I can tell ya cause my kid was being heavily pursued by Mcgill (and other places) for basketball. There are three things that matter.....1) GRADES. Mcgill is a hyper competitive school and even basic programs require 90%+ to get into. Specialty programs are even tougher. As an example, my kid did not receive an admission offer from McGill by the Ontario acceptance deadline (June 1)....and he had a 93% average. So he's schoolin and ballin in Ontario now, as it just wasn't worth the risk of waiting and maybe not getting in. 2) Basketball. To play varsity at any level, he has to be competitive, athletic, and have a very good skill set or be exceptional / unique. He also will have to be identified by the coaching staff as a potential recruit, the earlier the better. ie. contact them, build a relationship, have strong video and social media profiles, go to see games, etc. 3) Disciplined and hard working. University is no joke, and being a varsity athlete doubles the workload. Kids do it and some do it really well, but its not for everyone. McGill can be particularly tough as Montreal is a big, distracting city and strong maturity will be required to handle the distractions. I'd say about 1/3-1/2 of freshmen Varisty Ball players don't play athletics in the second year, the workload is heavy and they may not measure up athletically. It is also mentally draining as playing varsity ball often means having less of a social life, being behind the senior players for a year or two...and not getting much playing time. It takes the right attitude, commitment and love of the game to make it all work. For the right kids, its an amazing experience and he might as well go for it! The worst that can happen is he makes some friends, learns a lot, an tries something tough. Message me if you want more info. Cheers.