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AAU: A Hoops Cancer

they leave and go to public schools as frequent as prep schools. the ebal has plenty of transfers.
as well as if you think tough isnt built at prep schools you need to go see a few. ebal is great and all, but nobody is giving the grananda kid any sort of looks like he will get the next 4 years. the other post kid at grananda is not getting the type of physical play at the 3 or 4 spot he will get at the D1 level. and honestly he hasnt improved much since joining his 3rd high school. all of those kids play aau ball for the record.
clayton valley, granada, salieson, moreau, o dowd all have aau teams.
I know the state of basketball today. I understand it. I just think there is a better way to get the best out of your players without putting them on the AAU Mount Rushmore! Your ability has much less to do with what you do on an AAU weekend. Rather has to do with how much work you put into your craft and how much you hate to lose! AAU you can lose a few games and the importance is not there. In high school you lose a few games and it STINGS! My grandiose wish is that High School hoopers return to the grid iron! There is where you learn to embrace the suck! Build your instincts to be physical and crave contact going in the lane! You are not as good as you think you are and you need to WORK! Also getting knocked on your ass from time to time makes you take some deep looks at yourself. The lack of intestinal fortitude when things get bad. That is what is missing, because AAU culture leaned into offense and individual skills. In that lens you are one dimensional you are not seeing the entire player.
 
I know the state of basketball today. I understand it. I just think there is a better way to get the best out of your players without putting them on the AAU Mount Rushmore! Your ability has much less to do with what you do on an AAU weekend. Rather has to do with how much work you put into your craft and how much you hate to lose! AAU you can lose a few games and the importance is not there. In high school you lose a few games and it STINGS! My grandiose wish is that High School hoopers return to the grid iron! There is where you learn to embrace the suck! Build your instincts to be physical and crave contact going in the lane! You are not as good as you think you are and you need to WORK! Also getting knocked on your ass from time to time makes you take some deep looks at yourself. The lack of intestinal fortitude when things get bad. That is what is missing, because AAU culture leaned into offense and individual skills. In that lens you are one dimensional you are not seeing the entire player.
i dont think aau is there to get the best out of a player. it is more of getting the players a chance to play year round, train versus good comp, and go to a place where 100 coaches are at to see them play. it is a recruiting method.
 
I know the state of basketball today. I understand it. I just think there is a better way to get the best out of your players without putting them on the AAU Mount Rushmore! Your ability has much less to do with what you do on an AAU weekend. Rather has to do with how much work you put into your craft and how much you hate to lose! AAU you can lose a few games and the importance is not there. In high school you lose a few games and it STINGS! My grandiose wish is that High School hoopers return to the grid iron! There is where you learn to embrace the suck! Build your instincts to be physical and crave contact going in the lane! You are not as good as you think you are and you need to WORK! Also getting knocked on your ass from time to time makes you take some deep looks at yourself. The lack of intestinal fortitude when things get bad. That is what is missing, because AAU culture leaned into offense and individual skills. In that lens you are one dimensional you are not seeing the entire player.
and ncaa coaches that are there recruiting sort of know what they are doing. their lens has seen all dimensions of all the players. the internet is free for them too. but a coach from a D2 school in iowa or north dakota isnt flying to concord to recruit a kid. his best bet is to go to a tournament and be seen.
 
i dont think aau is there to get the best out of a player. it is more of getting the players a chance to play year round, train versus good comp, and go to a place where 100 coaches are at to see them play. it is a recruiting method.
I see this point (though I think there are more effective ways to acheive your first two points), but what percentage of teams are getting 100 coaches to watch THEIR games? How many are consistently getting 25 coaches at their game?
 
I see this point (though I think there are more effective ways to acheive your first two points), but what percentage of teams are getting 100 coaches to watch THEIR games? How many are consistently getting 25 coaches at their game?
The bottom line is if your kids not playing for the elite level Nike, Adidas, or Under armor your kid is NOT getting seen at all. Even if you play for a program that is Adidas, Nike or Under armor sponsored and your kid is not playing for one of their top three teams meaning, freshman, sophomore, top team elite you’re not getting seen. The other levels are just there to put money in the program and or coaches pocket.
 
I see this point (though I think there are more effective ways to acheive your first two points), but what percentage of teams are getting 100 coaches to watch THEIR games? How many are consistently getting 25 coaches at their game?
to get to the big tournaments in vegas and houston where the 100 coaches are. you gotta play in the little ones where the chabot and las positas coaches are.
 
I don’t think that AAU basketball is the real issue. AAU is primarily Rec ball, with the exception of the elite level competition.

IMO, the NBA/USA basketball has not done a great job of providing skills training and academies that develop youth. Especially those with aspirations/potential to play professionally. They’ve made such a strong push to promote the game in Europe, Asia, and Africa that they have not secured their home base. This is a huge mistake…

The NBA will die out if the teams become filled with foreign players. It’s fan base will turn on them.

The rule changes now favor foreign players, as the association has completely taken physicality and the Center out of the game.
 
I respectfully disagree with Steve Kerr.

Name one top prospect in basketball that didn’t play AAU over the last 25 years?

Outside of prep schools AAU is the one chance college coaches can see certain players. Not every school is lucky enough to travel around the country and showcase their talents that way.

Salesian is probably the only non-Prep Bay Area team that plays somewhat of a National schedule and they still don’t travel outside the west coast.

There are a couple of the Socal teams, but Socal high school basketball maybe top 2-3 in terms of talent in the country yearly.

I’ll conclude by saying maybe the solution is a shorter more compact AAU season. But I think AAU gives top talent even more exposure and growth opportunities in the new NIL field. While lower to mid-tier prospects get the looks from colleges they normally wouldn’t.
SoCal has the advantage of having a huge talent base to pull from (At least in terms of CA). They also train kids to become pro’s in SoCal. They are waaaaaay ahead of the curve. The problem is Basketball cities like Philly, Chicago, Atlanta, NY, Houston, Detroit/Flint, DC/PG County, etc. don’t have the same kind of Basketball infrastructures as LA. (Seattle surprisingly does well too).

The NBA should really consider providing elite level training in these cities….
 
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to get to the big tournaments in vegas and houston where the 100 coaches are. you gotta play in the little ones where the chabot and las positas coaches are.
But even in the big tournaments, how many teams draw 100 coaches? It’s not like those coaches see all the teams in that tournament. I just think you are taking a very small fraction of teams and saying that’s how AAU is.
 
But even in the big tournaments, how many teams draw 100 coaches? It’s not like those coaches see all the teams in that tournament. I just think you are taking a very small fraction of teams and saying that’s how AAU is.
that is exactly what i am saying and the other person said. playing on the sneaker circuit on the elite teams is a must for the fringe player.
they go from getting local offers to national offers on the circuit. i also know there are far too many aau teams from parents who are confused on what it takes to get to college.
 
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Been in Disneyworld all week, at the airport now. Followed a lot of comments. And what is AAU. It is the very reason why people believe media articles that Bronny James is a lottery pick.
 
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Been in Disneyworld all week, at the airport now. Followed a lot of comments. And what is AAU. It is the very reason why people believe media articles that Bronny James is a lottery pick.
I am glad I am not the only one to think theres better a player than Bronny at the 10 pick! Madness!
 
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