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So? This is just a commentary on the system as a whole. I'm still missing the point.
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.
I don;t know why y'all are debating what is AAU or what isn't...or who's to blame. That's not the point. STeve Kerr's observations are dead-on. Bobinator, you've been to those weekend tournaments. I've been to those tournaments. There is virtually zero emphasis placed on winning and team work. The goal is to make a spectacular play that players, coaches, and recruiting analysts will tweet and retweet, and write about in their tourney blogs and updates to get exposure.
After spending a couple of days at one of these events, you get this strange feeling that these players are nothing but commodities that parents and AAU(or its equivalent) coaches hope get enough buzz to see their value rise. And the creepiest part is watching these so-called slimy mentors pretending to befriend these kids at a young age from the sidelines of these games and trying to build relationships for the sole purpose to monetize that relationship at some point down the road.
I'm not sure there's anything you can do to change the culture, but the fact remains that Kerr's observations are right on the money. These young kids grow up learning the game with the sole purpose of making plays and not learning the principles and teamwork and winning.
