A good, well-kept secret.

That's how one person described the early days of First Team, an NCAA education and mentoring program for prospective basketball student-athletes. But if the two-year-old program continues to make as much of an impact as it has so far, there's a good chance it could be as well known as some of the prized high-school basketball talent it is designed to assist.

First Team is a year-round education and mentoring program that helps elite-level men's basketball prospects successfully navigate the collegiate recruiting process and understand the value of education and the proper role of athletics. The five-year pilot program grew from concepts developed by the Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues and the Division I Men's Basketball Issues Committee, groups charged several years ago with addressing a basketball culture that many felt was being invaded by influential people who did not have prospects' best interests in mind.

First Team offers choices to enhance opportunities for prospects who might otherwise be susceptible to such influences. Program director Anne Little said First Team's objectives are "not to tell prospective student-athletes what to do, but to help them become better critical thinkers and to provide them -- and their parents -- with information needed to make informed decisions."

The program targets eighth and ninth graders -- identified by their athletics ability but not selected solely because of their talent. Applicants are required to complete an essay and display a commitment to academics as well as athletics. A selection committee reviews the applications and makes recommendations for participation.

For those chosen there are a number of benefits. First Team staff members maintain monthly contact with prospects, in some cases with help from external "captains" or mentors, through face-to-face visits and phone calls. One of the key resources that First Team provides is information, especially about the recruiting process and the recruiting calendar.

First Team participants also gather each summer for the annual conference featuring programming in four target areas: recruiting, education, life skills and health/
physical fitness. The conference has attracted such basketball heavyweights as John Thompson, Bobby Cremins, John Lucas and Clark Kellogg as speakers.

First Team has developed a presence in 20 states and will expand into 13 more this year. The goal is to eventually serve all 50 states. From 57 original participants, First Team has grown to include 170 top boys' basketball players.

"Many have felt that an initiative of this nature was long overdue," said Ron Stratten, NCAA vice-president for education services. "Early on, because of some misconceptions about the program's mission and target audience, some individuals expressed concern. However, with a clear understanding, many of these individuals are now some of the strong proponents and have provided support to a number of program initiatives."

Stratten said some of the early misconceptions included concerns about who the mentors would be and how participants would be selected. Some people also thought First Team was only a social or minority program. But the goal is much broader than that. First Team helps top recruits assimilate into the collegiate environment through education, information and guidance from people who understand the collegiate model.

The organizations working closest with NCAA First Team program are the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

B. Elliot Hopkins of the NFHS believes First Team fills a critical gap in the transition from high-school athletics to intercollegiate athletics.

"I like the fact that the NCAA has deemed this important, because the kids you are talking about are heavily recruited and have a lot of pressure on them from their communities, and sometimes unsavory characters lead them in the wrong direction. This helps make the transition easier and puts the correct emphasis on academics," Hopkins said. "Through First Team's efforts, we get clear, accurate information out there in terms young people understand."

NABC Deputy Executive Director Reggie Minton believes another of First Team's early successes has been getting people to realize the program's potential.

"I think one of the biggest successes has been getting people to understand that it could play a huge role in educating young people and getting the recruiting process back on an even keel," he said. "It puts educators who care about young people in position to have a greater influence rather than people who were, in some cases, maybe trying to influence those young people for their own gain."

First class will measure success

Little believes that one of the program's greatest assets is having former Division I basketball players help staff it. Associate director Greg Turner, a former basketball student-athlete at Auburn University, was drafted and played professionally overseas before returning to school and serving as a graduate assistant coach while pursing his master's degree. Assistant director Greg Graham, who played basketball and graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, was a first-round draft pick.

Little also said First Team not only provides vital information to participants and their parents, it serves as a resource to thousands of other basketball student-athletes across the country through communication avenues that include newsletters distributed through the state high-school associations.

Retention is another First Team highlight. Eighty-eight percent of the original participants are still in the program. Inaugural class members are now juniors in high school and are poised to enter the recruiting process, which will be a telling indicator of the program's ultimate success.

The NABC's Minton said the results will prove positive. "Because prospects are more educated about the process, they are going to be able to ask pertinent questions, and they are going to be more prepared than the average young person," he said.

Some testimonials already are surfacing. Adonis "Sporty" Jeralds, manager of the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been involved with First Team as a consultant and speaker for the summer conference. He sees the maturity of the participants as another sign that First Team is working.

"I think the participants are a little bit ahead of the curve in terms of their maturity level and how they view the world compared to if they had not been exposed to the First Team program," he said.

Beyond maintaining the current level of excellence, Little believes that as the program grows, the staff will be challenged to provide ongoing four-year support for the top prospective student-athletes from all 50 states and broadening the program's reach by "getting the same word out" to as many individuals as possible.

While First Team's future beyond its five-year lifespan as a pilot program is unknown at this point, advocates hope that the program's success will make it not only a permanent fixture in men's basketball but in other sports as well.

"Hopefully, over time, when First Team is mentioned, it will be synonymous with academically sound, well-rounded, informed prospective student-athletes," Little said. "We also hope that the network of successful First Team alumni and participants will become peer-mentors for others, helping to create a cultural change for basketball."