For better or worse, AAU offers exposure

Basketball in summer draws college coaches to where action is

By JEFFREY MARTIN,  Houston Chronicle, Sunday August 1, 2010

(Some blog reactions to article appear at bottom of article)

The directives are clear, yet repeated anyway. Parents, no matter the situation, will always be parents.

"Get back! Get back!"

On a Thursday in early July, a few minutes after noon, a handful of moms and dads have already claimed seats at one of four basketball courts at the Legends Sports Complex. More than 60 teams, mostly local and from within Texas, have gathered for the H-Town Summer Slam, one of the notable Amateur Athletic Union events the city stages.

So what's with all the fuss about AAU? Just a prime opportunity to catch the eye of a college coach in the hopes of securing a coveted scholarship?

On the surface, perhaps, but dig deeper — is it something more seedy? The NCAA is trying to get a better grip on the situation, like eliminating the practice of being able to offer scholarships to seventh-graders. Elite prospects with ties to "runners" - friends or associates of influence who then deliver said elite prospects to agents for future financial gain - can be a common aspect of AAU.

Whether a college coach is willing to support or tolerate such activity is speculative. Some suspect their peers of cheating, but most recognize this is part of the hustle of college basketball.

"Anybody involved in all of this does this because they love working with kids," said Hal Pastner, the founder of the Kingwood Classic and Houston Hoops, a program that has produced pro players such as Rashard Lewis, Emeka Okafor, T.J. Ford and Kendrick Perkins .

Regardless of the viewpoint, AAU provides exposure. College coaches used to be allowed to watch non-high school basketball in April, but the NCAA put a stop to that. July is the only month they can do so, and there are two viewing sessions - the first spanning from July 6-15 and the second from July 22 to today.

During that time, head coaches such as Marquette's Buzz Williams, SMU's Matt Doherty, Nebraska's Doc Sadler and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall as well as top assistants from every Big 12 school have passed through the city.

A hoops hotbed

On this afternoon, they've shifted from court to court to keep an eye on Cameron Ridley, a 6-11, 260-pound rising senior center from Fort Bend Bush who stars for the Houston Hoopstars.

"He has a chance to be the best big man in the country," said Evan Daniels, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com. "He's a monster."

These days, the Bayou City is regarded as a hoops hotbed.

"Coming up, these are the best two years for talent in that city I've seen since I started covering recruiting," Daniels said.

For every Ridley, though, there are the kids at the end of the bench, impatiently waiting for their chance. In AAU basketball, the challenge is getting noticed.

At Legends, metal bleachers are positioned in the corners. The coaches are hard to miss, especially since their shirts - mostly untucked with the college name prominently displayed across the front - make their sections look like an opened box of crayons because of the various school colors.

And the louder the color, the better, it seems. Again, the point is to get noticed, a goal that college coaches and high school players share.

The motivation, however, is different.

For the players, their shirts are also telling. D-Gib Hoops and Bosh Foundation, the respective AAU teams of Cleveland Cavaliers and former Texas guard Daniel Gibson and Miami Heat forward and Dallas product Chris Bosh, express the dreams of the players to follow their sponsors' footsteps into the NBA.

As for the coaches, sometimes maintaining interest is a chore.

"AAU basketball is a joke," an assistant coach from a BCS conference said, sighing.

An inexact science

Sloppy action is a constant refrain from those forced to sit through the uneven play. College officials question the credentials of the men leading these teams, but more times than not, those men have more voice and clout in a prospect's decision on which school to attend than his high school coach - another source of controversy.

But it's unavoidable, as is the constant travel during July. With April out of the picture, coaches have a tougher time making proper evaluations. And because AAU rosters are so fluid with defections and other commitments, it's impossible to know for certain who will be where.

Alas, it's a necessity. A coach won't remain a coach for long without talent, and this city has an abundance at the moment.

 

Blog reactions to article:

bballcoach wrote:

I've seen this madness from both the perspective of a college assistant trying to recruit top prospects and the high school coach trying to guide prospects through the recruiting process. It has gotten so bad that many players feel the summer circuit is more important than prep play. The real tragedy is seeing those not so hot prospects who are on travel teams paying big money to fill a roster with no chance of landing a scholarship. Just because you play next to a highly touted prospect does not guarantee you will be noticed. But year after year parents fork over big money to AAU coaches to keep the dream of playing college ball alive. Many don't even know what their child's core grade point average means. Most college coaches already know who they are going to evaluate before they even get to an event. They have to. There are too many games to approach a tournament without a plan. Most AAU programs do not teach sound fundamental basketball. They are simply a meat market to display the hottest talent in meaningless games. There are, however, a few examples of programs doing it the right way.The Houston Hoopstars is an example of how it should be done but they are the exception! They conduct a program of practice, training, and personal development that could serve as a model for the entire industry. They posted a 70-11 record this summer. Many of the "so-called" top prospects never face the realities of REAL COACHING until they get to college and many can't take the criticism or hard work. Neither of which they get in July. Everyone tells them how great they are just to get them to sign.Many AAU coaches aspire to get to the college level and will use a big time recruit to get a college assistant job. Until the NCAA puts real, enforceable regulations in place and puts the emphasis back on prep play where high school coaches actions are closely governed by state associations like the UIL, this thing will continue to get more out of control. Parents have to really take care to be actively involved in the recruiting process. There are a lot of pitfalls and bad information out there if you are being influenced by the wrong people.

 

westsidebill wrote:

AAU is geared towards poorer, educationally-challenged athletes as a way to get "exposed" to colleges for a one-year commitment before going pro. There are SO many more leeches and other shady characters and dealings going on with AAU "sponsors" than there are positive things from AAU basketball playing.
From not receiving proper fundamental coaching (from "coaches" who sometimes even have criminal records, were HS dropouts or didn't even attend college) to a complete lack of mentorship and accountability for those involved, AAU basketball is NOT a way to make these "stars" productive members of society. For the money that it costs some players/teams to travel, it should.