kekgeek1 wrote:With all this stuff coming out. I would highly recommend reading a book called "play their hearts out"
It is about Demetrius Walker a kid at the time was in the cover of SI saying he was the next LeBron James when he was an 8th grader. His AAU coach used him to get into Addidas (he is a current high up). It goes I'm depth at the black hole of AAU basketball. One of my favorite books I have ever read
Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to read it.
With all this stuff coming out. I would highly recommend reading a book called "play their hearts out"
It is about Demetrius Walker a kid at the time was in the cover of SI saying he was the next LeBron James when he was an 8th grader. His AAU coach used him to get into Addidas (he is a current high up). It goes I'm depth at the black hole of AAU basketball. One of my favorite books I have ever read
kekgeek1 wrote:With all this stuff coming out. I would highly recommend reading a book called "play their hearts out"
It is about Demetrius Walker a kid at the time was in the cover of SI saying he was the next LeBron James when he was an 8th grader. His AAU coach used him to get into Addidas (he is a current high up). It goes I'm depth at the black hole of AAU basketball. One of my favorite books I have ever read
Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to read it.
Ya his coach "found" Tyson Chandler but lost him to another team. Its just crazy all these AAU coaches who try and use these kids at a super young age to try and get into the shoe biz for themselves.
kekgeek1 wrote:With all this stuff coming out. I would highly recommend reading a book called "play their hearts out"
It is about Demetrius Walker a kid at the time was in the cover of SI saying he was the next LeBron James when he was an 8th grader. His AAU coach used him to get into Addidas (he is a current high up). It goes I'm depth at the black hole of AAU basketball. One of my favorite books I have ever read
Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the tip. I'm going to read it.
Ya his coach "found" Tyson Chandler but lost him to another team. Its just crazy all these AAU coaches who try and use these kids at a super young age to try and get into the shoe biz for themselves.
The book "Men Among Boys" which covers the HS to NBA players talks a lot about this stuff too. Very good read it's available as an audiobook how I read it) although the reader was hilariously bad at pronouncing things.
monsterpile wrote:Lip I feel ok with the FBI using some resources to lock up some guys that are ripping off millions from pro athletes in addition to all this other stuff from guys that aren't pro athletes. The way it sounds was that they caught one guy (I'm not sure they were even really searching out this particular stuff) and decided why not nail a bunch of people. There was some dumb stuff that was going on and while pro athletes make a ton of money a number of them don't deserve to have their money swindled out from under them by people that are supposed to have their best interest in them.
Andy Miller is an agent that's wrapped up in this thing and people including Justin Patton have dropped him.
As far as I know Jalen Brown still represents himself.
Monster -- I didn't see anything in the story about ripping off pro athletes. The story appeared to be about under-the-table payments used by some coaches and agents to entice top prospects to sign with certain colleges and/or to enrich themselves by steering certain top college prospects to certain agents or shoe companies. If someone is stealing from anyone, pro athlete or otherwise, then I'm fine with using law enforcement resources to bring them to justice even though I'd put a higher priority on other injustices that are worse and often perpetrated on more vulnerable people.
You may want to do more reading because from what I read (honestly haven't read a ton) with people involved there were/are millions of dollars being stolen from athletes and Ponzi schemes happening.
Will this actually cause the real criminals (The NCAA) to be brought to justice? They have made money hand over fist from student athletes while the quality of education in their institutions continues to decline. The real criminal activity is the cozy relationships between multi national companies and public institutions and not some coaches and athletes getting greased along the way. The whole thing is garbage if they don't actually change the source of the problem.
As an AAU coach I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this subject. Like many other segments of our society, the bad seeds garner most of the attention and also tend to get the most gain.
There is a very ugly and distasteful side to AAU programs. Many of the AAU coaches run their own academies and then select their teams from the members. Some of these coaches are involved with several teams across a wide range of age groups. Parents pay thousands of dollars a year to be part of these organizations. The heads of the academies usually pay their staff low wages to coach the lower level teams, and they themselves make 6 figure incomes. A lot of these academy heads are ex college coaches and players. They entice parents with the ideal of college scholarships, and a lot of the kids have no business being on a basketball court.
The heads of the most successful academies become power brokers for college recruiters. They have ridiculous power and influence with the colleges. I was visiting the home of one of these coaches one day, and what transpired was really eye opening. He fielded a steady stream of calls from college coaches inquiring about players from his academy. And it's a cycle that builds upon itself. The more kids you place with programs, the more popular you become, and the bigger draw you become to parents with money to spend. Shoe companies come in to get these programs to wear their brand. I'm not sure about the dollars that change hands, but like I said these AAU programs become powerful.
Here is a personal example of the bad side of this business. My daughter was a top 100 player in the country her senior year in high school. She was considering an offer from one of her preferred schools. Her high school coach was also her summer league coach who fielded a team of some of the best players in the area. A rival AAU coach who had done some work with my daughter when she was younger, felt slighted in not getting her to play with his organization. He also was very tight with several college coaches around the country. This may not sound believable, but when he found out she was considering a couple schools, he worked to effectively blackball her from those opportunities. After she signed a letter of intent with another school, this particular coach chewed me out in front of a group of his academy kids. He was pissed that he couldn't count her among the kids he helped place. I've never spoken to him since.
Another bad byproduct of these powerful AAU coaches is that some kids get scholarships over more deserving athletes who don't have the wherewithal to join the academies. Those kids who fill out the 12-15 roster spots at a college in some cases get there exclusively because of the $ paid and the connection to the AAU coach. College coaches take a short cut after they exhaust their list and accept the recommendation of an AAU coach. They do this for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the chance the AAU coach will eventually return the favor by steering a high level recruit in his or her direction.
You can probably see how the shoe companies benefit in all this. They work with the AAU coaches to get the top recruits to attend their top 10 or 5 star camps. A lot of times someone who is a good friend of a top recruit will get an undeserved invite to insure the top ranked player attends their camp. The shoe companies begin to develop relationships with these most talented kids at a very young age and the ultimate payoff is when they sign with them after becoming NBA stars. As the current story illustrates, they also develop relationships with college coaches and professional agents. Again, I'm not privy to how many dollars are changing hands at the various levels, but the corruption is largely unchecked and allowed to flourish. I wonder how big this story is going to get before everything is flushed out.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:As an AAU coach I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this subject. Like many other segments of our society, the bad seeds garner most of the attention and also tend to get the most gain.
There is a very ugly and distasteful side to AAU programs. Many of the AAU coaches run their own academies and then select their teams from the members. Some of these coaches are involved with several teams across a wide range of age groups. Parents pay thousands of dollars a year to be part of these organizations. The heads of the academies usually pay their staff low wages to coach the lower level teams, and they themselves make 6 figure incomes. A lot of these academy heads are ex college coaches and players. They entice parents with the ideal of college scholarships, and a lot of the kids have no business being on a basketball court.
The heads of the most successful academies become power brokers for college recruiters. They have ridiculous power and influence with the colleges. I was visiting the home of one of these coaches one day, and what transpired was really eye opening. He fielded a steady stream of calls from college coaches inquiring about players from his academy. And it's a cycle that builds upon itself. The more kids you place with programs, the more popular you become, and the bigger draw you become to parents with money to spend. Shoe companies come in to get these programs to wear their brand. I'm not sure about the dollars that change hands, but like I said these AAU programs become powerful.
Here is a personal example of the bad side of this business. My daughter was a top 100 player in the country her senior year in high school. She was considering an offer from one of her preferred schools. Her high school coach was also her summer league coach who fielded a team of some of the best players in the area. A rival AAU coach who had done some work with my daughter when she was younger, felt slighted in not getting her to play with his organization. He also was very tight with several college coaches around the country. This may not sound believable, but when he found out she was considering a couple schools, he worked to effectively blackball her from those opportunities. After she signed a letter of intent with another school, this particular coach chewed me out in front of a group of his academy kids. He was pissed that he couldn't count her among the kids he helped place. I've never spoken to him since.
Another bad byproduct of these powerful AAU coaches is that some kids get scholarships over more deserving athletes who don't have the wherewithal to join the academies. Those kids who fill out the 12-15 roster spots at a college in some cases get there exclusively because of the $ paid and the connection to the AAU coach. College coaches take a short cut after they exhaust their list and accept the recommendation of an AAU coach. They do this for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the chance the AAU coach will eventually return the favor by steering a high level recruit in his or her direction.
You can probably see how the shoe companies benefit in all this. They work with the AAU coaches to get the top recruits to attend their top 10 or 5 star camps. A lot of times someone who is a good friend of a top recruit will get an undeserved invite to insure the top ranked player attends their camp. The shoe companies begin to develop relationships with these most talented kids at a very young age and the ultimate payoff is when they sign with them after becoming NBA stars. As the current story illustrates, they also develop relationships with college coaches and professional agents. Again, I'm not privy to how many dollars are changing hands at the various levels, but the corruption is largely unchecked and allowed to flourish. I wonder how big this story is going to get before everything is flushed out.
Thanks Cool for sharing your insight.
As I was reading through your post it really struck me that this system could easily miss some legit talent even if it's just a guy that's a plenty useful division I player not to mention a guy that could end up being a much more significant prospect down the line. Would you agree that can be the case at times?
CoolBreeze44 wrote:As an AAU coach I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this subject. Like many other segments of our society, the bad seeds garner most of the attention and also tend to get the most gain.
There is a very ugly and distasteful side to AAU programs. Many of the AAU coaches run their own academies and then select their teams from the members. Some of these coaches are involved with several teams across a wide range of age groups. Parents pay thousands of dollars a year to be part of these organizations. The heads of the academies usually pay their staff low wages to coach the lower level teams, and they themselves make 6 figure incomes. A lot of these academy heads are ex college coaches and players. They entice parents with the ideal of college scholarships, and a lot of the kids have no business being on a basketball court.
The heads of the most successful academies become power brokers for college recruiters. They have ridiculous power and influence with the colleges. I was visiting the home of one of these coaches one day, and what transpired was really eye opening. He fielded a steady stream of calls from college coaches inquiring about players from his academy. And it's a cycle that builds upon itself. The more kids you place with programs, the more popular you become, and the bigger draw you become to parents with money to spend. Shoe companies come in to get these programs to wear their brand. I'm not sure about the dollars that change hands, but like I said these AAU programs become powerful.
Here is a personal example of the bad side of this business. My daughter was a top 100 player in the country her senior year in high school. She was considering an offer from one of her preferred schools. Her high school coach was also her summer league coach who fielded a team of some of the best players in the area. A rival AAU coach who had done some work with my daughter when she was younger, felt slighted in not getting her to play with his organization. He also was very tight with several college coaches around the country. This may not sound believable, but when he found out she was considering a couple schools, he worked to effectively blackball her from those opportunities. After she signed a letter of intent with another school, this particular coach chewed me out in front of a group of his academy kids. He was pissed that he couldn't count her among the kids he helped place. I've never spoken to him since.
Another bad byproduct of these powerful AAU coaches is that some kids get scholarships over more deserving athletes who don't have the wherewithal to join the academies. Those kids who fill out the 12-15 roster spots at a college in some cases get there exclusively because of the $ paid and the connection to the AAU coach. College coaches take a short cut after they exhaust their list and accept the recommendation of an AAU coach. They do this for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the chance the AAU coach will eventually return the favor by steering a high level recruit in his or her direction.
You can probably see how the shoe companies benefit in all this. They work with the AAU coaches to get the top recruits to attend their top 10 or 5 star camps. A lot of times someone who is a good friend of a top recruit will get an undeserved invite to insure the top ranked player attends their camp. The shoe companies begin to develop relationships with these most talented kids at a very young age and the ultimate payoff is when they sign with them after becoming NBA stars. As the current story illustrates, they also develop relationships with college coaches and professional agents. Again, I'm not privy to how many dollars are changing hands at the various levels, but the corruption is largely unchecked and allowed to flourish. I wonder how big this story is going to get before everything is flushed out.
Super interesting input cool. Thanks for sharing. I would also recommend the book "play their hearts out" to you you. This stuff interests me a ton
CoolBreeze44 wrote:As an AAU coach I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this subject. Like many other segments of our society, the bad seeds garner most of the attention and also tend to get the most gain.
There is a very ugly and distasteful side to AAU programs. Many of the AAU coaches run their own academies and then select their teams from the members. Some of these coaches are involved with several teams across a wide range of age groups. Parents pay thousands of dollars a year to be part of these organizations. The heads of the academies usually pay their staff low wages to coach the lower level teams, and they themselves make 6 figure incomes. A lot of these academy heads are ex college coaches and players. They entice parents with the ideal of college scholarships, and a lot of the kids have no business being on a basketball court.
The heads of the most successful academies become power brokers for college recruiters. They have ridiculous power and influence with the colleges. I was visiting the home of one of these coaches one day, and what transpired was really eye opening. He fielded a steady stream of calls from college coaches inquiring about players from his academy. And it's a cycle that builds upon itself. The more kids you place with programs, the more popular you become, and the bigger draw you become to parents with money to spend. Shoe companies come in to get these programs to wear their brand. I'm not sure about the dollars that change hands, but like I said these AAU programs become powerful.
Here is a personal example of the bad side of this business. My daughter was a top 100 player in the country her senior year in high school. She was considering an offer from one of her preferred schools. Her high school coach was also her summer league coach who fielded a team of some of the best players in the area. A rival AAU coach who had done some work with my daughter when she was younger, felt slighted in not getting her to play with his organization. He also was very tight with several college coaches around the country. This may not sound believable, but when he found out she was considering a couple schools, he worked to effectively blackball her from those opportunities. After she signed a letter of intent with another school, this particular coach chewed me out in front of a group of his academy kids. He was pissed that he couldn't count her among the kids he helped place. I've never spoken to him since.
Another bad byproduct of these powerful AAU coaches is that some kids get scholarships over more deserving athletes who don't have the wherewithal to join the academies. Those kids who fill out the 12-15 roster spots at a college in some cases get there exclusively because of the $ paid and the connection to the AAU coach. College coaches take a short cut after they exhaust their list and accept the recommendation of an AAU coach. They do this for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the chance the AAU coach will eventually return the favor by steering a high level recruit in his or her direction.
You can probably see how the shoe companies benefit in all this. They work with the AAU coaches to get the top recruits to attend their top 10 or 5 star camps. A lot of times someone who is a good friend of a top recruit will get an undeserved invite to insure the top ranked player attends their camp. The shoe companies begin to develop relationships with these most talented kids at a very young age and the ultimate payoff is when they sign with them after becoming NBA stars. As the current story illustrates, they also develop relationships with college coaches and professional agents. Again, I'm not privy to how many dollars are changing hands at the various levels, but the corruption is largely unchecked and allowed to flourish. I wonder how big this story is going to get before everything is flushed out.
The dark side of helping kids eh Cool? Good for you in doing the work amidst the bullshit.
