Honest thoughts on middle school exposure

[WhoGotNext]

Just saw on twitter there's going to be a Middle school camp out here https://calihoopbasketball.com/Events/

In the past we've had kids who had game beyond their piers in middle school but, didn't pan out the way some of us thought they would(Damon Harge, Mello Dunbar, etc.) but of course, there was a huge difference between the past and today. There weren't as many outlets covering middle school basketball & in today's world you can see who the top middle school kids are from Norcal to Kentucky to NYC to just about anywhere now there's some video footage or a write up of someone who's killing the comp in their area. Heck there's even national middle school camps now.

Anyway, what I'd like to know from the people on this board is your honest opinion on media giving middle school kids attention. Is it something good or bad? Something that's just going to keep evolving and won't stop? Elementary school is next? lol

 

[WhoGotNext]

It's not the best wording... so, my bad lol

 

[RJ223]

I'm not a middle school ranking fan at all. Most of the time the so called best 6th grader is barely ranked by 12th grade. The best is usually the biggest/strongest kid that can dribble and make a layup. No telling how old that kid is. Those camps are all $$ grabs for whoever puts it on. Youth camps are the new hustle. $85 for 2games where you usually sub 5 in 5 out. It's basically an open gym run where the selfish kid who gets hot looks good.

 

[doodiejones]

in certain situations your big name schools (Kentucky, Duke etc.) use ranking because they begin courting prospects in the 9th grade. I say that referring only to the .001% of elite middle school kids. For the other 99% of kids in America, college coaches will be out of work quick if they are worried about what middle schoolers are doing. Kids cant even be "officially" contacted until their junior year of high school. Up until then, its only mail. The only exposure you are getting at camp is the opportunity for a local HS coach to recruit you...... if you are good enough

 

[SF_Mikey]

My problem with middle school rankings is they are grade based - i.e., class of 2022 - while the actual ages of the kids can vary by as much as two years as the truly elite players are typically the oldest in the class anyways but are then held back a year by their parents for athletic competitive reasons. While the "younger" kids eventually catch up in their physical and mental development the extra coaching and tougher elite competition gives these "elite" players a lasting competitive advantage. Malcolm Gladwell's book - Outliers - details this phenomena in Canadian hockey players.

 

[iamgearyblvd]

The best ranking you can give these kids are A's and B's. If its anything else, you need a reality check or the reassess your life.

 

[rebelmafia]

The best ranking you can give these kids are A's and B's. If its anything else, you need a reality check or the reassess your life.

AGREE!!!!!!

 

[coachlittle]

i wouldn't pay them no attention at all .

 

[meezymo]

Since I have a kid in 2020 that is really what I have paid attention to. If you look many of the top 8th graders in 2020 are now on the ESPN list. But there are other kids who weren't ranked in middle school and now they are.