I was just looking at the EYBL team map and notice only ONE team was represented in Norcal. Socal has 4-5. Why is it that we only have one team and Socal has 5? I know they're HUGE in numbers and geography but I can only imagine that we'd be able to field two solid teams compiled with kids from all over Northern CA.
Norcal EYBL
- Thread starter Norcal_Fan
- Start date
There is another pretty solid program but they’re not with Nike there with Adidas, JBS based out of Sacramento.
I wasn't trying to promote one or the other club. I was just saying why do we only have one Nike EYBL team in Norcal? With all the talent we have, im sure we could field two great clubs. Any reason why we don't?
The bluntly honest answer is that no club other than Cal Stars has proven themselves to be worthy of being a Nike sponsored club.
Someone will have to build a club that proves that they are a high profile club that consistently attracts top talent for a few years before NorCal can even think about another club. Half of the SoCal Nike GEYBL teams haven't been Nike affiliated that long. Cal Sparks became a GEYBL team in 2013, and I think West Coast Premier became a member a year or so before that. Cal Swish and Cal Storm are both pretty old and have been with Nike for a long time. But Cal Sparks and WCP were killer clubs that attracted high level talent and has strong coaching staffs prior to becoming GEYBL teams. It also didn't hurt that Cal Sparks has a strong connection to Long Beach Poly and that WCP has heavy ties to the Mt. Sac women's basketball program.
It's not impossible to get another one, but just having talent isn't going to do it. Being able to get that talent to play together while checking their egos at the door of the gym is a must. A group of players playing together to get exposure will fail spectacularly. Also, having a director committed to all of the stress of being a GEYBL member that also is aware of everything going on in the local basketball community and beyond is a make or break point for the club..
Here is my opinion (not known facts) on it:
The Nike strategy is to have one flagship team in NorCal (same on the boys side). It is hard to field a team of only NorCal players and win big (Cal Stars do it on occasion but far from the norm) so there is a need to reach outside of NorCal. If you add a second team to the mix, it dilutes the pool more (not to mention players who will play for other shoe circuits)
The Nike strategy is to have one flagship team in NorCal (same on the boys side). It is hard to field a team of only NorCal players and win big (Cal Stars do it on occasion but far from the norm) so there is a need to reach outside of NorCal. If you add a second team to the mix, it dilutes the pool more (not to mention players who will play for other shoe circuits)
This is about right. The numbers in NorCal simply do not exist to have 2 teams. When you look at Cal Stars roster this season their 2 standout players are from Oregon and So Cal. GEYBL does need to tighten the rules up. It doesn't make much sense to allow coaches to pull talent from the core regions where other EYBL teams reside. It's a classic set-up which can lead to the ugly side of the game.
The larger issue is So Cal having 4, not Nor Cal having 1. So Cal should not have more than 2. They completely dilute their talent base. Nike should look hard at taking on a Phoneix based club and dropping 1 from So Cal.
Last edited:
The sheer numbers in Socal I think warrant the numbers and don't think it would be too diluted to have two in the North. I'm sure that Cal Stars has NO problem getting some of the best players to tryout for their EYBL teams and from the final scores of games they played against teams in Norcal, it's not even close to comparison. I don't know the in's and out's of how things are run financially at the EYBL level, but even if the top team goes for free, that's huge. You're telling me that a lot of top level kids that don't play Cal Stars wouldn't want get their travel paid for if they added another EYBL team in Norcal?
Part of the reason is Cal Stars runs the SAME system for all it's teams so it's easy transition from lower level teams as they move up in age. From what it seems, they're also very organized (I could be wrong). The other reason is Ionescu factor. She really made the club what it is. Kelly and Co do a good job of getting buy in and their kids always play hard, but she really put that club on her back and went with it for 4 years.
As I said, there are other clubs out there that are good, but not on the same level (coaching or organizationally) as EYBL teams. I watched a lot of the EYBL teams in Chicago (love how they stream all the games) and there were some HORRIBLE teams that had NO place being on that circuit.
I'm not so sure Nor Cal can support two teams year in and year out without cherry picking talent from So Cal, Oregon and Nevada. Look at Cal Stars 2019 roster. Their 2 best players by far are from So Cal and Oregon. They also have additional supportive players from So Cal and Nevada. If they are a Nor Cal only team my guess is this season they aren't overly competitive in the EYBL league. Every year if different of course. 2 teams in Nor Cal is a stretch.
I've been doing the national rankings for a long time, and one thing I've noticed is that talent runs in cycles -- one year there's a lot of talent in Texas, and the next year, Georgia is loaded. Southern California, over the years, has produced many D-1 players, but recently has been going through a bit of a dry spell, and NorCal isn't as strong right now as it was five or ten years ago.
All that said, Nike wants to maintain programs in certain areas, and it makes sense for them to do so even when the talent cycle is down in those areas -- thus teams that don't do as well. And also, the EYBL teams have to have a certain level of organization and professionalism, not to mention experience in dealing with Nike, so there's a kind of inertia that keeps the same teams in that league. Of course, changes are made, but from Nike's point of view, Southern California, for example, is a huge market for their products, and could well bounce back talent-wise within the next five years, say. So rather than cut teams now and add them back later, it appears they prefer to just ride out the talent cycles and keep the same organizations they are familiar with in the EYBL.
All that said, Nike wants to maintain programs in certain areas, and it makes sense for them to do so even when the talent cycle is down in those areas -- thus teams that don't do as well. And also, the EYBL teams have to have a certain level of organization and professionalism, not to mention experience in dealing with Nike, so there's a kind of inertia that keeps the same teams in that league. Of course, changes are made, but from Nike's point of view, Southern California, for example, is a huge market for their products, and could well bounce back talent-wise within the next five years, say. So rather than cut teams now and add them back later, it appears they prefer to just ride out the talent cycles and keep the same organizations they are familiar with in the EYBL.
Well stated. The only part I don't like is the turf war Nike creates where teams can take players from other EYBL programs backyard. This leads to back door deals and the ugly side of the game. If we have a Nor Cal based program why not have all Nor Cal based players. Nor Cal is large enough to support 1 team -- is it not? By the same token, the So Cal teams should not be allowed to take our Nor Cal talent. imo. Thoughts?
This is still about the kids. They should be free to play with whomever they wish. If they feel it improves their opportunity to earn a college scholarship to leave Washington and play with a Nor Cal or So Cal team, then more power to them.
Unlike the NCAA, Nike does not completely inhibit players and families from making decisions about what's best for them. The fact that a girl plays for a program one year and, for whatever reason, doesn't feel it meets her needs, and can then play the next season with no penalty is something the NCAA should emulate.
Of course, the NCAA cares only for its members and not at all for the players who generate the income and are indispensable to the organization's success.
Of course, the NCAA cares only for its members and not at all for the players who generate the income and are indispensable to the organization's success.
The NCAA rule for viewing tournaments is that a club may only have players on their roster from their home state and players from states that share a physical border with that home state. That is the rule that Nike follows, since their sessions are viewing tournaments.
I'm sorry, but there is no "turf war" and your opinion is completely wrong. There is a battle to amass the best talent that you can as fast as you can in the largest quantity, no different than colleges do. Any move to limit what clubs basketball players could play for would further damage a sport that is still losing numbers to volleyball and soccer.
1 of the reasons the Cal Stars get all the studs is because there is no other option. Adding a 2nd EYBL team in the NorCal would definitely affect the roster. ESPECIALLY if it was located in Sacramento.
Agree...there isn’t another option. I’m not sure it would totally affect the roster for Cal Stars. It would give other players that do not like the Cal stars model to play on a different platform. Cal Ballaz would be an option but they just signed with Marshawn Lynch brand (and there seems to be a lot of kids leaving the top team). JBS attracts a lot of talent...Nike would have offered another club if they saw one that was fitting to what they’re looking for. Many it’s still in the making...who knows
Diversity is good and think Norcal could field two solid teams
But they would be forced to recruit most talent from outside of AM. They are a great team as is this summer but is comprised of multiple ages from 2020s to 2022's. They beat cal swish EYBL, but lost by 20 to Boo Williams and Cal Stars 17 EYBL at a couple team camps. Minutes ago, Cagers just beat Cal Stars 16 EYBL to go undefeated in a pool that the Stars went 1-4 in. A very good club team as is, but would have to make major changes in order to become an EYBL team.
They can go play for a Adidas Gauntlet team or play for a SoCal EYBL team. It's not unheard of for NorCal players to be on SoCal EYBL teams.
Again, Nike does not offer. You make a presentation to Nike as to why your team deserves to be Nike sponsored AND on the EYBL. Note the AND. There are Nike sponsored clubs that are not part of the EYBL. See the New England Crusaders. Nike sponsored, no longer on the EYBL.
From a quick glance, it seems like the Cagers were made to be a funnel for kids to get into Archbishop Mitty without running afoul of any CIF rules. I mean, the alumni list for the Cagers is all Archbishop Mitty grads, and has a list of AMHS kids who went on to college. Nike may sponsor Archbishop Mitty, but they're not going to let the coach double dip into the EYBL without proof that the Cagers are a legit program and not just a feeder team masquerading as a club.
Also, you may want to see which Cal Swish EYBL they beat. If it was 17U, that's something to talk about. If it was 16U or Nike Blue, not so much.
CaBallaz is still an independent program. They’re partnership with beastmode is deeper than an uniform/circuit. And the top team is still mass with majority of its kids. Ballaz has been around over 15 years serving the NorCal kids and will be with or without apparel brand attached to it.
Thats why I said MAJOR changes would have to be made... obviously...
And from the college coach I talked to, it was the 17 EYBL team. Twitter says cal swish BLACK, so definitely not the blue team, doubt it was the 16u team
To be an EYBL team is the pinnacle of club basketball, for the most part, and a lot of teams from a lot of areas would like to be part of it. For some, though, the process of on-court success, making the presentation to Nike and so on is not worth it.
There's probably enough NorCal talent to put together another solid team that could compete at that level, but there's more involved than just getting a bunch of players together. And don't forget there are clubs in Texas and Florida and Maryland and everywhere else trying to get into EYBL at the same time.
There's probably enough NorCal talent to put together another solid team that could compete at that level, but there's more involved than just getting a bunch of players together. And don't forget there are clubs in Texas and Florida and Maryland and everywhere else trying to get into EYBL at the same time.
A complete destruction of your club's core values isn't major changes. That's basically starting from scratch.
I'm a bit confused. You talked to a coach who knew it was the 17U EBYL team. So that would be a UCI coach? The camp was during a NCAA quiet period, and I can't see how any coach would be 100% sure unless they were at the camp, which would be a violation. Well, a NAIA or D3 coach could be there, but that would be odd.
Twitter does say Black, but I'd have to discount anything going on with Cal Swish this year. Their director/17U team coach was diagnosed with throat cancer earlier this year, and looking at their twitter, he's been going through chemo treatments all summer. Without him, they're not really as good. Kinda explains why they were last in their pool in the EYBL standings.
No, it wasn't a UCI coach.. I didn't say that the coach I talked to saw the game first hand.. maybe they saw the same twitter post, maybe they talked to someone there, I have no idea. Just making the point that I asked the same question ("Was it their top team? Or a lower one?") as you were. Because you are right, it does matter.
And yes, losing a coach like Russ Davis would be a blow to any program. Prayers out to him, he's basically a living legend down there. I hope he's not done!
Haven’t seen Cal Stars this year but are they that much better than JBS? JBS has a very talented roster and didn’t they just win the Adidas Gauntlet?
From the way I understand the Adidas Gauntlet, the Gauntlet finale just started today in Atlanta and will end on the 25th. They may have won the right to go, since they were in a pool where the top 8 made it to the gauntlet finals.
With Cameron Brink (now playing for USA Basketball) and Brooke Demetre, I believe the Cal Stars have a significant size advantage over JBS. Even without Brink, the Cal Stars are tall up and down the lineup (with the exception of Charity Gallegos), and very skilled.
But you never know ...
But you never know ...
Id love to see the Cal Stars top squad vs JBS top squad (both fully loaded) for Norcal AAU bragging rights and supremacy claim but I'm pretty sure neither coach would go for it. But it would be fun..lol
Chambers is brash, arrogant, but he does do a good job coaching. Kelly has a great system that kids buy into and it also equates to good looking basketball. it also helps that you have top tier players in your program. It would be interesting to know when was the last time Calstars top teams lost to a Norcal team?
