Our first piece of advice: know your role on the team. Are you the dominant big man? Are you the pure shooter? Are you the lockdown defender? Do your stats speak for themselves? Or does your game rely mostly on intangibles like athletic activity or situational awareness?

Understanding your strengths and weaknesses will make you stand out to coaches. It will also help you make an immediate impact at the college level.

Next: know your height. Okay, you might "know" it, but you also really need to understand the limitations of your height. In other words, you need to be realistic about which position will best suit you at the college level. Right now, you might be playing center at 6'5" for your high school team, but if you want to play Division I, you'll probably be better off as a guard or a forward.

Your high school basketball team was tall, but the college squad is hit-your-head-on-a-ceiling-fan tall.

We don't know what that ceiling fan is even doing in the middle of the gym.

D-I athletes are usually one to three inches taller than the same positions in D-II, D-III, NAIA, or junior college programs (source).

Although the 5'3" Muggsy Bogues was able to have an excellent NBA career at his microscopic height, he was an exception to the rule.

Oh, and absolutely know the academic requirements. Every school has a slightly different academic standard for athletes. It's your job and your job alone to take the proper number of classes and maintain the minimum GPA. Remember that your school and the NCAA may have different requirements as well…because life is complicated. 

Here's what isn't complicated: cheating. The only thing we have to say about it is: don't cheat. We've read all about those NCAA cheating scandals and we bet you have, too. Do your own work in college or there will be very real consequences. Like, for example, not being able to get or hold down a job later in life.

D-I eligibility requirements are also becoming more stringent for high school athletes graduating in 2016 or later. Minimum GPA will increase from 2.0 to 2.3. About 40% of incoming freshman D-I basketball players this year would have been ineligible under the new rules (source). In other words, get your grades up quick.

Requirements to play D-II ball are lower than they are for D-I, so anyone who meets the D-I minimums would also be eligible for D-II. NAIA programs have even lower NCAA-set standards. Finally, D-III athletes don't register with the NCAA, so these athletes only have to focus on the requirements set by the school. Whew.

If you don't meet the requirements to play D-I, D-II, D-III, or NAIA ball, there's always junior college. Many NBA players started out at junior college to focus on improving their grades before transferring to a major program. 

Ballers have got to get those A's, just like everyone else. Natch.