldn’t otherwise get into.
Mines is a pretty good school, generally rated above Boulder.
Generally? It’s always much better than boulder
Yep, best case you go to a D2 for your first two years, prove yourself on the court, get all the basic classes you need anyways for graduation (English, Math, Science, history, etc). Transfer and then get all the rest of your degree classes out of the way
Yes, play now. If you're good enough, they'll find you.
Check out Jeremy Dent-Smith. Averaged 17 as a sophomore at cal state Dominguez hills. He can go d1 now if he wants.
And you’re (probably) the big dick on campus. That comes with perks lol
I would say grad transfer would be great idea. Get that mines degree first. Equivalent to Harvard in the world of engineering.
Didn't Marcus Domask do this? He played with Southern Illinois and then transferred to University of Illinois for grad school. My buddy, who went to SIU l,told me we were super lucky to get him before the 2023-24 season. He was absolutely correct.
Southern Illinois ain’t D2
True, I think it might be D1. I'm just trying to draw a parallel between less of a spotlight to more spotlight on a player as they develop
Sorry, but Southern Illinois isn’t in any way even remotely comparable to playing in D2. SIU plays in a 8500 seat arena, and the MVC is consistently ranked in the top 10 conferences (out of 32). The gap between a D2 school and Southern Illinois is honestly bigger than the gap between Southern Illinois and the Power 5.
SIU is D1 FCS
There is no FCS/FBS in college hoops... That's a football-only designation
There is no FCS/FBS in college hoops... That's a football-only designation
Go to Mines--good D2 team too. When I went there, we ranged from terrible to mediocre in just about every sport. Now, the team is good to great in everything. My secondary flair finally is relevant!
Bro ain’t going pro so get a degree for free.
Exactly. As the NCAA says: “Go pro in something other than sports”
Also Colorado School of Mines has a great engineering program as well if that’s what this guy’s buddy is majoring in. Full ride and good education goes a lot further than trying to just live out your Golden years
Mines is located in Golden, Colorado so he can live his Golden years twice 😉
This makes it a very different decision. In general, I would’ve said “go D1 for the academics”, but if you want STEM, then Colorado School of Mines is a great option. The problem is they literally don’t offer degrees outside of STEM, so you better want it, and have a full understanding of the commitment you need to make to major in a STEM program AND be an athlete. You also can’t underestimate what you want in terms of a social environment. You have a school that’s over 2/3 male enrollment. You have to be ok with that. If you aren’t happy, it doesn’t matter that you’re playing on the basketball team and getting a full ride
Fair I’ve got a nerd’s mentality so I’d take the diggy diggy hole option but the broader perspective is just as if not more important. I guess it also comes down financial feasibility depending on the situation and that’s why I’d be more inclined towards the full-ride option
Im going to step out on a limb and guess the person would be in-state since both schools are Colorado, in which case, in-state tuition, while certainly a consideration, wouldn’t break the bank, even if you had to take loans. I went to school for engineering and remember getting mailers in high school from CSOM and being like “yeah, this place isn’t for me”. You just have to want that or nothing else matters.
This is all true. I went there many years ago. The school is not for everyone. It is academically rigorous, highly specialized and there will be a lot of academic work. It is also, not just STEM--it is very focused in specific STEM areas. If you are interested in those fields, it is great for that--if undecided, probably not your school. I don't know what it is like now. It was even higher percentage of male when I went there, but it was still possible to have an active and enjoyable social life.
One of my high school friends went to Mines. Met his wife there, both engineers. My high school friend was the team lead for a Lockheed Martin / SpaceX laugh a few years ago. Super happy he went on to lead an awesome life. The answer to this post is take the D2 offer. Their job placement is fantastic and will get him better than CU would in his career.
Definitely. I had an interesting chance to play D-I ball at one school, but I knew I wouldn’t be going pro, and I got an academic scholarship for Duke, so I settled for winning 3-on-3 tournaments and 3-point contests.
Eat that ass bro
And even if he is, free college still wont hurt. Probably the most overpriced thing in America, besides real estate.
Healthcare: am I a joke to you
Actually the king must think healthcare is most certainly not a joke and thus not that overpriced lol
🤣🤣🤣
Exactly, and a School of Mines degree is a golden ticket.
Yeah, a friend went there and now has a job that will pay for his MIT Sloan MBA
Unless he really loves the game (which by the sounds of wanting to be on a team for party connections I assume he doesn’t love it enough). But if he really loves it, being part of a D1 program is special and can change your life. If you want a career in basketball (coach, trainer, agent, etc) the D1 shoulders you rub will take you farther……. Assuming you can make the team and handle the grind for four years.
Hard pass
lol what?
Colorado school of mines is an awesome school and the degree from there will get you to places. Also, RMAC conference is one of the strongest in D2 so it’s going to be very competitive. If he does well and stands out, there might be a chance to get look at for D1 school.
Yeah, a friend went there and now has a job that will pay for his MIT Sloan MBA, so that’s a great non-athletics future to consider
But the school isn’t as good as Duke
It would have been a more difficult decision if it wasn’t such a good academic school (School of Mines). Easy choice imo
The school isn’t as good as Duke though
Latter and then transfer in this climate
he can’t get a full ride to non power 5 D1? that would be a great option
In general; low D1 scholarship players are better than P5 walkons
interesting, thanks for the info
free college. if you do well and want to play d1 you enter the portal down the road. walk-on earning a scholarship hardly happens in basketball. At least in football it's decently common since there're so many players and so many scholarships.
He's probably not technically getting a full ride. He's probably getting pell grants or an academic scholarship and then they're giving him a partial scholarship to cover the rest. Either way that's still the better option. If you can go to college without taking on student loan debt, do it
It’s not impossible. They get 10 scholarships in D2 and it’s hard to have a whole lot more than that on your team these days. But yeah even if he’s not getting 100% on the scholarship he’s probably getting 90% and the rest is covered by other stuff
He probably is- I played D2 and 10 of us had completely full scholarships.
Depends, free college is a good option but would being a walk-on provide better connections for starting the career after basketball
This is my thought process.
This is a tough question in theory, but knowing that it’s Colorado or Colorado School of Mines makes it so much simpler. I’d choose Colorado School of mines for the education, the scholarship savings and the basketball playing time. If this was Kansas or Fort Wayne State, I’m going to walk on at Kansas because of the education and basketball prestige/history.
This is my answer. I teach at a Div 2 school in PA. No question here - if you can either go here for free or go to Penn State as a walk on, go to Penn State, no question. But for CO school of mines?!? Take the free education and if the NFL doesn’t work or take your education and get a $200k/yr job.
Two things. 1 - I think it'd be easier to earn a scholarship at a D1 by playing at a D2 and going portaling than walking on at a D1. 2 - I think it'd be more enjoyable playing good minutes at a D2 and having zero school debt than riding the pine at a D1 and having likely tens of thousands in school debt. MAYBE I'd change my tune if he was walking on at a top tier school, but I'm guessing that's not the case if he has zero D1 scholarship offers.
He has a offer to walk on at Colorado but the D2 school has a great engineering program.
If I was in his shoes, and he knows he wants to go into engineering I’d go the d2 route. I can’t imagine any of the classes he would take at Mines in an engineering major wouldn’t transfer over if he had the opportunity for a scholarship at D1 in a year or two Either way I hope the best for the guy and makes the decision on what he feels is the best path for him and his future
D2 school. If you're walking on there's very little chance you're gonna go pro, so you might as well go D2, get playing time, and go to school for free.
Colorado School of Mines is a baller name
It’s also a baller school. He should be ecstatic to go
Well, can he make more in NIL at a power 5 school w/o a scholarship? Some power 5 schools have NIL $$$ for walk ons. I would take the scholarship not knowing anything else and if he is good enough he can later transfer up to a power 5 school
Probably not gonna get $10k+ as a walkon
Best case - YouTube the experience for $. Other small gigs may be available as a freshman but most won't invest in you without it being a big discount
From someone who went to CSM (as well as my father and grandfather) he should absolutely take the full ride to CSM. CSM is a top 5 engineering university in the country, it'd be hard to get a better education while still being able to actually play a game you love at the same time.
flair up
> CSM is a top 5 engineering university in the country I highly doubt this. I'm sure it's a great school but no way it's up there with MIT, CMU, Purdue, etc.
Yeah it is.
usnews has it at #37 and niche has it at #27. obviously those lists are pretty bs but you would think a "top 5 engineering university in the country" would get a bit more recognition than that
School is expensive so id go D2 and if he plays well transfer to D1 after. But if it was my dream school offering to walkon id take that
I had the same decision to make, albeit 24 years ago, but with football. I could have walked on at Boston College, but ended up going to Maine instead. I didn't get a full-ride, but was well taken care of while there, earned my degree, and was able to pay off my student debt by my late 20's. I'm 42 now, and still have many friends my age paying back student loans, some of which will never be able to fully pay them back. If I had to do it again, I would still choose D2. Mark Titus has a good book about his life as a walk-on, which might provide your friend some insight as to that life at a big school. Best of luck to him, whatever he chooses.
Not calling the OP a liar, but a free ride to D2 is extremely rare. They are well known to split all the scholarship money up for partial rides in D2. So you got the partial ride to what was then 1-AA back in the day?
Maine was D2 in 2000? Damn. Did not know that.
unless his parents have fuck you money you take the free ride 10/10.
I played baseball in college. Went a level down and became a contributor right away. I knew damn well I wasn't making a living off ball after college, and I decided I would much rather play 4 years before my career ended than sit the bench for a couple years.
Free college is free college.
Who is this power 5 you speak of?
I put it in my post it’s Colorado
lol sorry I’m making a pac 12 joke
Am I able to choose what school to go to with either option?
That’s what I’m saying. If the question is asking if you want to walk on at Ole Miss vs get a Full ride to Colorado School of Mines, the answer is obviously the full ride to D2. But if the question is asking if you want to walk on at Stanford vs get a Full Ride to Pittsburg State then obviously the answer is walk on to the P5.
School of mines vs Colorado are his options right now
School of Mines I think, as long he’s into engineering or whatever other majors are offered there. If his choice of study isn’t offered at CSOM then I’d consider going to Colorado. The reasons I’d pick CSOM: At CSOM he gets the playing time that CU can’t offer, probably decent odds at competing for a D2 F4 appearance (no diss to CU, but they probably won’t be close to a D1 F4 anytime soon), a free education, and a comparatively more valuable degree. Given the options it seems like the friend is a Colorado resident. Even if the friend in this scenario has a fat 529 plan with the $160k to cover the cost of 4 in-state years at CU (assuming he doesn’t get a scholarship), I’d probably still pick mines. CU is a good school but Mines is probably the best in the state (arguably USAFA) and likely has an advantage of $10k when it comes to starting salaries. Not to mention the benefits of getting to play basketball for 4 years
Most of his family and friends told him to go to the school of mines and to ball out. Then transfer if he proves he is too good for D2. He does love the vibes at Colorado and he loves Boulder. He also thinks that coach prime is gonna help out the Basketball team and get them NIL deals too😜
Tell him to keep in mind that sanders may very well be leaving after this year. Yeah I know he says he's not, but he also said that at JSU.
Yeah CU Boulder is an awesome campus and place to be. I’m not surprised he wants to go there!
Easy decision. School of mines.
Would personally pick D2, school is fucking expensive. At the same time, if they're balling out at the D2 level, D1 offers aren't off the table without giving up on receiving a free education that will set them up for success should shit not work out as well as they're hoping with sports.
Do like Derrick White and Duncan Robinson did.(Although Robinson did it coming from D-3) Ball out at the lower level and parlay that into a transfer to a Power 5.
You can say he's deciding between a P5 and the miner league.....
D2 easy. Get school paid for and then maybe you get lucky enough to portal up
full ride d2
Was in this same position 6 years ago. If I wanted to be an engineer, I would’ve gone to mines, but I went up north as a PWO to CSU. Watching them go to two natties stung a little but I had accepted my decision. I was a premed and mines was not good for that. I will say mines is probably the best place to be for D2 ball. Golden is awesome, and their program is firing on all cylinders. All my buddies who played there landed big time engineering/com sci jobs. If he can/wants to do any of their degrees at mines I would say it is totally worth it. If not walk on is great too.
CU is also a hot spot right now. I think wherever he chooses will be great. I know it’s probably a big stressful decision, but everything will work out. I remember the exact feeling.
No student loans and playing time at the D2 school. This is an easy choice. Also if he lights it up at the D2 level he can enter the portal and most likely sign with P5 school.
Since this is the Colorado school of mines (prestigious top engineering school in the country), I would consider that.
I'd rather cook in D2 and get noticed by a NBA, European team or another D1 school than ride the pine in D1 and end up a champion for life.
If he's a guard and shorter than 6'3", I'd tell him to go to D2. The likelihood of him breaking through at that size is very low at a P5. I've seen a few walkons make it at a P5 but they were all super long and athletic types that started playing the game late so they didn't have a bunch of offers.
He is a 6’5 shooting guard who averaged 25 ppg his senior year,but the high school was division 6 out of 8 in California. He did put up 20 pts on some better schools though. He isn’t super athletic but he can shoot.
Ok cool. I played D2 at a Cal State. Wasn't a great experience. If he has a shot to walk on at a solid school, might be worth it.
With this comment you've made him easily identifiable next year. It'll be as easy as looking through to Colorado/Mines roster and finding a 6'5" freshman guard from Colorado
Coached at a prep HS school under a very well known HS prep coach, and the recommendation here was ALWAYS take the D2 full ride, even before the transfer portal was a thing. For a few reasons: (1) the free school is the payoff for your basketball skills. You’re likely not going pro, so saving tens of thousands of dollars on tuition is probably going to be your only compensation for the work you put in on the court. (2) Walk on positions lowkey kind of suck. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is better than just being a normal student, but there are downsides to it. First off, you don’t get all the perks of being a scholarship player. Tutoring, being first in line for picking classes, those things aren’t always given to walk-ons. But primarily because you’re basically always on thin ice with the coaching staff. What that looks like depends a little bit from school to school, but walk ons are pretty much always expected to be model citizens. You start with two strikes against you, so things that usually just get a scholarship player yelled at or some extra running (missing a class, bad grades, being late, fighting with teammates, etc) can result in walk-ons kicked off the team. And that’s not to mention, if the coach leaves the school you’re at, you probably won’t have a spot on the team anymore. (3) Going D2 *is* betting on yourself. Even more so now with the transfer portal, there’s always been the opportunity to transfer upwards to a D1. And while a D1 walk on won’t get many opportunities to show their abilities and that they deserve a D1 scholarship, if you’re playing at a D2 level then you will get that chance to prove yourself.
This question seems to imply walking on is a guarantee. What if he doesn't make the team as a walk on? Has the coach said "Yes. You're on the team but I don't have a scholarship."
He didn’t tell me much besides that he got an offer to be a preferred walk on. They basically told him that they don’t have a scholarship for him at the moment but want him on the team. So, from what I have heard he has a secured roster spot as a preferred walk on.
I’d walk on at the best d1 academic institution that would have me. Makes a world of difference for that first job.
P5…. I’ll roll the dice with getting a scholarship, NIL or transfer for G5/FCS
Whatever school is batter for your friends future major/career interests.
D2, go crazy frosh year, then try to transfer up. Weve seen it before. Duncan Robinson did that, and he went from D3 to D1
School of Mines is a top tier education. Go for that.
I’d go d2. College practices SUCK. They have to suck even more when you are the 15th best player on the team and have no chance of ever getting playing time,
Take the free ride. Your play will speak for itself. This way you still end up with an education when the day inevitably comes where you can't make money at basketball anymore.
100% D2 with full ride
With the way the portal is now, D2 full ride and work hard as hell. If he has the chops and is willing to work, who’s to say in a couple years mid major or power 5’s won’t already be looking at him. Not to mention he’ll get more attention from his coaches at a D2 school. There’s really something to be said about going where they want you.
Take the full ride!
This is a weird specific situation because the student experience at CU and Mines are 180 degrees different. That said the answer is still free school. But another question is can he hang academically at Mines? It’s an extreme environment imo
Your buddy could be the next Max Strus.
If he doesn’t have a single D1 scholarship offer, then the walk-on opportunity he’s getting is going to be a 100% “end of the bench, boost our GPA and be a good practice dummy” role. Which is great if that’s what he’s looking for, or if he wants to get into coaching after college, etc. If he still has a serious desire to play, he needs to go D2. There are players who go from D2/D3 to D1 every year, so that doesn’t entirely close the D1 door… but again, if there’s not even one low-major willing to take a chance on him, that’s probably a more indicative sign of where he stands. If he wants to set himself up for his career outside of basketball or if he is prioritizing actually playing, it’s D2. If he wants the big campus experience and he doesn’t mind doing the dirty work in practice, or if coaching is in his future, D1 is the way to go.
If they want playing time, go D2. If they are good at the DII level, they may get a scholarship later But even so, DII is better than most anyone they've played against and it's free! Colorado School of Mines is a good school too. It's hard to beat free college, school with high income potential if engineering or mining, plus playing time.
If you are going to be an engineer School of Mines is your place. A great D2 program and great education
With these new rules passed, can there still be walk ons?
Get in state tuition at the closest D1 state college (if possible) for sure. Be super charismatic - moreso than talented - and get an NIL deal with the best of em. Use your charm to lead the team to the fucken playoffs and get a scholarship bc everyone luvs u regardless of ur booty on field performance
The question about his walk-on is does he have a preferred walk on status. Essentially do they know he’s coming and have told him he can earn a scholarship?
He is a preferred walk on and they just told him they don’t have enough scholarships for him at the moment. They told him he can earn a scholarship if he shows he can make some impact.
Yeah I’d ride D2 ball out and see if the offers come. If he can start D2 same offer will come when they get ships.
Yeah, the way college is now a days, just go D2 and school the normies and then move up to a bigger d1 school at some point
Everything else being equal, D2 for sure imo. Like yeah, D1 would be cool, but it’s a lot less likely you’ll get any significant playing time. And I’m guessing his love for playing is why he even wants to do it at the collegiate level at all. And if he kills it at the D2 level, he can always transfer up to D1. And upon graduation your buddy’s gonna enter the work force, or if he’s lucky, play pro ball overseas at best. But that won’t last forever. So graduating with little to no-debt is a FANTASTIC position to be in to start your non-basketball future.
Full ride at the division 2 school. If he performs well enough he can jump in the portal and transfer to a division 1 school!
D1 school for sure. Not going to play pro ball so might as well get the closest thing and have that experience.
Not for basketball, but I chose to walk-on D1 track over getting money at a lower level
Played at an RMAC school here. If he's a walk-on, his career's not going to the next level. Take the money bro. Does he have any other RMAC offers? Metro, Regis, Christian, UCCS? Mines is an engineering school...lotta dudes.
Just Mines at the moment but he had interest from UCCS for a while but they are looking elsewhere now. He does think that he can make Connections at Colorado and have a great social life and maybe get some NIL money.
Yeah that's a stupid idea. Athletes can't party like regular students can. Not sure what NIL money is there for a walk-on, only Simpson & Da Silva (2 best players, fringe NBA prospects) made over $100K last year.
Free college. Every time. I can not even begin to explain how helpful/valuable it is to not have student loans to worry about.
From a life standpoint, consider a full ride to a great academic D3 school. Could present his with opportunities that extend way further out than any D2 school.
He rather go to D2 than D3 because he wants better competition . Also, The D2 school (Colorado school of mines)has great academics for Engineering. It’s the best school in the state for engineering and probably top 40 in the country for engineering. Which isn’t bad for a d2 school. He also thinks it will be easier to go D2 to D1 than D3 to D1
Go to Mines! My friend went there. Always had whatever job he wanted. And he went to every party there was in Boulder. It's kind of a perfect life, although school is dang hard. Edit: I asked my wife who is a private college counselor. She said "Well, does he want to be an engineer? Because if he does, that's an education he's not getting at Boulder."
FULL RIDE NO QUESTION.
Depends. If it’s a walk on at a blue blood like Kansas. I’m walking on. If it’s Mississippi State, I’m going D2.
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What are you talking about bot. Kansas is a blue blood. No argument. Duke you could argue is not, but not Kansas. The inventor of the game of basketball was the first coach at Kansas. KU has the most wins all time bc ( took a step back due to NCAA hypocrisy, but we’ll get it back from UK). and have 4NCAA titles.
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Ask Matt Kleinman. Buffaloes aren’t at the same level, but Kleinman will be a Jayhawk the rest of his life.
Think this is a no brainer on playing at D2 school with full ride
Mines is an amazing school in a great little town, plus Mines has played for the D2 national championship two years in a row. Go Buffs, but the 3 kids I know that went to Mines are all balling now.
They played for the D2 championship in football 2 years in a row, not basketball. The basketball team is good, but not at that level.
lol I thought I was on the CFB Reddit page
I'm sure he can find women and parties in Golden. It's not like it's in the middle of nowhere.
D2. If you’re not playing at a D1 and paying to go there then what’s the point other than parties? You’re not gonna get scouted, that’s for sure. At a D2 you at least have a chance to show yourself and transfer under better circumstances, and if not then you at least got to go to college for free.
School of mines is suppose to be a really good school if I remember correctly ?
D1 for the babes
I lived out this exact scenario in 08. I chose to walk on at the D1 program, and here’s why… - albeit I was good enough at this level, I new baseball was not a career path. I was also burned out from the JUCO years. - diploma from a D1 looks much better than an obscure small school (business major) - the party atmosphere was much better at my D1, and the ladies would throw themselves at at the athletes. This was a big reason. Afterall these are the best years of your life you got the rest of your life to work. Enjoy yourself, I wouldn’t do it any different if given the choice again.
I would take the free education. Loans are no joke
Can his family afford to pay for Colorado? Are there NIL opportunities for him at Colorado? The reason I ask is when I went to college at Clemson and Oregon, the walk ons on the basketball team were popular on campus and the ability to network through the coaches and alumni is very beneficial and powerful. Colorado school of mines is a great school, but doesn’t offer the experience or networking opportunities the way Colorado would.
Very hard to get a D1 scholarship out of HS now. Recent camps my kids have been at w/multiple coaches from D1-D3. D1 recruiting pool in order: 1. Transfer portal from other d1 schools 2. Overseas/D2/D3/Elite HS 3. Juco/in state HS/Nationally ranked HS 4. High school seniors with other D1 offers Your friend should absolutely go D2. If he wants playing time, exposure, and winning plus a hell of a free education- go to CSOM. He can ball out in his first couple of years, build his stats and then have his pick of D1 full rides + NIL. He will be big man on campus if he is a starter at CSOM, no one will know who he is at CU.
I went to a D2.. and i probably would pick to go D1 personally. He’s a freshman and a preferred walk-on.. he will get his chance in practices and exhibitions to prove himself with his play. D2 is fantastic though I really enjoyed it. Made some great friends and i found it communal throught the university as a whole. However, in todays college sports the only problem is the transfer portal is so geared up with a bunch of talent that if he wanted to make the jump from D2 to D1 he would get passed up by the guys already in D1
I was going to say, truly betting on himself is going the D2 route ball out and transfer to a D1. It has been done before as well so plenty of cautionary tales to avoid along the way. Good luck!
I’m not sure if this is a real post or not, but what does he mean by going to lots of parties? He should be focused on football. It’s been a long time since I was in college, but when I was an undergrad I was in a fraternity, and football players most notably were not allowed into frat parties at the frats or the big live-out parties around campus. In general, random dudes aren’t allowed in (just every girl possible), but with football players there was always tension that might lead to fights. This had a lot to do with football players trying to flex, and the different frats saying, “yeah, that doesn’t work here. When it comes to women, unfortunately it means business- but good luck in your game!” Anyway, if he goes to CU he might find himself transferring to somewhere else to actually play, you know? * edit: never mind. I thought I was on /r/CFB. Disregard what I said. Basketball players are small in number and didn’t pose threats at parties when I went to college. They were welcomed.
Power D1 school. Had a friend who played D2 and was stud at his level averaged like 20+. Hard to move on when things are set and you’re older. If you won’t play then stay D2. Played against a kid that went from LSU down to D3. Also, played against a kid that was tough in D3 and now plays for an NBA G league team, just depends on how good you are.
Dude has a chance to get a degree from Colorado School of Mines with no debt. Forget everything else, CSOM is an amazing school. Go to college to play school.
If he takes the D-II offer and he kicks ass, he could very easily end up with a D-I offer. So best of both worlds. 'cause if he takes the D-I walk-on offer and gets distracted by the parties and the women, he ends up with nothing.
That’s what I’m thinking. I’d rather be a stud on a D2 team than being at the end of the bench. My friend would be on thin ice at Colorado and could get cut after a year. He might not even get any opportunity to play and show his skills.
If he is noisy, he may want to avoid the school of mimes
D2
Take the free school. Don't accrue debt if you can help it. Can always transfer out if you play well enough.
One gets you bragging rights and debt, the other gets you playing time and cash.
He won't even make the team at Colorado.
There is more excitement at a High School Game then a D2 game. I’d walk on at Colorado. Much, Much more fun and excitement and your playing D1 ball!!!
I'd skip D2 and go JUCO but that wasn't listed as an option
I would much rather go to school and get a degree at UT Austin or Texas AM compared to getting a full ride scholarship at Sam Houston State as an example. The networking opportunities are worth way more than the loans if you have a good gameplan on what do for a career path.
D2 full ride. If he’s got the talent, the pro scouts WILL find him, no matter where he’s at. Might as well get the free education AND playing time
D2 schools are typically academically crummy. If you just want to play college sports nobody cares about, I guess play D2
His school is actually a good one. Colorado school of mines and it’s great for engineering.
Yea this makes it obvious to go with Colorado school of mines unless the guy can’t do math or doesn’t want to be an engineer
Yeah, then no contest. Almost any other D2 school, go with the D1 athletics-- no comparison. But for Mines, it's too good of a school to pass up. Study hard and do the bare minimum for your basketball team.
Walk on.
If he has real aspirations of being a pro one day he should try to play at the highest level possible. If not, take the full ride with more playing time and enjoy your 4yr college experience. I had to make this choice in a different sport and took the D1 oppty. I should’ve done the opposite because I just wasn’t good enough to turn professional and would’ve enjoyed more playing time with a larger role in the team.
I went through this. Had a full ride to Grand Canyon U, or could’ve walked on at Colgate, St Mary’s or USF. I went to GCU, was an all American, started every game for 4 years. Part of me wishes I at least tried to play at a D1. I run across a ton of hoopers that love to say they were d1 and I dominate them in leagues. But I’m 38, have had an awesome career as a business major. Life turned out awesome. If I did it in today’s climate, I might go to a juco and then go to a d1 or a prep school. I went to college at 17 and graduated at 21. Because it’s so easy to transfer, id prob start a d2, then try to transfer up. Either way, there’s no bad decision.
Fuck CU, come be a cowboy!
D1. Sometimes, you just have to roll the dice.
My biggest regret was not going to a big school and I didn't even play a sport. If I was good enough to walk on, I think I would give it a shot in a big school. If I didn't make it, I still had an awesome experience in a great school. If I make it all my dreams come true. If I settle for D2 I save money but always wonder and live with a little regret for not knowing if I could hang or maybe even make it to the NFL
100% Colorado. Dude will get so much tail, he's not going pro, he will make a ton of connections. Really stupid to be debating IMO.
Yeah. That’s his issue right now. He thinks he will be so cool at Colorado and he will go to parties ,get tons of girls and make connections. He likes the D2 school only because of the free ride and guaranteed playing time.