Leslie Craven

[Derek Deprey @derekdeprey]

Unpopular opinion…

AAU doesn’t need to lead to college basketball to be worth it.

For a lot of players today, it’s simply part of becoming competitive enough to play varsity basketball.

Not every player is chasing a Division I scholarship. Some are chasing a varsity roster spot. Some want to make the rotation. Some want to help their high school team win. Some just love the game.

And that’s enough!

I think we’ve become too obsessed with using college basketball as the scoreboard for whether a player’s journey was worth it.

What if they never play another organized game after high school?

If they loved the practices… loved the tournaments… loved the road trips… loved the teammates… loved competing…

Wasn’t that valuable too?

Not every basketball journey has to end with a scholarship to be a success.

Sometimes success is simply getting better, building friendships, making memories, learning life lessons, and squeezing EVERY DROP out of a game you love.

If you’re playing on Court 1 or Court 37, play hard.

The love of the game doesn’t care what division you’re headed to.

❤️🏀

[TribLive HSSN @TribLiveHSSN]

WPIAL names 2025-26 James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award winners https://t.co/y10l1rHOxC

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@brown2103_ @sonictrump7 @MarchMadnessMBB And they showed Miami

[Pittsburgh Pirates @Pirates]

In honor of a very successful Opening Weekend at PNC Park, we're giving away this team-autographed poster.

RT for your chance to win! 🏴‍☠️

[Andrew Fillipponi @ThePoniExpress]

Griffin Giveaway: If Konnor Griffin gets 2 hits and Buccos win the home opener. I’m giving away 5 brand new Konnor Griffin jerseys. All you gotta do is 1) follow me. And 2) retweet this post. Good luck. LETS GO BUCS!

[Randy Sullivan MPT, CSCS @RandySullivanPT]

As my youngest son’s sophomore season ended, one of the big-name travel ball orgs dropped their new rankings

I logged in to check his profile

In his class they had him as the 8th-best catcher in the country

No. 2 in Florida

Not gonna lie

I was a proud dad

The following summer, we chose a different route

No chasing invite-only events, no living on planes

He spent the summer training

Getting stronger

Cleaning up his swing

Catching better arms

He played in just three tournaments, none of them affiliated with that ranking organization

He played the best baseball of his life and earned a scholarship to a top‑25 D1 program

That fall, out of curiosity, I checked his profile again

Ranked No. 221

Did he really get that much worse?

If he did, I never saw it

Maybe 213 guys just “got better”

Or maybe the formula changed

He went on to have a great college career

Conference and regional champ

MVP of the Gainesville Regional

His team came a couple of plays short of Omaha

Then he got a couple of years in pro ball for good measure

The ranking never predicted any of that

The game still rewards work, toughness, and development more than any list ever will

Rankings are a great marketing tool

Not a great predictor of future success

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@mitchgoldich @TylerCollins53

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@aynii_00 7587

[Pittsburgh Steelers @steelers]

Who wants it? 👀

RP for your chance to win this signed @_TJWatt jersey!

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@MrPitbull07 Salad

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@charlieputh It was beautiful!

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@KDKA And some attorney actually took the case. It should be illegal to file such a frivolous outrageous lawsuit.

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@AnnieAgar Not great. What the heck

[DK🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸 @1Nicdar]

130 schools said no.
He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway.
Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami.

He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed.
So did FIU.
So did FAU.
So did everyone else.

At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs.
Not one FBS offer.
His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.

Everyone told him to be “realistic.”
“Know your place.”
“Be grateful.”
He didn’t listen.
Because Mendoza understood something most people miss:
The worst outcome isn’t failing.
It’s never getting the chance to try.

Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang.
Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools.
He took it.
He arrived as the third-string quarterback.
Spent a year on the scout team.
Lost his first four starts.
Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line.

Still got up. Every time.
Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him.
So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes.
He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history.

People laughed.
“Career suicide.”
“Graveyard program.”
“Nobody wins there.”
One coach told him something different:
“I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.”
That was enough.
Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football.
His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years.

Before every snap, he thought of her.
“My mother is my why.”
Indiana went 16–0.
Beat six Top-10 teams.
Won their first Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns.
Won the Heisman—first in school history.
First Cuban-American to ever do it.

Then came the title game.
Miami. Near his hometown.
Fourth-and-4. Season on the line.
Quarterback draw.
The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone.

Game over.
Indiana—national champions.
The losingest program became the best team in America.
All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end.

Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.
Gatekeepers don’t write your ending.
Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.

Sometimes all you need is one shot…
and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Don’t quit.

Credit: Barclay Mullins

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@HawkEmDownChris True

[Andrew Fillipponi @ThePoniExpress]

PLAYOFF GIVEAWAY: Want an Aaron Rodgers jersey for the playoff run? If Rodgers throws 2+ touchdowns AND the Steelers beat the Texans. I will giveaway 10 (!!!) Rodgers jerseys to followers. All you have to do is A) Follow Me and B) Retweet this post. Tell a friend. Here. We. Go.

[Pittsburgh Pirates @Pirates]

REPOST THIS for a chance to win FOUR tickets to Opening Day 2026! 

Reminder: Single Game tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 14!

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@RyanDeto Yinz in this case meaning the dolphins

[Terry Grossetti Jr. @TerryGrossetti]

Pine Richland Basketball grinding 💪

#wpialbasketball #hsbasketball #pittsburgh

[Leslie Craven @L2theC]

@TylerCollins53

[Napalm Kicking @Napalm_Kicking]

This is what gets snappers from college to the pros.

It is this level of detail that you have to have to even have a chance of making it.