For The Basketball Player, Part 5: Use the Game. Don't Let it Use You

Renowned entrepreneur Ben Casanocha used the game to gain crucial leadership skills. Bill Bradley is the embodiment of the great player and person on and off the court. He played for Princeton and then the Knicks, retiring to a career in politics. These are just a few examples.

It is easy to be enveloped in a culture that does not prepare you for future success. You have to be deliberate about seeking out the opportunities basketball presents. Here are just a few:

Traveling: Players and coaches often get to travel for tournaments, sometimes overseas. Playing Their Hearts out depicts the AAU team as staying in the hotels playing video games, instead of seeing all there is to see in their respective cities.

Influence: Basketball players have an undue influence. NBA player Baron Davis used the influence that basketball gave him to do great things off the court. Leonia Player (and former opponent) Ahmad Hassan created a foundation Points 4 Peace when he was just in High school. Make things Happen.

People: Basketball presents the opportunity to meet and connect with many people you wouldn't have the opportunity to otherwise. It gives you a platform of (perceived) importance and gives you reasons to connect to some of the following: Politicians. Musicians. Businessmen. Adults of all sorts. People want to talk to a talented basketball player, especially if they are intelligent and humble.

University: As we all know, basketball can help you get into a great university, even give you a scholarship if you're good enough. Granted, the most important part here is your skills. But being a great student (you will boost the team's GPA) an an interesting person will strongly help you too. If playing at a D1 school is outside your range, there are some fantastic opportunities to play college basketball at great academic schools at the D3 level, such as my friend Andrew Greenblat at Swarthmore, even if you're barelyballin!

There are tons of examples of people who have been used by the game. They were loved becasue they were good players and once they stopped being good--or *gasp*, they got injured--they failed and they had nothing else to fall back on. Read Playing their Hearts Out to see this all-too-real story.

Here are 10 things you can do right now.

Take away: Basketball can provide incredible opportunities only if you actively take advantage of them.