The Gonzaga Bulldogs were muscled out of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Round 2 by Jared Sullinger and the Ohio State Buckeyes but they left a note for under-recruited athletes on their way out. Junior guard Mike Hart saw 15 minutes of court time in the game after getting 17 minutes and scoring five points in their Opening Round win over West Virginia.

When Hart arrived on campus he had come to terms with the fact that his days of competitive, meaningful basketball were behind him. As he explained it to OregonLive.com earlier this month, the fact that he is now on the team had as much to do with pure luck as it did with his work ethic and ability to play the game.

As that article explains, he went to Gonzaga to study business but just so happened to room in the same residence hall as the highly-touted Andy Poling. Poling invited Hart to pickup games against some of the other freshmen recruits and, from there, he found his way to monitored scrimmages, open gyms and, finally, the Zags’ roster. Hart has continued to work hard and last season he even received a one-semester scholarship, which he gave back this season to make way for incoming freshmen. I’d say he’s done pretty well for himself, as far as under-recruited NCAA basketball players go.

If you’re familiar with the Zags roster you may be wondering what happened to Poling. Perhaps ironically, he has since transferred to Seattle Pacific University while Hart is helping the Zags win NCAA Tournament games. My point is not at all to take a shot at Poling, because he seems to be perfectly happy at SPU, it is simply that even coaches as intelligent as Mark Few miss guys who can help their teams more often than they find them.

Hart was a local product and 2nd Team All -Metro League member coming out of high school so you would think it would have been a no-brainer for the Zags to at least put in a phone call. But they didn’t. Instead, they found him half by luck and half by giving him a shot to practice with the other guys in his class.

I wonder how many other under-recruited NCAA basketball players are out there in open gyms and on high school rosters but aren’t going to room in the same residence hall as Andy Poling…

If you think you have what it takes to be the next Mike Hart – or even better – join College Prospect Network. Our website is designed specifically to increase exposure for under-recruited athletes so you don’t have to depend on the same luck that Hart needed. Mention it to your favorite coach as well because we need one of your coaches (it doesn’t have to be your Head Coach) to register on the site in case a college wants to see more game film or has questions about you.

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