<p>Hi Folks-</p>
<p>Background: My son is a sophomore at a college-prep catholic school. He has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, taking the most challenging classes offered, and hopefully will continue to do well academically, as he is a hard worker. His passion is basketball, he is a point guard, and he has gotten pretty good at it. He practices every day, plays as much pickup as he can with high school and college players in the area. He played some varsity for summer league, and may play a little this year. He is stuck with JV this year because the other really good point guard is a junior, and two others not quite at his level are seniors, and there are no freshman or sophomores who play point guard. Last year he had to play every minute of every freshman and JV game. His coach has told him he will try to have him play 4/1 or 3/2 for JV/Varsity games. He is very good, but is not that Freshman phenom who is starring on the varsity. He hasn't played much AAU, as it seems really difficult to get on a team. We live in a town about 2 hours from the nearest city. There are a few AAU teams here, but they all seem to be run by dads who have point guard sons. It seems pretty cliquey. Traveling regularly to the faraway city would be difficult for me, but may be an option next year if we can find something. He does attend quite a few bb camps, and was told by 2 coaches at Snow Valley this summer that he has the potential to play in college.</p>
<p>So, my son is a great student, loves basketball, and seems to be fairly good at it. I know nothing about the sport, and am in no way a well-informed parent of an athlete; I am kind of surprised he is so athletic, must be a recessive gene. I don't know if he will be good enough to compete at the D3 level, but that is his hope. Being only a sophomore, he doesn't know where he wants to go to school, but is really not that interested in the Northeast, or anywhere with a cold climate. Being only 15, he might change his mind. I see him going to a school like Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Whitman, or Occidental, as academics is most important. </p>
<p>My question is, what do we need to keep in mind for the upcoming years if he wants to play basketball at schools like this? What year should he contact the coach? Should we begin making a video junior year? Does he really need to get on an AAU team to make this happen? How do you get on an AAU team, if this is needed? Do you have to apply ED if you want to play at a school? Financial aid will be very important to us. How are the Elite Academic Showcases? I have seen they have them in the East, but not out here in the West? Can you walk on at a D3 school? Who to ask next year to honestly rate his skills?</p>
<p>Sorry for the long post. Any input on how to navigate all of this would be so greatly appreciated. Its an area I have tried to study here on CC, but can't get a handle on.</p>