One thing about playing professional basketball -- and coming from a small (read: non-Division 1) school -- is that the game is never rigged in your favor. You attend combines and exposure camps with the hope that you do well and impress someone. Sometimes you do accomplish that goal; sometimes you don't. It's like playing a weighted lottery. You're taking a chance, but your skills are your trump card, as long as you have a chance to display them properly.
The coaches and agents that attend camps to scout talent are gambling too. They are there to find players, but they have no idea if the player they want will be there. They're the decision makers, but if the decision was so easy, they would just sign a player, without the camp acting as middle man.
The only guaranteed winner in this racket is the company or person holding the event. They make money off of every participant (minus expenses, of course) and it doesn't matter how well anyone plays or if anyone gets signed. They make their money regardless.
The players and agents at a camp are the gamblers, hoping their skill and a bit of luck gets them the jackpot. Some days you win. But as a whole, you all lose in the long run. That's the way The House sets it up. In case you don't get it by now: The camps you pay? They're The House.
I decided I wanted to be a House.
Create my own brand, make my own name. Call the shots and the misses. Eventually I became a House -- people look to me for information, advice. Asking questions. Learning from my experience. Gambling is fun, but it's a zero-sum game at best. I'd rather know that I'm going to win.
I only play games that guarantee me a win in some form or fashion. You may wish to be the warrior, battling and gambling with your time and money, and that's fine -- do what works for you.
Controlling the odds 100%? Deciding how much I bet and controlling the payout? That's what works for me.
#WorkOnYourGame