The post-season is underway in college basketball and there have been stunning upsets in both the men’s and women’s tournaments so far. For fans, that means busted brackets and a loss of bragging rights. But, for the hundreds of college athletes participating in the tournament, the abrupt end of the season presents significant questions about their future.
Take Jack Gohlke, for example. The 24-year-old Oakland University sharpshooter led the 14th-seed Grizzlies to a stunning win over the third-seed Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the tournament, and after the game, a joke about his future went viral.
A post on X joked that while many of Kentucky’s players will be in the NBA next season, Gohlke will be selling insurance. The player and his coach, Greg Kampe, made light of the comment during an interview after the big win, and the publicity resulted in a Name, Image, and Likeness deal with TurboTax.
According to Oakland's head coach Greg Kampe, Jack Gohlke's teammates got wind of a tweet that said all these Kentucky players are gonna be in the NBA next year, and he's gonna be selling insurance.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 23, 2024
They started singing State Farm's jingle: " Like a good neighbor, State Farm is… pic.twitter.com/4zIn0b8nIy
Only 1.2% of college basketball players will go on to play in the NBA, which is a fact that is sometimes lost on fans as they get wrapped up in the excitement of the tournament. For the other student-athletes, they’ll return to their campus to finish out the semester and either graduate or prepare for the next season and semester. And yes, some will go on to sell insurance.
We know that college basketball players are incredibly talented at their sport, otherwise, they wouldn’t be playing at this level, but their natural talents can lead them to career success off the court, too. If student-athletes understood the connection between their aptitudes, interests, and potential best-fit careers, they would be able to plan their post-college pathway with more confidence. That’s where YouScience® can help.
For the thousands of college athletes who will not make a living playing their sport, YouScience® Aptitude & Career Discovery is like a coach who draws up the perfect play. It leads to success. After taking a series of timed brain games, individuals are presented with a dashboard that explains their aptitudes and matches them to detailed career cards that outline the average salary, projected openings, and the education necessary to qualify for the career.
Aptitude & Career Discovery is part of the YouScience® Brightpath solution and is available to many students nationwide through their schools and universities. It can also be purchased individually here. Either way, YouScience is a winning solution for students, athletes, and anyone else who wants to pursue a rewarding career that fits their aptitudes and interests.