That's a complicated question that depends on what athlete you're talking about.
A lot of those end of the bench players at high end D1 schools are walk ons that have been convinced by the big time coaches that they can work their ways into the rotation, but are really there to boost the team's GPA. Some of them are someone important's son, grandson, nephew, etc. Some get hurt or lose out to next year's class.
I know a few of those types that turned down guaranteed playing time at D2 schools that are top tier academically to chase a dream at a big time D1 and don't end up playing at all. High school kids get caught up when a big name school pumps their heads full of dreams of being the next Walk on to scholarship athlete success story.
But ask yourself this: Would you rather get starter's minutes and live in Maine or North Dakota playing NAIA basketball, or ride the bench at UF and hope to break through like Scotty Wilbekin?
