New year, same us. Might not sound like the old saying about turning over a new leaf, but this year promises many new ways to bring you the same passion we all share, which is our love of high school sports and beyond. With that, we introduce to you the “5 Things” we feel that you should be aware of each and every day.

1. King Kev of New York – There’s fulfilling dreams, and then there’s what the former Tampa Catholic star is doing for the Knicks. Currently he’s on a 12-game streak of scoring at least double-digits with nearly half of those (5) going for 20+, while also earning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December.
2. MoneyBall – We recently saw a tweet that stated: “Just spoke with a college coach. The difference between a 2.99/19 and a 3.0/20 is $8,000.00. I cannot overstate how important your grades are. The class you blow off and get a C/D in could cost you close to 10K. I’m just saying.”—Now there’s A TON to unpack there and put into context, but folks, for all intents and purposes this is accurate. We can’t even warn the juniors at this point, but if you’re a sophomore or freshman, welcome to the MOST important period of your academic lives. Handle your business.
3. Soooo, you’re saying there’s a chance? – The NCAA and their research department are a must follow on Twitter (@NCAAResearch), but some important nuggets were dropped over the holidays. One of them we thought was important was the estimated percentage of athletes in HS that will go on to play at ANY division. Lacrosse was the highest for Boys (12.4%) and Girls (12.6%), while the lowest for the Boys was Wrestling at 2.9% and Basketball for the Girls at 3.8%. Baseball checked in at 7.1%, Football at 6.9% and Basketball at 3.4%. Go to to ncaa.org for more of the results.
4. FBS/FCS + GSR = Good Stuff – The Graduation Success Rate for FBS and FCS players is gaining ground like a Paul Johnson led Offense. In 2002, the GSR’s for FBS and FCS were at just 63% and 62% respectively. Fast-forward 16 years later and BOTH are sitting at 79%. While a 1% average gain per year isn’t going to impress some, we don’t care. Progress is progress, and the way we look at it is this: The guys at the highest levels with the craziest of demands for their time are graduating at basically an 80% clip. Some of y’all have no idea how impressive that really is.
5. When D-3 is as good as D-1 – We ARE NOT going to forget the backbone of the collegiate athletic experience which is the D-2’s, the D-3’s and the NAIA’s of the world, but we wanted to share how important getting SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE is important in the grand scheme. According to the data, D-3 athletes are boat-racing (in some cases) their student bodies when it comes to graduation rates. And, why wouldn’t they when you clearly read item #2 on our list this morning, right? Right?!? Student-Athlete’s are graduating at higher clips on both the men’s and women’s sides. Overall, the S-A’s are graduating at 68% to the Student Body of 64%. Broken down into gender, S-A Men are getting their diplomas 62% vs. 60% of their student body. The eye-opener here? Women Student-Athlete’s in D-3 schools are graduating at a 77% rate compared to just 67% of other women on campus.