[brassmonkeys]

Let me start out by saying that I feel AAU and High School Basketball are both important to the development of players, however I have noticed that many of the top high school teams are filled with rosters of AAU teammates and sometimes not even from the same communities.


Does anyone else feel this way, and if so what are your thoughts on it?

[14thregionref]

AAU basketball is used for a recruiting tool and I think it's awful. These coaches call these kids and ask them to come play with them during the summer traveling time and then talk them into coming and playing for them the next season. This is not right at all. Have already heard 3 schools talking to some of the good 8th graders here in the 14th region, trying to get them to come and play for them. Hazard already has gotten one of Knott's 8th graders practicing with them and I'm sure their are more doing the same thing. AAU is horrible. Just teaches bad habits and allows coaches to recruit.

[Coachinthestands]

AAU basketball is used for a recruiting tool and I think it's awful. These coaches call these kids and ask them to come play with them during the summer traveling time and then talk them into coming and playing for them the next season. This is not right at all. Have already heard 3 schools talking to some of the good 8th graders here in the 14th region, trying to get them to come and play for them. Hazard already has gotten one of Knott's 8th graders practicing with them and I'm sure their are more doing the same thing. AAU is horrible. Just teaches bad habits and allows coaches to recruit.

AMEN to all of this, couldn't have said it better myself!!

[Ball Dad]

How many college scouts do you see at high school basketball games? Girls basketball has changed a lot. It's faster and more fun to watch. You can thank AAU for that. The more they play the better they get and high schools don't offer enough for the student athletes. 3 months out of the year running plays in practice is meant for a team to get better. AAU should focus on individuals getting better. If coaches are using it to recruit then that's bad on the coach not the AAU program.

[kygamer]

AAU is nothing but a way to make money and recruit. But, it seems to be the way college coaches are recruiting these days. I could never afford to let my kid play aau. But these days parents feel like their kid is getting left behind if they don't play aau and its crazy. And who is the 8th grader? Mullins?

[brassmonkeys]

Well considering that High School season is during the bulk of the college season, it is going to be logistically harder for college coaches to come out and see them play as often as during the AAU period. The best players have college coaches showing up at watching them, during both seasons. The "unsigned" kid, because they want to make sure they are in the running for the kids services.

Most High Teams practice 4-6 days a week, while AAU teams probably practice 2-3 times a week tops and play 3-6 games on the weekend.


I'm a math person so I will use the means of the average for both. In a 3 month period High school players will practice approximately 60 times and play 30 games and AAU teams will practice 30 times and play 60 games.

I do agree that the speed of AAU is more exciting to watch, but that could be because usually you get better players and athletes on AAU teams. AAU coaches aren't going after the slow kids on high school teams, unless there is noone else.

When I see scores like 83-2, 90-6 with a running clock, its a shame at the high school level. When I know that some AAU staff members are treating middle school basketball games like a meat market to lure kids to their AAU program, which also feeds into their high school of choice and often times sit on their bench, it seems like a problem. That is just me, call me old fashion.


Teams, whether AAU or High School need to have plays (it doesnt mean it should be their primary focus), but if you don't have some good plays, you are going to look like a fool. Most good teams at the High School Level Scout, Watch Film of their opponent, know the ins and outs of their opponents, however talent usually trumps alot of that. This is similar to what college programs will do, when it comes to AAU I doubt that rarely happens. I would say the coach at Franklin County is probably the best at running plays on the Girls Side in the state of Kentucky and he has been to the state championship game two years in a row. They also have some great players too, but I think the combination of their skill sets and his play calling and defensive strategies have put him up at the top echelon of coaching in the state. People are going to throw shade no matter what. Like I said in the beginning I think both AAU and High School are important and neither are more important that the other. I just think currently I cant tell much of a difference between many high school teams and AAU teams, because quite frankly they have almost identical rosters and not surprising they are beating true high school teams to a pulp.


Last thing, People that cant run effective plays, say you dont need plays to win. People that cant press, say you cant win pressing. Its all perspective!

[Ball Dad]

Okay I'll say it. "You don't need plays to win". My girls team played in 6 tournaments last year. We won the championship in 4 of those, played in the championship game in 1, and never made it to the tournament in the other (which was our first time ever playing together). We run a motion offense so every player touches the ball. We do press, sometime we're good at it sometimes we're not. Lol

[brassmonkeys]

Ball Dad, I totally disagree with your statement that you don't need plays to win, however depending upon what level you coach at it might pass. But you need plays to win at the state high school and state and national AAU championships. Many matchups at different are clearly unbalanced. Take Butlers 82-3 win over Iroquois. They didn't have to run anything and was going to win.

If would agree that if you are coaching a young group of kids say 3-8th grade and/or recruited an AAU or travel team for that purpose you might be able to win consistently without running plays. There are also different levels of tournaments that an AAU or travel team can sign up to be a part of, depending upon the tournaments you signed up to play in the competition could have been weak or strong, only you know that.

At the high school level no matter who you face at the end of the year, everyone is matched up and only the strong really survive. So there is really no subjective measurement, during that time to access your level of competition against everyone else. You either continuing winning or you go home.

If you watch the NCAA tournament tonight or the rest of the way, watch the different play calls against man and zone and athletes will show their athleticism, but I also believe the teams that run their sets best with their athletes, will win the championship.



Would you like to disclose what level you coached (Age Group), or was it high school. Would you also like to disclose what tournaments you played in? Was your season over if you lost a tournament or did you get to try again the following weekend. Were these tournaments equivalent to regional, and Sweet 16 type games at the high school level, where only the best teams throughout the state were left in contention? I also know that there was a coach in the Sweet 16 this year that has historically relied on pressing and turning teams over and blowing them out of gym, however that team ran into a buzz saw, when they met a team that broke their pressure and made them look silly in half-court defense with their multiple offensive sets. The more athletic team lost.



If I am not mistaken each week in AAU tourneys there is a 1st place Gold, Silver, and Bronze division.

Regardless we can agree to disagree.

[Ball Dad]

High school AAU. We played in Louisville, Lexington, and Pigeon Forge TN (we lost this one). In AAU we always have the next weekend to play again. I don't like having all the different gold, bronze etc...

I agree with almost everything you said in your last post. A high school team that plays together 4 or more years has to have plays. A good coach can beat a good team any day. I only meant AAU teams don't have to have plays to win (usually more athletic girls on a recruited travel team).

[Boogie]

AAU basketball is used for a recruiting tool and I think it's awful. These coaches call these kids and ask them to come play with them during the summer traveling time and then talk them into coming and playing for them the next season. This is not right at all. Have already heard 3 schools talking to some of the good 8th graders here in the 14th region, trying to get them to come and play for them. Hazard already has gotten one of Knott's 8th graders practicing with them and I'm sure their are more doing the same thing. AAU is horrible. Just teaches bad habits and allows coaches to recruit.

So how is this related to AAU? Just because kids are switching schools doesn't mean AAU is to blame. Of the kids you speak of are all involved with an AAU team?

[14thregionref]

So how is this related to AAU? Just because kids are switching schools doesn't mean AAU is to blame. Of the kids you speak of are all involved with an AAU team?

AAU is used as a recruiting tool for these coaches, therefore in my opinion, Basketball should be played during basketball season. There should be team camps and individual camps for teams and players to work on their games and get better after the season and during the summer. Basketball should not be a year round sport, again this is my opinion on the 100's of games being played after the season. This is why we are having more and more injuries, these kids bodies are not designed to play 100's of games a year, just not made for that. I simply just don't agree with how basketball is hurting our kids. :igiveup:

[hoghead]

AAU is destorying Highschool basketball all its for is to recruit players from other parts of the country.

[cj2561]

Okay I'll say it. "You don't need plays to win". My girls team played in 6 tournaments last year. We won the championship in 4 of those, played in the championship game in 1, and never made it to the tournament in the other (which was our first time ever playing together). We run a motion offense so every player touches the ball. We do press, sometime we're good at it sometimes we're not. Lol

motion offense is a play. if the other team is playing any kind of zone, motion is the best play to run. but it take all 5 player to run it. you just go were the other team is not at. when they movie it will make another open spot, inside the zone. just like RUN and GUN is a play. if you have a team that can run it, the other team will be killed in the 4th.

[cj2561]

AAU is used as a recruiting tool for these coaches, therefore in my opinion, Basketball should be played during basketball season. There should be team camps and individual camps for teams and players to work on their games and get better after the season and during the summer. Basketball should not be a year round sport, again this is my opinion on the 100's of games being played after the season. This is why we are having more and more injuries, these kids bodies are not designed to play 100's of games a year, just not made for that. I simply just don't agree with how basketball is hurting our kids. :igiveup:

there are teams camp and individual camp. the national ranked, they get there ranked when they are at the individual camp.

[new o]

Recruiting cannot take place unless the kid/parents are looking to move.

[Coachinthestands]

Recruiting cannot take place unless the kid/parents are looking to move.

Recruiting may not HAPPEN unless the kid/parents are looking to move but it still TAKES PLACE all the time!! SOME coaches are always trying to get kids to move and they approach it as a joke at first to see if there's any interest and YES, the AAU culture fosters a LOT of this, not all, but a lot!!!

[new o]

It does happen. But I will bet there are more transfers happen not associated with AAU. The biggest thing is the khsaa does not prevent either type of transferring so the blame should go to them.

[Coachinthestands]

It does happen. But I will bet there are more transfers happen not associated with AAU. The biggest thing is the khsaa does not prevent either type of transferring so the blame should go to them.

Blame the police and not the criminals is kind of like what you're saying.
KHSAA tries but like the old saying goes, "What you KNOW and what you can PROVE are 2 different things a lot of times"!!

How about parents just following the rules and doing what's right, that would be a refreshing change!!!

[new o]

I totally agree but when politics get involved with the police as you call them then things change. I don't see TN having the transfer problem Ky has. Kentucky. Rule them all eligible or make them all sit a year but do not pick and choose based on who they are or who they know.

[Maroons]

We got some real genius's on here. What AAU coach is using this as a tool to recruit? Why is it ruining sports? High school has basically come of no use for colleges. AAU is a waste of money. Better get them on Exposure circuit if you want them seen and to see where you stack up vs the best in America. Other wise you are wasting money.

[brassmonkeys]

Some AAU coaches that also coach on a high school staffs use it as a recruiting tool to bring them to the high school they also work at, for self-serving (winning) purposes. See Team _(fill in blank here) and they mirror team (HS) that has been to several KHSAA sweet 16s the past few years


So if there was no prestige in the high school game and all that matters was AAU and exposure then why would they just do AAU only? The reason is High School gets more publicity and has more prestige from media, than AAU. High School puts Banners and pictures in their gym, AAU borrows gyms. AAU is a national organization but its ran like a carnival and rave at times. You walk in buy your Neon Glow Item of choice (Necklace, Wrist Band Arm Sleeve, Knee Sleeve) and you technically could get 52 trophies a year if you played every weekend in AAU. Good odds, since there is Platinum Champs, Gold Champs, Silver Champs, Bronze Champs, Tin Champs, etc.



AAU gets little to no local publicity compared to high school sports. AAU may have a better talent pool (considering teams usually dont want the slowest, weakst player), therefore all operations are trying to get the best recruits they can get. Players jump teams in AAU almost yearly. Heck some play with three teams in one summer.



Once again someone is making apples to oranges comparison. College coaches don't go to as many high school events because their season is going on simultaneously. They have more time in off-season, which is usually in the heart of AAU season. However the best recruits will have coaches at both. I worked at a high school program a few years back and we had a 6 foot 3 sophomore girl a couple of years ago and Pennsylvania, NC State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Indiana all came to our high school workouts and showed up at games.


Also High School basketball costs very little if nothing compared to the AAU teams. The fees for these events are outrageous, but its a price to pay.



Once again I think they are both important, but I dont like the crossover where AAU recruiters are bringing their "recruited high school team" and dog-walking over people. We got to ask ourself. When players are recruited are we dealing with a high school team. Its a broken record, but has merit.

[Coachinthestands]

Some AAU coaches that also coach on a high school staffs use it as a recruiting tool to bring them to the high school they also work at, for self-serving (winning) purposes. See Team _(fill in blank here) and they mirror team (HS) that has been to several KHSAA sweet 16s the past few years


So if there was no prestige in the high school game and all that matters was AAU and exposure then why would they just do AAU only? The reason is High School gets more publicity and has more prestige from media, than AAU. High School puts Banners and pictures in their gym, AAU borrows gyms. AAU is a national organization but its ran like a carnival and rave at times. You walk in buy your Neon Glow Item of choice (Necklace, Wrist Band Arm Sleeve, Knee Sleeve) and you technically could get 52 trophies a year if you played every weekend in AAU. Good odds, since there is Platinum Champs, Gold Champs, Silver Champs, Bronze Champs, Tin Champs, etc.



AAU gets little to no local publicity compared to high school sports. AAU may have a better talent pool (considering teams usually dont want the slowest, weakst player), therefore all operations are trying to get the best recruits they can get. Players jump teams in AAU almost yearly. Heck some play with three teams in one summer.



Once again someone is making apples to oranges comparison. College coaches don't go to as many high school events because their season is going on simultaneously. They have more time in off-season, which is usually in the heart of AAU season. However the best recruits will have coaches at both. I worked at a high school program a few years back and we had a 6 foot 3 sophomore girl a couple of years ago and Pennsylvania, NC State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Indiana all came to our high school workouts and showed up at games.


Also High School basketball costs very little if nothing compared to the AAU teams. The fees for these events are outrageous, but its a price to pay.



Once again I think they are both important, but I dont like the crossover where AAU recruiters are bringing their "recruited high school team" and dog-walking over people. We got to ask ourself. When players are recruited are we dealing with a high school team. Its a broken record, but has merit.

EXCELLENT post, couldn't have said it better myself. Another thing about AAU is that players learn a LOT of bad habits that have to be corrected when they get to their high school team, (no defense, being the center of attention, etc., things that are really hard to break them of a lot of times!!)

[brassmonkeys]

Sorry wanted to clarify on Maroons post. There is a difference between Exposure Events and AAU. Exposure is the "buzz-word" that is being used these days on the circuit and that is where the College Recruiters are at. Its still AAU, but more people are there watching.

[Maroons]

You are right. You wont win 52 trophys playing on a shoe circuit. You will have all the coaches watching you, which is what should be the end game. In my life I have seen some very good high school coaches. I have seen some very good AAU/Exposure coaches. I have also seen some very bad on each side. That holds true today.

If winning at the Knott Co Sportsplex or a local KBA tourney is your goldmine then you dont understand.

[Maroons]

Also from my experience there are very few girls or boys that can play on a shoe circuit at the highest level. Most boys teams and I am sure girls too have to go out of state to complete the roster to compete nationally. While everyone/parents think little Johnny is the best, truth is little Johnny or Susie is likely a NAIA player at best.

[brassmonkeys]

So Maroon what is your take when a Shoe Circuit Coach takes the best talent he can get and convince them to all go to the same high school and they actually do it?

Do you think that is helping or hurting high school basketball? Are you ok with this?

To me that is a recruited team and no different than a prep school that does it legally, we just mask it and turn a blind eye to it and say its a high school team. They are def getting their cake and eating it too.

Probably 15-20 kids going D1 in the state of Kentucky Girls Per Year and 6 of them are on one high school team. HMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMM.

[Coachinthestands]

So Maroon what is your take when a Shoe Circuit Coach takes the best talent he can get and convince them to all go to the same high school and they actually do it?

Do you think that is helping or hurting high school basketball? Are you ok with this?

To me that is a recruited team and no different than a prep school that does it legally, we just mask it and turn a blind eye to it and say its a high school team. They are def getting their cake and eating it too.

Probably 15-20 kids going D1 in the state of Kentucky Girls Per Year and 6 of them are on one high school team. HMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMM.

COMPLETELY not right no matter how you slice it, which is why so many high school head coaches HATE AAU basketball!!!

[new o]

Once again I will say there are more kids being recruited by schools/communities than AAU coaches. . I know of one game in the boys sweet 16 this year that had 7 kids starting between the two that were transfers, none thru AAU.

[Maroons]

So Maroon what is your take when a Shoe Circuit Coach takes the best talent he can get and convince them to all go to the same high school and they actually do it?

Do you think that is helping or hurting high school basketball? Are you ok with this?

To me that is a recruited team and no different than a prep school that does it legally, we just mask it and turn a blind eye to it and say its a high school team. They are def getting their cake and eating it too.

Probably 15-20 kids going D1 in the state of Kentucky Girls Per Year and 6 of them are on one high school team. HMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMMM.....HMMMMMMMM.

What school besides Mercer County has 6 D1 kids?

[BallerFromTheHoller]

What school besides Mercer County has 6 D1 kids?

Who really believes Mercer has 6 D1 players