Tuesday, November 4, 2014

"Random Thoughts"


Every now and then I get the urge to share my thoughts about all things youth basketball.  Sometimes those thoughts are about what I saw at a particular tournament or camp; sometimes it’s about players that I saw and really liked or sometimes it’s about more significant issues that affect youth basketball both good and bad. Every so often I plan to publish my thoughts in writing and share them with my viewers.  These thoughts are random, are in no way meant to offend, and simply represent one man’s view of the world of basketball.  Hopefully, what you read will be thought provoking and add to the national debate, or sometimes I simply want to provide more exposure to some hardworking kid with a dream or an organization that is doing things the right way.  I hope you enjoy the initial installment of “Random Thoughts.”

Prior to AAU’s recent rule change that halted the practice of kids allowing playing down a grade, “Reclasses” (moving a kid down to a lower grade) was changing the face of youth basketball.  Whether you agree with the practice or not, reclassifying kids was the wave of the future. While the debate continues about the merits of such practice, kids were moving down at a higher rate than ever.  In most cases, parents and coaches are attempting to give their child more of a competitive advantage by placing their child in a lower grade.  In the past, reclassing a kid was more about giving a smaller kid more time to develop physically.  However, much of the time, changing classes is more about rankings and exposure.  This year, several high profile reclasses intensified the debate to an all-time high, and parents are very angry. Feeling that their child is being over looked while older kids are getting all of the attention, parents often turn to message boards (see the 260 plus comments in response to our earlier story) to voice their frustration. In some cases, kids are reclassified on multiple occasions in order to maintain their dominance and status.  It’s been my experience that most of the benefits of reclassing are short term, and at some point down the road the smaller kids with more developed skills eventually even the playing field a bit.  With that said, reclassing a players can still have long term benefits in terms of added exposure and opportunities to participate in elite level events, which increases their development and profile to scouts and college coaches. The belief (and hopes in some cases) that all of the reclass kids are going to disappear from the national scene someday is not the reality. Truth be told, they will continue to enjoy some of the benefits of reclassing and go onto to play high school college basketball.  No doubt, this debate will rage on as parents, teams and tournament organizers try to determine how best to react to the bomb shell AAU dropped on the game.  To what extent “the circuit” adopts AAU’s stance remains to be seen. From what I'm hearing, there are a lot of teams who are unwilling to blow up their rosters just yet, and will continue seek out the best competition they can find. 

Mixtapes and highlight videos are all the rage right now.  Although they are not a new phenomenon, the number of videos depicting aspiring young ball players during games, showcases and even training sessions are exploding onto the scene.  Almost anybody with a video camera is putting together highlight videos.  Of course you have the big boys like Ty Kish of Middle School Hoops, Ball is Life, Court Cred, etc, but moms and dads are often the ones mixing up tapes and publishing them on YouTube hoping to create buzz and recognition for thier child.  Personally, I like them. In fact, my when my son, Stevie was in high school and being recruited, Ty Kish pumped out a ton of videos that proved very helpful to college coaches who, much to my surprise, were using them to evaluate his talent.  Also, there are some real high quality videos that are doing a great job of displaying a players basketball talent, while many others are of poor quality, have over the top editing (music and jazzy fonts and features) and don’t really show much of the actual action. Whether you like them or not, the explosion of highlight videos is here to stay.

Super teams are dominating the middle school landscape right now. Once upon a time, kids played with their neighborhood friends in local leagues and tournaments.  In an age where bigger is better and winning is everything, local teams have gone the way of the dinosaur. In the current landscape, rosters made up of players on the east coast, west coast and the Midwest are commonplace.  In most cases, in order to compete nationally, teams have to recruit from far and wide.  It’s not enough to secure the best talent in the city or state; to truly be elite you have to bring kids from several states away.  Of course there are rules in place to prevent such practices, but there are ways of getting around those.  Some believe that super teams are killing youth basketball by stifling competition. Where there were once competitive games, now super teams role into town and beat teams by 30 plus points.  Although high school teams have taken this approach for many years, it’s a more recent issue for elementary and middle school teams.

There appears to be a “changing of the guards” in terms of middle school basketball media. Although middle school basketball has had several “national” voices over the past several years, new voices have emerged. As we speak, the current state of middle school media is evolving and is now concentrated with just a handful of websites and scouting services. While I will stop short of predicting the demise of any media outlet, I think we can all agree who’s speaking the loudest for middle school basketball at the moment. As an example, within the past couple of years, I’m not sure anybody has had the impact, from a media standpoint, than Bill Francis. With his flamboyant and entertaining style of writing, Francis has captured the attention of the middle school basketball community, and now represents a significant force in the business.  Mike Melton’s Basketball Spotlight website gets thousands of hits per day from across the country.  Once more of a regional source of information; Melton is currently building his national reputation and his number of followers reflect his growing influence. Ty Kish and his Middle School Hoops organization has the middle school video game on lock.  If there is a hot highlight video on the market, you can bet Kish produced it. Throw in this website and maybe a handful of others and that’s about it in terms of mainstream middle school basketball media coverage at the moment.

Normally when I hear a parent or coach proclaim “rankings don’t matter,” it’s usually because their son/player was either not ranked or was ranked lower than they thought he should be.  Are rankings always an accurate predictor of success? Not always.  Do rankings guarantee future success? Probably not.  Do rankings matter? To a lot of people they do. I agree that where a player is ranked at a young age is not as important as the fact a kid appears on a list/in rankings.  I can tell you right now, college coaches are looking at these lists and they know what kids are listed among the best. Right now, there are a number of 8th graders receiving letters of interest from college coaches.  No they aren’t scholarship offers, but those letters represent proof that “somebody is watching.”  College coaches don’t go to middle school tournament, camps or showcases so how do they know about these players?  That’s right, rankings and middle school media. Standout performances at elite tournaments and exposure events often lead to write-ups and rankings, all of which are closely monitored by college coaches.  Although gaining the attention of college coaches is the ultimate goal, a player must first gain the attention those individuals responsible of selecting players for elite events (i.e. John Lucas & CP3 Camps, etc) where players compete against other elite players and have the opportunity for a high level of exposure). Players ranked highly and who have earned a certain amount of exposure receive those opportunities, whereas other do not.  So bottom line, rankings do matter, to those they matter to.  With all of that said, can middle school rankings have a negative effect on kids and parents? Most definitely; it’s all about how the rankings and exposure are managed.  I have always said; rankings/exposure should be used as motivation for kids to continue to work hard and develop.

Well that’s it for the inaugural “Random Thoughts” piece. Hopefully it serves as a platform for discussion and debate. I want this website to be more than simply player profiles and rankings, so from time-to-time I don't think it's a bad idea to spark debate. I fully understand that we all don't agree on everything, but stating a position is everybody's right.  With that said, going forward, future editions will probably contain less philosophical issues, and will feature more local and regional, player and teams-related news.  Let the comments flow!

40 comments:

  1. Thanks Rob for providing a platform...to me all opinions are good opinions, because it adds to the debate. In terms of the AAU ruling...I actually agree with it. For me its more of a personal thing, because I watched at Nationals this year as my son and the 5th grade AOR squad lost to WACG. We all know what happened with WACG, so theres no telling what woulda coulda happened.

    There was a bunch of comments being made about that AOR squad being all reclassed kids. None were...just for the record.

    I also look forward to the NYBL this year too. My son is excited, and I cant wait to see all of the talented kids that are putting in work to get better.

    In terms of the rankings, I agree its another platform to form opinions and see where and what others think of kids talent levels. Most of them have some form of bias, but if used in the correct way it can be a motivating factor for a player to continue to work hard!

    Enough of my rambling...lets get to the games! See yall on the circuit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AOR 5th grade most definitely had more then a few re-class kids...why don't people just keep it real...the old rules allowed teams to have re classed kids so why are people continuing to act like they didn't have them....what amazes me is now that the new rule had come down you all these teams who are talking about playing up but under the old rule they had a bunch of hold backs and played down.. as a parent I would not allow my son to play up just because of a few re-class kids can no longer play down in grade......PLAY YOUR AGE and it will make for a much better game...

      Delete
    2. I watched your game against WACG and Springer did most of the work. All of your kids are older than him!

      Delete
  2. The ultimate goal is to play college basketball and folks will do whatever they feel it takes to get their kid notice.

    College coaches are no fools and are not lazy. Yes, usually the kid who is getting the buzz early is good and maintains that buzz until the rest catch up physically. So parents don't fret if you kid doesn't get the invite to go to an elite camp. It usually also comes from a pipeline.

    What I do know is reclasses are here to stay and many more will continue to do so. But the NCAA has taken notice and rules have been created to weed out those who only have the buzz with no academic substance. Now that colleges will be paying something to these players more rules will come. So if you don't focus on the student part in "student-athlete" therefore don't take advantages of spending 5 years in middle school v.s. the normal 3 years then you as a parent will have to face you kid and apologize for completely wasting his time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. beautifully wriiten and agree with MOST of what you said. I look forward to reading more and totally agree with the comment above. It's all about the STUDENT athlete and making sure he/she is prepared academically to compete for those scholarships.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I appreciate your random thoughts. Very well written. I also appreciate you acknowledging that other kids don't always catch up to reclass (or late start) kids. Even a 19 year old has an advantage over a 17 year old. I don't think there is any downside for a college coach recruiting an older kid. His body is more mature and more ready to contribute. Most basketball players don't "peak" until 29 years old, so being older helps until that point.
    I applaud AAU for trying to help this unfairness. I hope NYBL follows suit. The kids who are hurt the most are not the ranked kids. They will get discovered and get a scholarship (whether they are ranked 80th or 8th). The ones getting hurt are the next level of kids who are borderline college scholarship players, who may not every get noticed because they are being pushed out of the spotlight by older players.
    I don't have expectations that anything will change, but I am hopeful. I think most of the people who run websites still aren't sure which way to go and what to support. I suspect that this article is a little bit of a fishing expedition to gauge public opinion. Let me just say this: The first major outlet to support the new AAU rule will see a spike in popularity and be held up as a champion of fairness. You are right that reclass is a major wave right now, but only among the top 1% players. The rest are waiting to support (with money) the groups that recognize the unfairness of the system.
    Thanks for the forum for expressing opinions on these matters.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Coach we appreciate your random thoughts and respect the fact that you are open to the opinion of others. To me that's a reflection of integrity and good character. But before i get into the debate i must say as a parent of a ranked kid I am not enamored by the ramblings of Bill Francis or captivated by the Don king persona of many in the middle school hoop world. In fact Bill Francis sounds more like a pimp that anyone truly interested in helping kids. The reality of it is my son is a STUDENT ATHLETE, and i want emphasize the word student. During these early stages of development i feel it is critical to emphasize that. Without major focus on the student aspect, basketball wont matter. Emphasis should also be on teaching discipline, character, work ethics, team work, sportsmanship and all of the things necessary to create viable adults that contribute positively to the world. What has happened over the last 2 decades is that parents, coaches, organizations have lost their minds in this fast food MacDonalds society we live in. Chasing money for college, or living vicariously through kids rather than teaching them right and wrong. We have lost our minds to the point where black and white issues of right and wrong have become unclear as the business of basketball and the ramblings of pimps justifying cheating or holding academically sound kids back for a game with no certainty of any future of success. We all knew it was wrong but the AAU supported it with the rules, people abused it. People would show up at tournaments with 10 reclass kids on a 12 team roaster some kids 2 time reclasses. DMV coaches are the worst.. Cheating everywhere, people changing birth certificates, swapping players at nationals and worst of all Pimps and parasites coaching kids. Coaches with no clues of how to teach proper fundamentals, or even attempt to teach character especially for kids who don't get it at home. The old system before the new rules was teaching kids that to win you must cheat, take shortcuts, and just be an all around scum bag. In my opinion here is who benefit and loses from the new rules:

    Who Benefits:
    1. Kids
    2. Parents of Student Athletes
    3. Coaches who teach fundamentals and character. Good Coaches
    4. The game of basketball
    5. Middle school & high school programs
    6. Good AAU programs, those ran by good people who care about kids.
    7. talented non reclass kids and parents who did it the right way.

    Who loses:
    1. Bad coaches and pimps
    2. Bad tournament directors and hype men.
    3. Bad parents who care more about hoop dreams and living vicariously through their kids. Their life sucks or they just trying to pimp their own kids to get NBA $$$. I say to those parents stop hedging your future of the backs of these kids, u destroying them.
    4. The non student athlete.
    5. Lazy people who take shortcuts to success
    6. Cheaters
    7. Anyone promoting events that only exploit good kids or parents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ok anonymous posted at 5:00am you're really trying to spark some controversy here.

      If the DMV is full of cheaters, then WACG who has 8th graders playing at 5th grade has to be the ring leaders of cheaters. Followed by, Oakland Soldiers who moved families across the country so they can play on their 7th grade team. Next would be AOR’s class of 2019 team, who had the whole team as reclasses for the past  4 yrs. And the list goes on and on.

      The DMV for the last 5 yrs has had the most non-reclassed kids ranked.  The parents of the children that play are very involved and are aware that cheaters exist. The DMV is so competitive that cheaters would called out.  Everyone is aware of the pimps and crooked organizations across the board.

      Now that is off my chest. I agree Bill Francis is a pimp.  I think he means well, but his goal is to build his brand.  We will see what type of coach he is now that Fran City has to play their age.  Only time will tell how successful they will be.

      Lastly my beliefs are that the AAU rule change is a good thing.  The class of 2019 and 2020 are the poster children of reclasses.  I thank god that my nephew, who is a reclass of 2020, parents decided to keep him playing on 2019.  When a reclass plays down it is not beneficial to them.

      Delete
  6. To the anonymous poster from 10:19 pm yesterday...the oldest kid on the AOR 5th grade team was #10. ALL the other kids were age appropriate, so please understand I am keeping it real. I wont get into any back and forth about it, but just know that I SUPPORT the new AAU rules. I dont like when a group of kids is castrated because they are better at this age. Puberty hits at different ages, and some kids are just blessed with size, talent and skill. Usually it all evens out by the time high school rolls around anyhow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anton Hameed....I disagree but we will see how that team shakes out this upcoming AAU season....We will see if they play 13u instead of playing in 12u...Sad part is that a lot of these teams that had re-class kids are gonna play up this AAU season but under the old rule they played down....and they will use the excuse that there better instead of admitting that they have older kids....what people fail to realize is that no matter how hard they try to hide there age, there is somebody, somewhere who knows the real age.....I wish AOR all the luck in world so this is not an attack against the kids....I just saying that the truth will set everybody free including re-class kids...

      Delete
  7. Thanks for this article and showing that you understand all sides. There is no argument as to whether the AAU ruling is fair. It is. Unfortunately for the parents who hold back their kids or reclass them for basketball reasons... their kids adore them right now. Kids naturally love their parents no matter what and believe whatever they are told. "I'm doing this for you own good." When they are 30 they will understand exactly what happened and will look at them differently. There is no way to show this now, but that is what will probably happen. But we all get so short sighted and look at only the immediate impact of our actions instead of the long-term impact.
    Sadly, there is no way to stop cheating. Not in any sport at any level. Just like there is no way we can stop crimes from happening. But just because people are going to choose to steal even though it is against the law, doesn't mean we should do away with the law. At least the new AAU rule says that it is against the rules to steal and cheat. And finally, the only way to deter much of the cheating at this point is to heavily penalize players (and teams) who do. If cheating occurs at a sanctioned event, that player should be banned from AAU competition and the team should be banned for the rest of that year. Otherwise, the cheaters will just travel from tourney to tourney trying the same old tricks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The big issue, and discussion between parents comes down to what are are willing to do to win? Are you willing to bend the rules or break the rules? Are you willing to change the grade of your child just for a higher ranking or more wins? Are you willing to break the bank to hire individual trainers for your child? Are you willing to sacrifice your son's childhood where all he does is practice basketball and every weekend of his childhood is spent in tournaments and camps and showcases instead of normal kid stuff? As they get older it will be are you willing to change school districts and take your son away from his friends just so you can get into a better basketball program (or one that will give your son more playing time)? Are you willing to take performance enhancing drugs? There is a popular phrase in sports that says, "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying!" A lot of people are "trying" very hard.
    The main issue here is between parents who are willing to make basketball the most important thing in their child's life and those who aren't.
    To those parents who have kids that are the correct age and are doing things "the right way", maybe we need to be able to just realize that having good character is its own reward. Teach them that "Just because other people are cheating or bending the rules to get ahead doesn't mean that we should." Teach them that there are no shortcuts to success and this will help them in the rest of their life, which will be important since only three out of every 10,000 high school basketball players get drafted into the NBA. Read that last sentence again and then post it on your fridge.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Agree with both statements above & 5:00 a.m. I think cheating now becomes more difficult because now the rules exist & the same social media & media outlets used to give exposure, exposes who the cheaters are. Parents, kids, good coaches know who all the holdbacks are but there was nothing u could do because AAU rules allowed grade exceptions. Now that the rules are fair I don't think anyone is going to spend all this money to support our kids to watch them be cheated. The cheating parents many have jumped teams numerous times all travel distances chasing fame, we know who u r and will challenge the game & get the team disqualified.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Its GREAT that AAU stood their ground and went against the norm! It allows the younger age groups to compete at a high level against kids their own age. The elite level sponsor teams might not want to play by those rules, but now it won't affect the teams that actually do. I am not surprised that most of the sponsored middle school teams will not be making any switches to their rosters. There isn't any real reason to. Especially since most of them don't play AAU in high school anyway. It would make no sense to break up a team over one national tournament. This decision is going to make AAU more competitive for all teams and force all of the older kids to either play on the showcase circuits or play their age.

    ReplyDelete
  11. For a family to relocate for a better job opportunity how were the Soldiers cheating?

    ReplyDelete
  12. From Ohio and From Ga To California? Come on. And Two top players in there class..... Child Please............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For parents to use their kids' athletic talent to uproot their families and move thousands of miles to get jobs from a deep pocket dad that they wouldn't otherwise have gotten is despicable and pathetic. But I bet they tell themselves that they "earned it." This is the sort of behavior that rule changes can cause. I hope AAU and all of the other leagues realize the extent of corruption that is possible and try as much as possible to fight it. Our kids deserve better!

      Delete
  13. Basketball Mom 12:22pm Come On

    ReplyDelete
  14. To anonymous @4:20 pm...the boys from that squad will be playing 12u, their proper age group. If you are curious, stop assuming and just ask if you need or want to know ages and/or birth dates. Also...I am FOR the rules changes. I dont condone cheating, dont teach any of my kids to cheat, and look forward to how fun Nationals has the potential to be.

    Lets keep the kids working hard, and be the best STUDENT Athletes they can be...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rob Taylor, Coach Francis, Mike Melton, lets examine the system. Lets say that many kids who reclass for basketball live in 2 parent families and because of the support system it has possibly limited long term effects. But what if a kid who does not have the same support system does this to stay competitive with these others and decides to fail his classes because his parents cannot afford to transfer him back and forth between schools because of whatever economic or social situation exist at home. The results could be catastrophic, is any amount of money worth encouraging this especially for kids in low economic environments. I beg u three Gentlemen to think about the precedence u setting by allowing any system to exist that does not emphasize education first and the student athlete. The AAU did the right thing regardless of the motives and they should do more. For the benefits of generations of kids people we should no longer encourage any system that encourages holding kids back academically for sports, its just to dangerous. Some of these coaches could careless about academics and will allow failing kids to play just to look good or to further themselves. This nonsense has to stop, why is it so hard its black and white we should all be ashamed of ourselves including me for not speaking up enough.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You're kidding right? So the world is coming to a catastrophic end because kids reclassed in basketball? Uuuummm where was the great debates when kids were reclassing in baseball, hockey etc...? SMH, enough is enough! The problem is nobody gives a crap that AAU changed their rules for 2 tournaments, looks like the reclassers will have numerous tournaments they can play in. Its starting to look like age only will be for very few tournaments, all the majors are sticking to old rules so have your regionals, nationals, MIT and NOLA Super 60 and have yall some fun

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Listen to yourself you sound very foolish, why are you afraid of your kid playing with other children his age? So proud to have your son play against younger kids. What has this world come to? Are we really paying attention to what's going on people are really fighting to have their kids NOT compete against kids their own age is this not retarded?

      Delete
    2. 6:39 is right. 9:16 u scared your kid cannot compete @ his age. But now he will be forced to compete against his age reclass vs reclass in these shadow leagues. The rest of us are going to where they follow the rules

      Delete
    3. @9:16 you forget to mention MIT x2, Super Regionals, districts, nationals, Agame Shootout starting january 2015 will adopt new rules, so add in another 3 or 4, + nola. Teams can run at least a 15 plus tournament schedule under the new rules. U and the rest of the reclassers can have your shadow circuits full of reclassers.

      Delete
  17. I think this new AAU rule is as fair as possible. My son is in 7th grade, and has a fall 2002 birthday. He is forced to play agaist kids who are 14 when he is 12 and wont even turn 13 until 8th grade. Im a man/father first. I cant with a clear concious hold him back, when he does exceptionally well in school just for basketball. I would love to hear/see a documentary about those kids who are held back though. Not the guys who are 6'10 and odviously has a future in basketball regardless. The middle of the pack guys. Has any of these parents not seen "Hoop Dreams". The scrutiny they face by being mocked and teased. When i was growing up, the last thing any kid wanted to do was be held back. Everyone thought you were retarded.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Reclassers we must keep fighting, don't let the AAU throw a wrench in our plans of having our kids make millions in the NBA. I want my 14 year old to beat the heck out of those 12 year old kids so he can show how "elite" he is. Besides that if the 12 year old can't hang maybe he needs to play boys and girls club ball and leave the AAU circuit to the elite ballers. Age is just a number we all know this! And btw my son's gpa went up from around a 2.0 to damn near honor roll after reclassing him, that's got to account for something. Not just basketball folks helped him academically as well. Reclass tourneys here we come!

    ReplyDelete
  19. 9:16 is an example of whats wrong with youth Basketball, the typical cheater parent trying to game the system. Trying to use other sports to justify cheating. Teaching their kid when u cannot compete against kids your age the solution is to stay back academically and pretend you younger so that u can bully kids almost 2 years younger than you. Now that the rules have change when your kid steps onto the court he has to earn his keep against kids his age and older. Stop being scared and compete. Move him to his right age. Man up, but you wont do it, now you have to take the walk of shame every time you walk into a tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  20. And if these "Scouts" only attend those "reclass" events then boycott the those scout's camps as well. Remove those dollars to remove the power. They will have nothing to write about.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Business 101, give the customers what they want.. For every reclass kid there is thousands of talented non reclassed kids and parents. No parent is going to pay to support a system that's set up for cheaters or stacked against their age appropriate kid especially during early development. No one is going to risk destroying their kids confidence so that some reclass & their parents can live some hoop dream. Conform or we take our $$$$ else where.

    ReplyDelete
  22. But what are you going to do at the high school level. What are you going to do when that reclass kid is a senior and your son and mines going for the same money for college. Then we will see $$$$$$$ who won and who lost in this reclassification thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What are u going to do at the high school level, many of us have good academics and 529 plans to back up our student athletes, only a moron bets the future on basketball. Plus your kid has been playing down so our kids are use to battling older kids he's already at a disadvantage to ours. Lastly if he was that good why can't he compete at his age...

      Delete
  23. Am glad you have your 529 plans. So don't get mad we you have to borrow from it to pay for college and we don't. So again well see who benefits from the reclass. You or me. Zero balance or 100k balance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My kid is a non reclass already rank in the top 50, he also has good academics a 529 plan and intellegent educated parents, basketball is a tool not a meal ticket. U sound ignorant 529 is tax deffered investment for college you withdraw not borrow, that tells me u bet you & your kids future on basketball. Lastly in the world of college sports it comes down to talent & eligibility & the NCAA is in bed with AAU with plans on requiring all incoming freshmen athletes to be no older than 18.9.

      Delete
  24. I agree. AAU and NCAA are in this together. What folks don't understand is that now that colleges will have to pay kids the selection process will be even more selective. Like business who want huge profits based on having the lowest expenses, Colleges will need a return on their investment. If a kid can't at least function at the college level the college is wasting money and they have no money to waste now. Colleges will need kids who can stay around at least 2 years or more and the only way to do that is to pass your classes. There are very few kids who do academically well who excel in this sport and that's the group that will help colleges receive the most bang for their buck. Add in size and that numbers in this special group decrease. So it will be back to the time where more regular/average size players will return but because there are so many they will need something to narrow the dimes a dozen to just a few. Those kids who are young and are academically sound will become the few that are chosen. Mark my words.

    How can the NCAA have better control over the type of product they want, get in the business of grassroots basketball. It's easier to teach a child to how to be a man then to teach a man how to be a man. Parents of Age based (non-reclass) players know that they many not have the next superstar so they make sure their kid focus on academics. and NCAA need these type of kids to keep their product viable. Also, white kids usually receive better academic training then black kids. Yeah, that white reclassed kid may be top ranked but you better bet he's academically sound. It's the black kids that have the academic issues and AAU/grassroots middle men don't care because they got those reclassed kids ranked and getting the invites to elite teams/camps. Who you think will benefit no matter what the rules are? White kids they are trying to eliminate the black athlete because they black athlete doesn't focus on school. This is not for all of us I'm just saying look at the rules and they are being made by design (on purpose).

    All I can say is Black Folks we got to get them ready now. This is an all out attack on us.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Agreed above. But not that its an all out attack on blacks kids. Its an all out attack on hype men, pimp coaches, poor academically sound individuals, the non student athlete, and bad parents. This is good for sports and youths of all races. We can no longer allow these coaches and organizations to have this short term perspective of athletics alone and not help develope the entire individual for the future. I understand that the NCAA and AAU are no angles and have benefited from this exploitation, but the emphasis has to be put back on the student athlete, this mentality of betting futures on sports is short term. Reclass or not the percentages of kids that will get scholarships or make it to the NBA are slim and that's what I tell my kids and parents. Regardless of the motives the standards had to be raised and I am confident that kids of all races will step up to the challenges and become successful. Good Coaches response to this is to conduct study halls and do better job with academic checks on the kids in their programs. I personally will not allow a failing kid to play. I am black and I am not blind to race issues but I see this benefiting more than harming black or any kid. The good coaches, good parents and good organizations will produce good student athletes capable of meeting all the challenges and get those scholarships. Bad coaches, parasites, hype men and those who don't belong within a 1000 feet of youth sports are scared. Coaches should be using some of this sneaker company money to extend study programs with tutoring in math, science, English and whatever subjects a student athlete needs help in. So in ending I challenge kids, parents, coaches to up the standards and not make this a race issue. The emphasis going forward should be on improving academics, attitude, athletics and overall development. I welcome the challenge....

    ReplyDelete
  26. Question. So if you have reclassified your son does that mean we did it for basketball? Or sports? And why do you assume that the reclass kid is a dumb jock? Am telling you. It's a new day. Wise up most reclass kids are academically sound and focus on the big picture. But again like the blogger above said we will see how the reclassification kid match up with the non reclass kid

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then why would someone hold back a academically sound kid? This is being done for basketball period but nobody is saying not to hold your kid back that's your business & your strategy, all we saying is play them at their right age during puberty. After puberty let them all battle it out in high school, but at least give the younger kids a chance during early development. If your kid is that good he should not need to play against kids almost 2 years younger its just not productive. U get better playing up not against younger kids. But to answer your question directly, unless my son fails his classes, has mental or physical disability it would be a cold day in hell before I hold him back, kids cost money...

      Delete
  27. I am Anonymous November 8, 2014 at 7:44 AM and 8:40 I agree with you. I am just saying look at who is affected by these rules? Statistics says black youth the ones who are behind. Black parents need to step up to make sure it's student first, athlete second. Not be fooled by some hype man looking only to use their kid to make a name (and money) for himself.

    10:27...Reclass kids are not dummies I am not saying that. But non-reclass or reclass how many kids do you know of who don't do well in school and the coach still pushing kids to elite camps/teams to have the kids make a name for the program/coach. The only way the powers that been can control it is at he college entry level.

    ReplyDelete