It’s been a long summer of travel and events. The summer will officially end for me this coming weekend with the final day of the AAU Convention in San Juan, PR. This is the culmination of the summer every two years now as the AAU has adopted this new format for their conventions. I have talked to a lot of people over the course of the summer since returning from Toulouse/Rodez and the FIBA 17U championships.
In between I’ve been to the following events: USJN-DC National Championshps, Nike Nationals in Augusta, GA, a wedding of a former player in Puta Cana, DM, the Nike World Basketbal lFestival in NYC, the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, the FIBA World Men’s Championships in Istanbul, Decorex and London Design Week in London, the Nike International Basketball meetings in Las Vegas and now the AAU Convention in San Juan. That’s a lot of miles, a lot of hotel nights and time away – most of it spent collecting information and asking people about the state of basketball here in the US and globally. No matter what anyone says, our game is in trouble and the tip of the iceberg is the declining interest in basketball.
Four years ago at the AAU Convention in Hawaii, I went to look at the presentation of the President’s Committee on Physical Fitness of which the AAU was a participant. The most shocking and telling point of their presentation was the elimination of basketball in the top ten of activities enjoyed by today’s youth in their program. Not in the top ten? Even when you go to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association report on sports participation you find basketball decreasing. This past summer, a reports from the SGMA (probably instigated by my similar remarks to some of the NBA leadership in a meeting last January) showed a decrease in the sport, the same one I saw first hand helping run the Philadelphia Belles program – fewer participation.
No matter how you want to cut it, the recent moves by the NCAA over the past 12 months has started a series of attacks on youth basketball, not limited to their traditional whipping subject, boys basketball. This time both genders are in danger from various angles with last week’s publication of the new attempt to eliminate summer recruiting. Add this to the three-players bordering state rule and you have an out-and-out attack on opportunities for players outside the Elite 48.
I hesitate to comment deeply on the boarding state rule due to the legal challenges that will soon be constructed by the girls side of basketball, but no matter how you want to paint it, this eliminates parental choice of where a student-athlete can participate. College coaches are dictating where a child can play over a parents wishes while recruiting said player to their program which may lie outside the boarding state rule they are being blackmailed to play under. Enough on that subject for now.
The second item is the elimination of summer basketball. This was a surprise but not shocking move since this topic has been on the table for years, The alternative has been to change and limit as much player opportunities as possible. Being involved in all of basketball under the YB21.org banner, I’ve seen up close how the game works and what the real issues are. As they always say, follow the money. Well, in this case, it is the people who benefit from those key outstanding players, the milionaire college coach and the millionaire pro coach who both will be working with those student they feel can make it to the NBA (hence, another millionaire). The common denominator here is the Professional Agent and hordes of fellow travelers and runners, all looking to create the “relationship” between themselves and the player / parents and college coach. It’s makes no difference who’s important, there is always a “relationship.” And, with that “relationship” its about the money, present and potential.
The elimination of summer basketball put out by the College Conference group has been viewed as shocking. For others a typical power play by those administrators to flex their collective muscle and see if the new NCAA President has the gumption to take a stand against them as did the former President Myles Brand. It was a quick response from the NABC (men’s coaching community) that showed the real intent of those in power. The college coaches enmass decried this move. The NCAA leadership has been silent on the response. Those in the know say this is the first stage of an attack to limit the game and drive all recruiting into the collective on-campus arms of the top 10 collge coaches own on-campus events and “all-star camps.” Don’t think so, this is how men’s football is operated now and similar to the old school days when Purdue ran their famous elite camp.
What is next? People have told me that if ”key and uninformed people” sees this movement as a “let’s clean up the game” move enough, they’ll buy into it since their is no one capable of individually getting it to slow down. There is time to unify and present alternatives. Everyone, even iHoops, the villan of 2009, is trying to find ways to make the game better. While this news made a big sudden splash, it again shows the need for unity on the event operators side, the parents and coaches of summer travel teams and the mid-level and below college coaching community to find a common idea and voice behind realistic changes. This is a perfect time for that to happen. I hope people will find the time and energy to think of their own futures and of this game. If not, they will be shoved to the side because of their own laziness and failure to step up and act.
