It's the American idol effect. The show always showed how many kids would audition and get all pissed because they can't sing but they think that shouldn't matter because they've been told how special they are and how they can do anything they dream or want to pursue. The greater truth is that your genetics start you off and then attitude, time invested, coaching/mentoring, luck, etc. will separate you but either you can sing or you can't. If you can, then it's about if you have special talent or not before attitude, time invested, coaching/mentoring, luck, etc. separate you from others on how far you can go. It's the same way now with youth sports because of how much money is involved. Parents feel more entitled than ever and that sense of enitlement passes to the kid cuz when parents spend that much time and money supporting their kid, they feel like they should get their way. It's like our drug problem...there too much demand for aau for it to not exist but like everything else in America, when there is that much demand, there's room for alternatives to flourish as well.

Caruso
Collins
Hogg
Gilder
House
Jones
Davis
Eubanks
Caldwell
Robert Williams

Probably more

What is this list?

It is true that it is a terrible way to develop talent and they play too many games and don't spend enough time on skill development

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What is this list?

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Sweet 16 Aggies that played AAU.

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Truth!

mikesyracuse1

It comes down to whether you think players develop better playing high school ball where there's an emphasis on teamwork and winning, or if they develop better by playing against players that are close to their same skill level. And if it's the latter, and you think you're a good player, why would you play on a team where you don't get on the court? It's not like you're going to get a chance in practice to prove yourself.

There's no perfect way to fix the system, but everyone blames AAU for everything and it's in no way AAU's fault. They're just filling a demand.

And getting kids noticed\scholarships

Coaches can see 100 prospects in one day where in high school you see maybe 1 or 2 prospects in a game

AAU is also run the way it is because of access to the kids and money that access brings

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it's in no way AAU's fault

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hmmmm

You can hmm all you want, but it's not like "AAU" -- which as a side note, teams aren't even really AAU anymore. That's just sort of become a catch-all for any traveling summer league team -- set out to wreck the system.

The summer circuit is a product of the environment the NCAA (and to some extent the NBA) and the shoe companies created. I'm not sure how that's the fault of the teams themselves.

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You can hmm all you want, but it's not like "AAU" -- which as a side note, teams aren't even really AAU anymore. That's just sort of become a catch-all for any traveling summer league team -- set out to wreck the system.

The summer circuit is a product of the environment the NCAA (and to some extent the NBA) and the shoe companies created. I'm not sure how that's the fault of the teams themselves.

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I don't think it's fair to cast "AAU" as some evil entity fighting against a benevolent system. But I don't see how you can argue that the current AAU culture is in no way a part of the problem. Do you dispute the comments from Kerr in the OP?

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You can hmm all you want, but it's not like "AAU" -- which as a side note, teams aren't even really AAU anymore. That's just sort of become a catch-all for any traveling summer league team -- set out to wreck the system.

The summer circuit is a product of the environment the NCAA (and to some extent the NBA) and the shoe companies created. I'm not sure how that's the fault of the teams themselves.

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You're correct, but it's a technicality. AAU now has a connotation for "the system" that has been created and exploited by shoe companies, NCAA, and lack of any regulation.

There are kids that get flown out on a charter jet to go join a team for a weekend or work out for a team, and all they do is run and gun, dunk and chuck. They aren't learning fundamentals.

We can re-define it all we want and get technical, but I think the point Kerr and most are making is not to blame the only AAU, but the entire system in general, which is more or less widely accepted as the "AAU problem."

Also, even if the demand created the system, AAU plays right into it so they share blame. I do understand if not them, some other organization would fill the void, but that doesn't matter.

I don't dispute it at all, my only point was that the NCAA essentially created the "AAU culture," it didn't just grow on its own.

It's like blaming global warming on corporations. If you create a market for cheaply made goods and continue to buy them despite the impact on the environment, then you're just as much, if not more, at fault than the companies themselves.

The consumers in this case are colleges, shoe companies, recruiting websites, etc.

Somewhat ironically, the only way to solve the problem would be to create All-Star high school teams, which nobody seems to like either, so the system is what it is.

Rather than blaming the faceless "AAU culture," I'd like to see an NBA coach come up with some ideas on how to fix it.

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Also, even if the demand created the system, AAU plays right into it so they share blame. I do understand if not them, some other organization would fill the void, but that doesn't matter.

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It absolutely matters. That's the whole problem. As long as recruiting sites and shoe companies (and college coaches who scout them) pour money and resources into big summer league events, then this is what you're going to get. Coaches and websites want to see as many top end players as possible in as little time as possible, so the shoe companies put them on the same teams and in the same gym and make them play five games a day.

Players want to get noticed by websites and coaches, so obviously they show up.

The coaches, for the most part, are trying the best that they know how to without having any practice time and trying to balance getting guys on the court for the scouts.

If you have 9 players who all have D1 potential and you're playing in a tournament during a live period, then the emphasis isn't on winning the game, it's on getting your players exposure to the coaches that are there. Even if it's not during a live period then it's getting guys on the floor so the websites can video/interview them.

So who's fault is it that winning isn't important? Is it the coaches? The players?

A 6'6" kid in HS can end up playing post which wouldn't prepare him for college ball as a two guard/wing. It's not all bad.

that's probably wrong use of phrasing.

I meant that it doesn't matter in that looking solely at AAU, they share blame because they still foster the environment, whether it was brought on by them or not. So another organization filling the void "doesn't matter" in regards to casting blame, because AAU still participates in it.

They can be noble and get out of it if they want, but of course they wont.

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I think we all know that every American player plays aau ball. Not sure I understand your point

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That's the point. Good players play AAU. Players that will be Ags.

and I agree it's not all bad and that there's tons of blame to go around. I just meant that AAU gets piled on because it has become more or less the accepted term for the entire situation.

There are definitely positives that comes with playing against top competition, etc., but what is sacrificed are basic fundamentals and learning how to play team basketball, relying on others, and gaining on-court IQ. It's just an extremely flawed system.

So? This is just a commentary on the system as a whole. I'm still missing the point.

We're talking about a lot of different entities here, and all of them do the same thing.

GASO tournaments, Nike EYBLs (which are probably the biggest events now), actual AAU events, they're all the same.

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So? This is just a commentary on the system as a whole. I'm still missing the point.

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I'm not sure what everyone else's point is, but my point is that pointing blame at "AAU culture" is too easy. You can't fix "AAU culture" without fixing the underlying problems. College coaches don't have enough evaluation time in the summers, there's way too much shoe money in summer leagues, having no contact periods and times of the year where coaches can't evaluate kids is stupid, etc.

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So? This is just a commentary on the system as a whole. I'm still missing the point.

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I'm not sure what everyone else's point is, but my point is that pointing blame at "AAU culture" is too easy. You can't fix "AAU culture" without fixing the underlying problems. College coaches don't have enough evaluation time in the summers, there's way too much shoe money in summer leagues, having no contact periods and times of the year where coaches can't evaluate kids is stupid, etc.

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Agree with this completely.

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Rather than blaming the faceless "AAU culture," I'd like to see an NBA coach come up with some ideas on how to fix it.

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The way to "fix it" if the NBA isn't getting the product and players they want is to actually spend money developing players rather than using the football model of piggy backing off the NCAA. Football is such a demanding team sport and physical enough to where true outside season play is counter productive so you get team ball no matter what.

The other fix is force 18-22 year olds to really go to college or play professional ball in another league before becoming eligible for the draft.

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The other fix is force 18-22 year olds to really go to college or play professional ball in another league before becoming eligible for the draft.

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I wish they'd adopt baseball rules. Declare out of HS or wait 3 years in college or another league.

I think after a handful of years you'd see it more or less fix itself. The obvious guys like Lebron, Durant, or Kobe would still go out after HS, but after enough declared and fizzled out or went undrafted and went off to Europe, etc., most guys, even top stars, would realize they should play in college and develop. Having 3 years at that level to learn how to dribble, pass, rebound, and play defense would help tremendously for players entering the league.

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The other fix is force 18-22 year olds to really go to college or play professional ball in another league before becoming eligible for the draft.

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I wish they'd adopt baseball rules. Declare out of HS or wait 3 years in college or another league.

I think after a handful of years you'd see it more or less fix itself. The obvious guys like Lebron, Durant, or Kobe would still go out after HS, but after enough declared and fizzled out or went undrafted and went off to Europe, etc., most guys, even top stars, would realize they should play in college and develop. Having 3 years at that level to learn how to dribble, pass, rebound, and play defense would help tremendously for players entering the league.

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With you all the way on this one. I think the baseball rule also allows to go JUCO and declare whenever but I could be wrong.

Somebody tell me when winning actually matters. I was at the national championship game, and I went to UNC, and from I could tell, winning mattered a ton to those guys. However, if you listen to Rick Barnes at t.u., he thought winning was not important - getting one-and-done guys ready for the draft was the most important thing. Summer league baseball, AAU, WWF...it's all the same. If winning isn't the most important thing, count me as uninterested. You can't expect me to care more than the players.

the nba doesn't really need to fix anything ... in a given year you're talking about a player or two or three, or in some years no players, who make a team and contribute immediately, or ever at all ... they have a development league which works pretty well, and they have access to every player (effectively) in the world, so they really don't need a single or a few high school players

the aau fix isn't going to happen unless and until you take the money out of it, and that will not happen unless and until you run out of kids / parents who think, believe, they're the next michael jordan, lebron, steph, etc. and are willing, begging, to participate in the system which will not happen, and or unless and until shoe / sports equipment / sports event marketing companies decide their business development money is better spent elsewhere which will not happen unless the kids / parents leave the system

aau isn't going away, and the nba doesn't care because it's not important to the success of their business

the current system certainly isn't about winning, or developing players, and absolutely it isn't about developing character in young men, ... it's here to stay as it is

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Same is true of travel baseball or soccer. It sucks.

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that's not how soccer works.

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The other fix is force 18-22 year olds to really go to college or play professional ball in another league before becoming eligible for the draft.

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I wish they'd adopt baseball rules. Declare out of HS or wait 3 years in college or another league.

I think after a handful of years you'd see it more or less fix itself. The obvious guys like Lebron, Durant, or Kobe would still go out after HS, but after enough declared and fizzled out or went undrafted and went off to Europe, etc., most guys, even top stars, would realize they should play in college and develop. Having 3 years at that level to learn how to dribble, pass, rebound, and play defense would help tremendously for players entering the league.

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With you all the way on this one. I think the baseball rule also allows to go JUCO and declare whenever but I could be wrong.

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sucks for the kids that are too stupid to stay in college for the 3 years though. Especially when they just spent all of junior high and high school getting passed through classes so they can play.