Student Athletes By ESPN Kids Writer

For the next couple of weeks, everybody will be talking about college basketball. This attention is deserved, as the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments are two of the best sporting events of the year.

During the Tournament, these college basketball players will become almost like celebrities. Already, some of the best players are household names: Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson of North Carolina, Blake Griffin of Oklahoma, and Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut are already pretty big stars. During March Madness, these players are going to get even bigger and fans will likely be introduced to some new heroes.

With these players becoming such big stars, it's hard to remember that they are also college students. They are not glamorous professional athletes like Dwayne Wade or LeBron James. Even the top players in the NCAA Tournament have to take classes and do homework. Because they spend so much time travelling and playing basketball, college players usually have special tutors to make sure that they don't fall behind with their schoolwork.

Many young fans know what its like to be both a student and an athlete. You have to go to school, go to practice, eat dinner and do homework. Sometimes it's hard to find any free time at all! For college players, it's even harder. Practices are longer and there are more games, especially during March Madness.

During the Tournament, everybody cheers when Hansbrough throws down a dunk or Thabeet blocks a shot into the front row. What fans don't see is these athletes taking tests and going to class, just like every other student!

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