The main purpose of the study was to examine the achievement goal orientation of adolescent basketball players in order to better understand the influence achievement goal orientation had on these athletes, and to understand when the achievement goal orientation of adolescent athletes' may change from a higher task goal orientation to a higher ego goal orientation. Examining the achievement goal orientation of adolescent basketball players could have helped to identify the age at which most adolescents change the degree of their achievement goal orientation. The achievement goal of adolescent basketball players was examined, looking at differences based on the gender and ethnicity of the participants.The study included 250 adolescent basketball players ranging in age from 9 to 14 years old, and currently participating in basketball leagues and tournaments within Central Indiana and Western New York. All of the participants completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ), which consisted of four demographic questions examining the gender, age, ethnicity, and how long the adolescent had been participating in the sport of basketball on a team. The means of the two subscales, task and ego, were calculated for all of the completed questionnaires. The Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the data according to the four research questions. All four research questions were not significant; there were no significant differences in the adolescent basketball players' achievement goal orientation based on age, gender, and ethnicity. The only significant result was found for competitiveness of the facility, and only for ego goal orientation. It was concluded the more competitive the league and/or tournament the higher the ego goal orientation would be for an adolescent basketball player. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted for the purpose of seeking to understand how a group of undrafted NBA players made sense of and learned from adversity throughout their journey to the NBA (and beyond). This type of study was chosen because of the lack of research on this topic and to further explore these undrafted NBA players’ understanding and meaning through their narratives. Semi-structured interviews were used to allow for the generation of additional probes based on the athletes’ responses. The researcher interviewed five undrafted NBA basketball players (both current and retired) who, despite not getting drafted, were still able to play and compete in the NBA. Six key findings were identified: (1) Participants reported factors of resilience when it came to success; (2) participants reported mindset in various ways; (3) participants reported faith and belief in themselves, their dream, or their ability to make/play in the NBA, which contributed to their success; (4) participants reported their definition of success differently based on their experience and journey; (5) participants reported learning from adverse experience; and (6) participants reported a strong work ethic. Three conclusions were reached: (1) for undrafted NBA players to succeed, they must use adversity as a learning experience and/or opportunity; (2) for undrafted NBA players to succeed, they must not lose faith in their dream or ability to make it and/or play it in the NBA, regardless of the adversity they face on their journey; and (3) undrafted players must define and measure success in terms of their own goals, dreams, experience, and personal journey.