Has any D2 player made the NBA?
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe
Earl Monroe played college basketball at Winston-Salem State and for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets and New York Knicks between 1967-80. He totaled 926 games, scoring 17,454 points, notably playing with backcourt partner Walt Frazier for the Knicks.
Several college basketball players from lower divisions are among the 233 early entrants in the NBA draft. Six players from Division II and one from Division III declared early for the draft. There were 175 players from colleges or other educational institutions as well as 58 international players.
A select few D2 athletes also end up going pro, but D3 athletes almost never go pro.
Devean George, Augsburg (1995-99)
Devean George remains the only Division III player taken in the first round of an NBA draft – the 23rd overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakers. George became a key rotation player for three NBA championship teams in LA.
The division terms that apply when transferring from a D3 or D2 school to a D1 institution occur if you're a baseball, basketball, football or men's ice hockey player. You'll likely need to sit out a year, something that wouldn't be required if you did a switch amongst D2 and D3 colleges.
Can a D2 school become a D1 school? Yes, a Division 2 school can become a Division 1 school. To do so, it will need to meet the Division 1 requirements. This means increasing the number of sports offered and sponsoring a minimum of seven men's and seven women's sports, or six men's and eight women's sports.
Earn at least a 2.2 GPA in your core courses. Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score matching your core-course GPA on the Division II sliding scale, which balances your test score and core-course GPA. If you have a low test score, you need a higher core-course GPA to be eligible.
Just like high school student-athletes who go on to play D1, only about 1 percent of high-school basketball players end up securing a roster spot at D2 basketball schools. Potential recruits need to be prepared to work just as hard to compete at some of the best Division 2 basketball colleges.
Very few of the thousands of student-athletes competing in Division II will receive a full athletics grant that covers all of their expenses, but most of them will receive some athletics-based financial aid to help them through school.
Are D2 athletes better than D3?
Many talented athletes choose D2, some for a more well-rounded college experience and others for the opportunity to get more playing time or to play all four years. D3, in general, provides a student-athlete with a “normal” college experience while allowing them to still compete in athletics.
D1: The best athletes and teams with the most pro players come from this division. D2: A step below D1, but still have some really good athletes and a handful of teams that can compete with low level D1's.
Going pro from D3 is possible and has happened, but it's rare. Players without a strong desire to go pro may be more willing to consider D3 schools. Playing time. Some players opt to play D3 at a program they know they will get playing time in rather than struggle to earn minutes at D1.
In fact, players such as Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, andBen Wallace played at D2 schools.
“For division III, 99.9 percent of the players college career is usually the end of their [athletic] career, we've had one player that moved on to play professionally, Aaron Walton Moss in Iceland,” McDonald said.
However, there are no age limitations on athlete age for D-2 and D-3 colleges. Therefore, if the first time they start college is at age (for example) 35 years old, they are allowed five years to play four years of sports.
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS |
| 1 | Northwest Missouri State (12) | 386 |
| 2 | Augusta (1) | 358 |
| 3 | Indiana (1) | 344 |
...
DII football players on NFL rosters.
| NFL TEAM | PLAYER | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Thielen | Minnesota State | |
| New England Patriots | Kyle Dugger | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| Matthew Judon | Grand Valley State | |
| Gunner Olszewski | Bemidji State |
Absolutely! The NFL thoroughly scouts D2 football. If you have the talent they will find you. There have been 100's of D2 and lower players make the NFL…even to the Hall of Fame.
NCAA Division II and III, NAIA schools and Junior colleges all welcome walk-ons. NCAA Division I colleges also offer tryouts but it tends to be more difficult. There have been a number of athletes who have walked on to Division I football, basketball and baseball teams.
How much is a good D2 athletic scholarship?
NCAA Division 2 is a bit less competitive with 306 colleges and universities, awarding scholarships to about 71,306 student athletes. The average athletic scholarship for all sports of an NCAA D2 male athlete is down around $5,548 and $6,814 for females.
Very few student-athletes at Division II schools will receive full scholarships, but most will receive partial scholarships or some other form of athletic-based financial aid. Additionally, student-athletes can apply for other scholarships, like merit or academic scholarships, or other forms of financial aid.
NAIA programs are pretty closely comparable to NCAA D3 schools, and top-level NAIA programs match the talent found at mid/high-level NCAA D2 schools. Sometimes athletes will select a top 25 NAIA program over a lower ranked D2 program because the competition level is actually quite similar.
How Much Do College Basketball Referees Make? According to reports, college basketball referees take home an average salary between $58,000 and $72,000. The top officials in the bigger conferences like the SEC, ACC and Big Ten can be paid as much as $2,000 per game, but that number dwindles in smaller conference games.
Division 1 is the top level of college basketball, but Division 2 isn't far behind. The two levels are similar in many ways, but there are some differences too. We have listed as many major differences/basketball comparisons as we could come up with between Division 1 and Division 2.
Most Division II athletes will receive some amount of athletics-based financial aid to help with their scholastic expenses. The student-athletes who receive partial-scholarships use academic scholarships, student loans, and employment earnings to cover the rest of the expenses.
Division II delegates gave a resounding vote Saturday in favor of allowing schools to provide student-athletes with unlimited meals and snacks as well as team entertainment incidental to their athletics participation.
However, please remember that all Division I and Division II student-athletes are subject to summer drug testing, whether they are on-campus or away from campus.
NCAA approves Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy
This new policy allows all NCAA D1, D2 and D3 student-athletes to be compensated for their NIL as of July 1, 2021, regardless of whether their state has a NIL law in place or not.
If you are wondering, “What does D1, D2, D3 mean in automatic cars?” here's a perfect explanation for you. D1, 2, and 3 are different gear levels. D 1 is the slowest among the three, while D2 is faster than 1, and D3 is faster than both 2 and 1.
How do D2 schools make offers?
For large programs at D1 or D2 schools, college coaches will have a list of nearly 200–300 athletes. Not all those athletes will be joining the team, but the coach will start by giving out offers to the recruits at the top of their list and then work their way down until they've filled all open roster spots.
As a result, the NCAA granted a full year of eligibility in all sports to all D3 athletes. This gave many graduating D3 athletes a unique opportunity: They could use their eligibility as grad transfers in D1 programs.
The average athletic scholarship for all sports (opens in new tab) in Division I is approximately $14,270 a year for men and $15,162 for women. In Division II sports, the numbers drop to $5,548 for men and $6,814 for women. Using NCAA averages, a typical men's ice hockey scholarship at Syracuse University is $14,270.
All scholarships at the NCAA DII level are equivalency scholarships, which mean the majority are partial scholarships. However, you can still get a full-scholarship at the D2 level when you find the right school.
Division 2 football players did a great job to be honest. The 2022 NFL Draft had 5 players get drafted, but 10 of them ended up making the initial 53 man roster, with three more of those players signing to a practice squad.
Only 7% of all high school athletes can even make it to the D3 level.
NCAA Division III athletes are going to receive several more perks thanks to a rule passed Saturday. Rather than only providing food on game days and road trips, Division III schools will also be able to supply athletes with snacks following workouts and practices – even outside of the season.
It depends. Even division one teams have taken walk ons, some became starting players and went to the pros. It depends because you need to be basically physically fit with high school experience, be able to run drills and meet a minimum time in 40 yard dash and other fitness tests.
DIII schools have the most relaxed NCAA recruiting rules of all the division levels. Similar to NCAA DII, they are the same for all sports: Recruiting materials: Athletes can receive recruiting materials at any time. Telephone calls: There is no limit on when college coaches can call athletes.
The players are very good and the competition is great. Division 3 athletes come from great club teams. Often they were the best players on their club and high school teams. You will be surprised if you believe that you can succeed at the Division 3 level with little work or talent.
Are Division 3 athletes good?
A lot of people think Division 3 athletes just weren't good enough to play anywhere else. That isn't the case at all. Division III teams across the nation have rosters full of athletes who were among the best at their high school or even in their entire state.
It really depends on the school and the competitive nature of the team. A bad D3 team is usually made up of local kids and tends not have the number of players to make cuts. a large school like UW Whitewater may do cuts but they try to always have 150+ players.
D1: The best athletes and teams with the most pro players come from this division. D2: A step below D1, but still have some really good athletes and a handful of teams that can compete with low level D1's.
Competing at top Division 2 basketball schools is often just as intense and competitive as playing basketball at a D1 college. Just like high school student-athletes who go on to play D1, only about 1 percent of high-school basketball players end up securing a roster spot at D2 basketball schools.
DIVISION 2
The recruiting at this level can be difficult on a player for a number of reason. First, if your a borderline D1 player, Division 2 school may recruit you hard. They will give you deadlines and try to get you to commit. D2 schools don't want to be held hostage while you are trying to get a D1 offer.
Absolutely! The NFL thoroughly scouts D2 football. If you have the talent they will find you. There have been 100's of D2 and lower players make the NFL…even to the Hall of Fame.
Going pro from D3 is possible and has happened, but it's rare. Players without a strong desire to go pro may be more willing to consider D3 schools. Playing time. Some players opt to play D3 at a program they know they will get playing time in rather than struggle to earn minutes at D1.
Employment rules and regulations are the same for both the regular academic year and the summer semester. Essentially, a student-athlete may be employed as long as they notify the Compliance Office.
Actually there are over 1 million high school boys and girls basketball players. Only 1% of those players go on to play D1. That leaves a ton of still great players to filter down to D2 and D3.
There are three divisions within the NJCAA, and only Division 1 and 2 can offer athletic scholarships to basketball players. Even more, Division 1 is the only division that can offer a full ride. Division 2 is allowed to cover tuition, fees and books, but they can't pay for housing.
Is D2 better than NAIA?
NAIA programs are pretty closely comparable to NCAA D3 schools, and top-level NAIA programs match the talent found at mid/high-level NCAA D2 schools. Sometimes athletes will select a top 25 NAIA program over a lower ranked D2 program because the competition level is actually quite similar.