The message on the commercial is simple — a large majority of college athletes “go pro in something other than sports.”

It’s the NCAA athletics commercial where scenes of student-athletes are shown competing in their respective sport, and then shown doing lab work or some other non-sports-related profession.

With a countless number of student-athletes attending numerous colleges and universities across the country, not all athletes can go pro in their sports.

But after investing the immeasurable number of hours required to be competitive in a sport — training, exercising, practicing and attending games — athletes must prepare for the reality of life after sports.

For senior forward Sasha Reaves of the women’s basketball team, the jump from being a basketball player as a way of life to entering the real world is something that was just going to happen.

“I can already tell the difference since the season ended,” Reaves said. “I still come back and see my teammates practicing. I already miss it a lot, but I guess it is my time to move on.”

Reaves, a four-year member of the women’s basketball team, will be graduating in less than a month with a B.A. in sociology, and she will be entering life after basketball.

While she hasn’t found a job yet, Reaves said her heart is set on a specific job — “anything working with kids.”

“Working with kids is just something I like doing. I have always enjoyed it,” Reaves said.

While Reaves probably won’t use the scripted plays or basketball fundamentals she has practiced and learned over her past four years at N.C. State, she admits the rigorous lifestyle of being a student-athlete has taught her a lot.

From the demanding schedule team members are required to follow to the communication skills she gained through attending classes, Reaves said her experiences at State have prepared her for life after college.

“It has helped me a lot with time management,” Reaves said. “After having to follow such a structured schedule with the team, I had to manage my time well so that I could spend time on academics. Now I will have to do that on my own.”

The experience of Reaves is opposite of that for senior guard Ashley Key, who was able to fulfill “a dream of mine” when she was drafted by the Indiana Fever in the third-round of the WNBA draft on April 4.

For Key, there was no expectation of getting drafted after she played her final collegiate game in the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

But hearing her name called after watching her teammate senior center Gillian Goring get drafted three spots earlier by the Washington Mystics is something Key describes as “unreal.”

“It didn’t feel like my name was being called,” Key said. “I just sat there and couldn’t believe it. I was very excited.”

Assuming she wasn’t going to get drafted, Key already lined up a job for after graduation, working with computers at Waverly Hematology Oncology in Cary, N.C., the office of one of coach Kay Yow’s doctors.

The opportunity to “make money while playing with computers,” is something Key said she had anticipated and was excited about.

“I was looking forward to having money in my pocket,” Key said. “It would have been a great experience for me.”

Key finished her Wolfpack career being named to the ACC All-Defense team her final three seasons at State, leading the team in assists her senior year with 118 assists and with a total of 1,072 points in her career — good for 21st all-time in Pack history.

As for the other graduating seniors from this past season’s memorable team, senior forward Marquetta Dickens was invited to tryout for both the Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics.

According to Reaves, senior forward Keisha Brown has already accepted a job as a paralegal.

As all the members of this group who have played together and matured over the past four years while at State go on their own respective paths upon graduation, Reaves said they will “always be a family.”

They will always remember the memories they had together.

“I’m excited for everybody,” Reaves said. “I was just excited as Ashley and Gillian were when they got drafted. I am always going to support them and really all of my teammates at whatever they do.”