The transition from college to professional sports is a strenuous process, and every year there are athletes that simply just aren’t ready for the elevated style of play. Many things change when you do finally make the jump to the highest level of competition, and some of these are found in the switch for both sports of basketball and football. That being said, each respective sport has their key differences as well.
The Draft
The draft is one place where these two sports are worlds apart. The NFL draft, which is usually around late April, consists of 7 rounds and 32 selections in each of these rounds. The NBA draft, on the other hand, is comprised of just 2 rounds, with 30 picks in each. Both drafts result in players that will make a difference in each league year in and year out, but the NBA’s is the draft which usually finds the most diamonds in the rough. For example, Isaiah Thomas, the very last pick in the 2011 draft, wasn’t really expected to be much in the highest level of competition. Years later, that very same Isaiah Thomas, the 5’ 9” guard from Washington that was too small for the NBA, is leading the Boston Celtics into the conversation for best Eastern Conference teams this season through his All-Star caliber play. Thomas serves as a testimony of the fact that anybody can thrive in the NBA with the right work ethic. The same can’t exactly be said of the NFL, an extremely physical league that not just anybody can succeed in.
The Schedule
The schedule is another area that many collegiate athletes have a hard time adjusting. For college football players, this transition is somewhat seamless. College football teams play anywhere from 10-13 regular season games, depending on conference, while NFL teams have a 16 game regular season. They pick up a few games, which is an adjustment, but when compared to that of basketball players it seems doable. Basketball players go from playing 29 regular season games and 4 possible tournament games to a whopping 82 regular season games. Due to TV deals and the duration of the season, many of these games can occur on back-to-backs, some of which involve late night flights across the country. This level of stress can be overwhelming for many of the 18, 19-year-old rookies.
The Talent
Perhaps the most glaring difference from college to the pros, the talent level is something that tends to take a very long time to adjust to. For football players, the way you welcome this challenge will make or break your career. Period. So many athletes come out of college thinking they are the next coming, the best player to ever walk the planet, and don’t prepare for the next level the way they should. They are entering a grown mans league, a league where massive human beings spend every waking moment perfecting their craft through demanding workout routines and drills. That’s why every year there are a handful of draft busts, and so few guys that are ready from day one for the new level of difficulty. Due to this fact, the things that Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys are doing are unheard of. Two rookies stepping in to lead their huge-market team to their most successful campaign in ages? That’s flat-out impressive. In the NBA, the talent is also incredibly difficult to adjust to. Most of these guys aren’t even old enough to legally drink alcohol, yet they’re tasked with guarding the likes of Stephen Curry and LeBron James on a nightly basis. Although the talent is out of this world, there are occasionally NBA rookies that look like they’ve been playing in the league for years. I’m a big supporter of the idea that the draft should accept guys straight out of high school. There are exceptional talents every year that have to sit and waste time in college when they could be earing a living in a league that they are ready for. Guys like LeBron, Kobe, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard have proved that this is possible.
The Lifestyle
Personal lives completely change once you make it to your respective professional sports league. Anybody you’ve ever known wants to act like they’re your best friend, usually because they want something. They either want you to give them something, or to use the fact that they know a pro athlete to try and boost their own image. As shallow as it is, it’s the sad truth that a lot of pro athletes have to deal with. This portion is pretty similar for football and basketball players. They both spend nights on the road in different cities, travelling with millions of dollars while feeling like they’re on top of the world. You go from eating microwaved mashed potatoes in a crowded dining hall on campus to enjoying a five-star steakhouse in the biggest cities in the US. The money and the fame have gotten the best of so many athletes that have come by in years past. It can be so easy to get carried away in the moment, to forget that this is your occupation that you cannot afford to jeopardize.
Although there are many differences between transitioning from college to pro football and basketball, the level of difficulty of the change is very much the same. So many things change in the blink of an eye, and all of those things can be stripped away from you even faster. According to NCAA.org, roughly 3% of Men’s Basketball players go pro, and 5.8% of Men’s Football players go to the NFL. These athletes typically understand what is at stake for them when they do eventually make it to the big leagues, but its all a matter of execution once they arrive. For these young men, their dreams have come true on draft night when they hear their names called. The ones that succeed, however, are those who have dreams beyond just making it in the first place.
