There are only three ways to make it in this business: nepotism, relationships, and hard work. Only one of them is in your control.
People love to talk about how to “make it” in the basketball world. They’ll tell you it’s about who you know, or who your family is, or what connections you were born into. And honestly, there’s truth to that. But the one thing that will always separate you, the one thing nobody can take away from you, is how hard you work.
Hard work is the equalizer. It’s the thing that gets you noticed when nobody knows your name. It’s the thing that gets you hired when your résumé isn’t the longest. It’s the thing that gets you promoted when you don’t have the last name or the connections. Hard work is the one thing in this business that is 100% yours.
And the truth is, the people who really make it aren’t the ones talking about how hard they work. They’re the ones who keep their head down, stay quiet, and just get things done. They don’t need attention. They don’t need credit. They don’t need applause. They just show up every day and outwork everybody in the room.
That’s what gets noticed.
People think hard work means staying late or showing up early. And yes, that’s part of it. But real hard work is deeper than that. It’s doing the things nobody sees. It’s doing the things nobody thanks you for. It’s doing the things that don’t show up on social media or in a job description.
Hard work is staying in the office after everyone leaves, finishing the scout, cutting the film, organizing the gear, cleaning the locker room, prepping for the next trip, and making sure tomorrow runs smoother than today. Hard work is doing the job before someone asks you to. Hard work is solving problems quietly. Hard work is making the program look organized, even when everything behind the scenes is chaos.
And I’ve lived this.
When I graduated from college, I didn’t get a basketball job. I took a retail manager position making $50,000 a year because I needed something. Nine months later, I was offered a volunteer DOBO spot at a national prep high school program. No salary, no guarantees, just an opportunity. I left the 9–5 immediately. I took a chance on myself.
The head coach didn’t even fully know what a DOBO did. He wrote a job description and hoped I could handle it. I didn’t just handle it; I went way beyond it. I showed him he made the right hire with my work, not my words. I said yes to everything because I knew I would do it well, and I hated waiting for someone else to decide if they wanted to step up.
In two years, we went 52–10, became the No. 1 prep high school team in the country, won a conference championship, produced future NBA draft picks, sent 10 players to Division I, and three coaches, including myself, earned Division I jobs. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because every coach on that staff worked their area relentlessly. Nobody overlapped. Nobody coasted. Everyone grinded.
I handled travel logistics, budgets, social media, marketing, board meetings, and camps. Whatever needed to be done. I stayed in the shadows and made sure everything looked clean and ran smoothly so the coaches could just coach. I worked hard because I needed the opportunity, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
That’s what hard work looks like. That’s what it leads to.
And here’s the part people don’t understand: hard work builds relationships. Not the fake kind. Not the “networking” kind. The real kind.
When you work hard, people trust you. When you work hard, people talk about you in rooms you’re not in. When you work hard, people want you around. When you work hard, people recommend you for jobs. When you work hard, people fight to keep you on staff.
That’s how relationships are built in this business. Through consistency, reliability, and effort. Not through handshakes and small talk. Through work.
And the best part? Hard work compounds. It stacks. Every day you show up and grind, you’re building a reputation. You’re building a name. You’re building a résumé without even printing anything on paper. Coaches notice. Administrators notice. Players notice. The community notices.
You don’t have to be the smartest. You don’t have to be the most talented. You don’t have to be the most connected.
But if you’re the hardest worker in the room, you will rise.
Because in this business, people remember who they can count on. They remember who shows up. They remember who never complains. They remember who gets things done. They remember who makes their life easier. They remember who works like their career depends on it. Because it does.
Hard work is the one path into this profession that doesn’t require luck, a last name, or a phone full of contacts. It just requires effort. Every day. Every task. Every moment.
Keep your head down. Keep working. Let your work speak louder than your voice.
Because in this industry, hard work always pays off. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually, always. And when it does, it pays off bigger than you think.