The 4 Levels of High School Basketball Players: From SCRUB to STAR

yo im confused on one team i drop 35 on a diffrent team i drop ten and on the first team they had more skill then the 2 what should i do

I’m a shooter on my team and I usually make a few floaters in a game. But outside of it I don’t really have anything else in my game. How should i improve my game and how can I be more consistent?

Wait so then tucker how do you get good at shooting is there a certain workout I should do or should I be getting up 100 shots a day no matter what or how do you get like really good? Thanks so much

This this right here worked wonders for me i became a starter just cause i avg 14 rebs per game and 2 steals couldnt do anything on offense tho so now i got better and yes you need to chase down that fastbreak runner and do the dorty work also throw in some pinches whenever the ref int looking ive gotten a few people kicked out of games

How can I score over taller players? Everytime I drive they shift their bodies to block the lane and I'm finding it hard to get shots over them.

Through my 4 games played of junior year in high school, I’m averaging 6pts and I come off the bench, getting restricted minutes. I guess this would put me in that role player area or somewhere just below there cause my averages aren’t high, but I work hard to get there. I feel my time is coming up though to go further cause I’m already a junior and I’m not necessarily the height a coach would look for. Any tips? Ik it’s not much detail. Thanks for the video

i'm like a level 3 and i train every day and i make like 60-70 % of my jumpers in training but when i get in the game i rarely shoot or shot midrange shots and im only averaging about 15 and 12 boards rn any more tips?

I am a sophmore, 6 foot and play JV. Im the star of JV and I am even better than some varsity players but they are older and taller. So, I don't know what level I am at. I am hoping to grow 🙏 My dad is 6'1 so I guess I have potential

I’m a prospect I am the best on my team but I sometimes score 20-30 but other games I score 5 points and I’m just really inconsistent, I’m aggressive most of the time but sometimes I’m scared of being called a ball hog so I pass, it leads to bad plays like turnovers or bad shots. Also in the snowy times I can’t practice because the gyms are closed and I live in an apartment so I can’t dribble so what can I do to become the star and get the major offers. ( I play better versus team that are a little worse)

I’m a freshman and I haven’t tried out for my middle school team because of health reasons. Is there any hope for me to make JV? (I’m a role player btw)

Freshman: scrub
Soph: role player
Junior: prospect
😭 that’s where I peaked

Hey Tucker this is my 3rd yr of playing basketball and I start for my jv team. I rly struggle with in game aggression I’ll play pickup and just get buckets but when I’m in a game I just kinda like shut idk rly how else to say it. I work a lot because I’ve fallen in love playing (at least 10 hrs a week) and I strength train just looking for some pointers!

🔥

I’m an eight grader and I’m averaging around 15 ppg in 6 min quarters but I don’t know how well my skills will translate to high school since I’m not super tall at 5ft 6in not crazy athletic and not a great shooter

I would say I fall into the prospect category, I’m the best player on my team , I average around 15 but that can range from scoring 25 to scoring 9. Usually if I miss my first few shots I’m hesitant to shoot again but other games I don’t care if I miss or not. I would say the problem I have is having a constant aggressive mindset and telling myself that if I miss a few shots I should keep shooting or attacking. Any tips or things I can tell myself to stay aggressive ? I’m in 8th grade btw

I am definitely a role player and a “shooter” but I can make big plays but I am too inconsistent and my confidence fluctuates, this has effected my playing time and I am not getting the minutes I want. The coach told me I need to be more comfortable with the ball. I feel like I am so close to being a prospect if I can just earn some more minutes. Do you have any feedback for me?

Tucker I have a question what happens if your parents aren’t willing to take you to the local gym is there anything I should do?

Spot on video bossman, I believe I am a prospect and this was the exact thing I needed to hear.

I was a scrub at the highest level of high school basketball in NZ

I’m stuck between role player and prospect, because I got osgood schlatter for a long time, it hurt a lot, and can’t really play good because of that, I’m forced to be in the bench sometimes because I got so much pain that I can’t even make a slide, any tips guys? Need them

I cant figure out how to shoot consistently in games. Like my form completely changes in a game compared to at home training and practice. What would be your advice?

tucker do u have any tips for shooting confidence for 3s during matches, not necessarily about worrying about missing the shot but more like the confidence to shoot the shot (if that makes sense)

I'm definetly 3 in some ways and 4 in some ways but my coach plays me as if im a scrub... (i dont go to the school i play for) yet i play varsity as a 8th grader and dont play meaningful minutes in middleschool

I work all summer long, shooting around in my backyard, working on handles and moves. And am still in the scrub range for some reason on my HS team. I have a good jump shot, I can do all the fancy dribbles, know the fundamentals, ext. and still sit. Idk what to do.

I really need help bro… so freshman year I averaged 20 on jv.. sophmore year I I was still on jv we got a new coach and I quit because I didn’t get the time I deserved I felt like. Junior came buy this year and once again I didn’t get enough time on varsity so I quit 🤦‍♂️ is it over for me to make it in this sport ? Im going to be a senior next year and idk if it’s worth it to keep going with this sport I put in so much work. Im 6 foot 170 I’m sorry this was a lot I hope someone can answer 🙏

I'm not an HS player. I just play club ball in Europe in my mid twenties because in my youth I played high-level football (soccer). That being said, my archetype is the "overachiever." I'm not the most skillful player, but somehow I play way better in games than in practices. I'm not even a good shooter in practices or pickup, but somehow knock down shots in games, lol. I don’t score the most but still play the most minutes since I'm fast and can pass and can defend

There aren’t any trainers in my area how do I get to the next level

I'm deffenetly a role player. I'm a freshman and start on varsity at a really small school. I'm very inconsistent from 3, but I can do it all at least a little. I'm very confident and aggressive I just run the offense and don't look for my shot as much as I should

What if u are crazy at defence and can average 10 points a game in u14 is that good?

Def level 3. I’m 6’0, can shoot and finish on all positions.

How do I find pickup games and when I try at school they will be full or think I’m not good enough to play with them. I can’t make my own group because my school has only one court and it would just be chaotic

Im almost 15, im uncoordinated, dont play hs basketball or any basketball at all but have a deep passion for it, id describe myself between a scrub & a roleplayer, theres no gym i can train in, im an overthinker, & only play defense & i mean ONLY Defense, i cant grab boards, handle the ball nor score, i cant even receive a pass without fumbling it. Right now i kinda accepted my position & will only continue my hoop journey when im older & have a job & free time or something. Although what i can work on & have been working on for a while is athleticism & Bball/Bball Related IQ.

Thank you for making this and showing me how much of a role player I was glade I watched this as I just started playing

I feel like the star one

Hey Tuker I’m a 13 year old basketball player in PA, in my school there’s a bunch of elite hooper in my grade and in my whole entire school I’ve been struggling with confidence in games worrying that I might mess up and get benched recently I’ve had no passion in basketball and I feel like my love for the game of basketball has been fading, your videos have been helping me start to love the game of basketball more I’m going to try to take your advice next game and see how it goes. Thanks for giving me the advice I needed to here

This is interesting for me because i feel like i'm at the level of a role player on my team but i don't have a "role" so to say. i play in Australia so it's obviously a bit different to the sates but i'm still young so i just need to keep working hard

Im a 8th grade Basketball player and i would say im a prospect im getting recruited from fbc,atl bucks, and pistols aau. But i wnat to know how i can maintain a better mentality

I would say I’m a role player, I mean when I get the ball I tend to set my teammates up for easy mid range shots or lay ups too but for myself I don’t get any shots up

Hey im a 5'8 freshmen who is 14 years old and Im playing on my jv team right now, and I was 1 spot away from varsity. I just started excelling in games, where at the beginning of the season I was barely getting in, to now in my last 2 games I scored 16 and 18 points, do you have any advice as I see myself being a college basketball player in the future, but the first step is making varsity this next season,

Hey could you do a vid or vid segment about injury prevention love the vids keep it up

I was always stuck at the scrub level like the majority of people who try to play basketball. I started basketball relatively late at age 14 and was heading into HS. In a sense there was urgency in improving quicker since I had to go from "what's a layup?" to being on my HS varsity (which was my goal). I was at a disadvantage in comparison to my peers who played it since they were toddlers. I did the best I could with what I had at the time. When I entered at my HS, I played on the C team because there were no cuts. Everyone tried out for the varsity and those who didn't make it were automatically relegated to the C/JV team.

I worked hard enough at my skills but somehow the game never clicked with me. So I made up my mind I was going to be like Dennis Rodman. Basically to add value to my team, I dived for loose balls. I ran back on defense to prevent easy baskets. I was a good help defender and rebounded on offense and defense. And it helps I was the only player on my JV team to touch a 10 foot rim (I was able to dunk a tennis ball). My experience in basketball (and team sports in general) was that I was bullied pretty bad in HS. The kids thought I was "weird" and it turns out I was and still am on the spectrum but didn't know it until much later. Tony Snell coming forward and announcing publicly about his diagnosis of autism felt like a relief to me. He succeeded in making the NBA in spite of it. But his presence on his team always seemed different and now it made sense to me.

I am still scrub today in 2025 at age 43 because basketball is still too hard for me to grasp. Some of it has to do with having autism and other parts of it is I don’t know. It bothered me for years that I couldn't be good at something I really loved. But today my autism allowed me to see basketball in my own way. Traditional basketball (5v5 team) is the conventional way but not the only way to practice basketball.

You can take that sport and practice the way you like it. There are streetballers (Live Professor). There are dunk specialists (Jordan Kilganon). There are basketball freestylers (google "Bug!?"). There are trickshot artists (Tristan Jass and Juggling Josh). Of course there are the Harlem Globetrotters. I can go on and on. I am ok continuing practicing basketball moves that don't have to translate to 5v5 basketball. I practice basketball moves to stay fit and healthy. I work on my vertical to touch a 10 foot rim (at 220 lbs and 5 foot 9). I work my free throws, 3 pointers, and layups. I work on basketball freestyle skills.etc...

The world is big enough that we don't have to be gatekeepers that dictate what is "real basketball." Conventional basketball is a world of "normies" or "neurotypical" and that's fine. But some of us we practice it in other ways that make us happy.

I’m sending your videos to my nephew. His level 3 and needs to develop the mentality part.

i'd say im a high level 2 or a really low level 3. i just gotta keep working on my skills especially my mentality.

as former scrub offensive rebounds helps a lot.

Im definitely a prospect, i have the tools and the skills but I dont really know how to use them in game, I would always have the worst mentality and I would always make excuses and that hurts my ability to be able to score. Is there a way to get to the next level??

Love you videos man! My son has become a fan of yours and your videos helped him along with all his hard work. Side not my son started working out with Jordan burns who I’ve known since he was in high school. Told him my son loves your videos and he said “my guy tuck is the goat”. Keep on doing great things for young hoopers. Much love from San Antonio

I would say im a low level 2, i play the draymond role, good passer and ok defender, but my 3 ball is inconsistent, also im the only person that does this but, is it bad shooting with your middle and ring finger?

Now I am at zero . I played chess , karate , badminton, triple jump now basketball . I can touch 285 cm

i don’t know what i fall under. i haven’t played high school ball since sophomore year, because of coaches forcing me to play center “sophomore year and below”, and bad coaching. i’m 6’6, athletic, strong, fast, and can shoot. in competitive aau, ive had multiple 40-50 point games. one time i even had 60. ive had in game windmills, poster dunks, everything. i play positions 2-3 to be honest, thats what most coaches put me in. i wanna say i fall between the prospect and star, because to be honest, my attitude and ego is big. i’ve had multiple d1 colleges interested in me, and been to multiple camps. this is my senior year, but im reclassing 1 maybe 2 years at a prep school to gain those years i missed high school ball,my team plays in the power conference in the grind session, so we will be playing prolific prep, az compass, utah prep all them. Every kid in the area that has offers, ive dropped 20-30 points on them during aau season. this year, my coach said i can only take “7’s and 9’s”, a 7 being a catch and shoot 3, and a 9 being a wide open layup. if someone was contesting my layup, he would make me pass out otherwise it was a bad play. and a catch and shoot 3 was the only shot i could take. if i dribbled into it and missed, i would get benched. that’s why i quit, my playstyle is attack the rim, and if i get cut off or if someone is contesting, i can step back into the middy, or pass out. i couldn’t play my game. i shoot over 50 percent from midrange, and around 35% from three. i’ve played multiple eybl teams. i played 3ssb last aau season. i had 46 points against 2 ote players as a junior in san francisco, dropped 60 in local tournaments, you name it. gave the oakland soldiers buckets. please help man 🙏🙏

Im on level 2 rn but im slowly crawling to level 3 but in a low level environment