Question on local AAU Basketball Programs

[Golden Yooper]

The way I see it, AAU basketball programs are basically a business. They recruit the best talent they can to create the most competitive team they can. If successful, the team gets invites to high level tournaments and the players get maximum exposure to college recruiters.

Therefore, to build their businesses is it not in the AAU programs best interest to encourage players to go to good college basketball programs all around the country as a selling point for their AAU program? Is that a sexier discussion with potential players that their AAU programs has recruiting connections all over the country rather than just the local University?

I wonder if that self-promotional aspect and the competition between AAU programs for players is hindering Minnesota’s recruiting locally.

Be curious on people’s thoughts on this business aspect.

 

[MplsGopher]

I assume none of these teams sell many (any?) tickets to their games, and they don't have TV contracts.

So the only source of "income" would be from the players having to pay to be on the team, plus any boosters, and I suppose if there is any prize money from tournaments. Basically like any high school club team.


That's not really a business model that's going to generate much profit, I would think. And it's more out of love for the game, coaches who love to coach and win, help kids get recruited, etc.


Would like to know if this is not the case in AAU bball.

 

[jovs]

I assume none of these teams sell many (any?) tickets to their games, and they don't have TV contracts.

So the only source of "income" would be from the players having to pay to be on the team, plus any boosters, and I suppose if there is any prize money from tournaments. Basically like any high school club team.


That's not really a business model that's going to generate much profit, I would think. And it's more out of love for the game, coaches who love to coach and win, help kids get recruited, etc.


Would like to know if this is not the case in AAU bball.

Having no knowledge of AAU bball this makes sense, the shoe companies are the ones that brought in the money and corrupted the process I would think.

 

[A nonymous]

I assume none of these teams sell many (any?) tickets to their games, and they don't have TV contracts.

So the only source of "income" would be from the players having to pay to be on the team, plus any boosters, and I suppose if there is any prize money from tournaments. Basically like any high school club team.


That's not really a business model that's going to generate much profit, I would think. And it's more out of love for the game, coaches who love to coach and win, help kids get recruited, etc.


Would like to know if this is not the case in AAU bball.

This is true for the majority of AAU teams. Only the top select few AAU squads are loaded with the 4 and 5 star talent. bringing in the big shoe money and traveling the country playing the premier tournaments. The rest are mostly comprised of low level D1, D2 and even D3 type guys, funded by the players themselves and playing mostly local tournaments.

but definitely yes the top of the AAU food chain is completely corrupted by shoe money influence

 

[MplsGopher]

Do we have any of these top of the food chain AAU teams that get shoe deals, here in the metro?

Seems to go against the whole Amateur part of AAU.

 

[builtbadgers]

Do we have any of these top of the food chain AAU teams that get shoe deals, here in the metro?

Seems to go against the whole Amateur part of AAU.

A ton wrong with the shoe money steering. Attracts unsavory elements including some parents who want something. This is why coaches i know will really concentrate on high schools so they can get to know how players are from head coaches, find humble parents, find out what kind of person they are. AAU still has a place for evaluation, volume viewing against great talent but it is not about relationships.

 

[Just Gopher It!!]

A ton wrong with the shoe money steering. Attracts unsavory elements including some parents who want something. This is why coaches i know will really concentrate on high schools so they can get to know how players are from head coaches, find humble parents, find out what kind of person they are. AAU still has a place for evaluation, volume viewing against great talent but it is not about relationships.

good insights.

SI had a great piece in this a few years ago about the AAU scene and included in it was how itcan affect recruiting rankings as well

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Do we have any of these top of the food chain AAU teams that get shoe deals, here in the metro?

Seems to go against the whole Amateur part of AAU.

Howard Pulley=Nike
D1 Minnesota=Adidas
Grassroots Sizzle=Under Armour

Not sure how this is different than huge dollars being thrown at coaches/schools in the college ranks.

 

[MplsGopher]

Howard Pulley=Nike
D1 Minnesota=Adidas
Grassroots Sizzle=Under Armour

Not sure how this is different than huge dollars being thrown at coaches/schools in the college ranks.

So then obviously the Nike team is going to try to send its kids to Nike schools, with the coach getting a kickback when he can make it happen. Same with the other two.

That is terrible and corrupt.

 

[skiumah1]

So then obviously the Nike team is going to try to send its kids to Nike schools, with the coach getting a kickback when he can make it happen. Same with the other two.

That is terrible and corrupt.

There should be data to back that up. Or somebody needs to create data between each of those teams and the colleges that players choose to go. That is very corrupt.

I assume there are no regulations with AAU and these corporations. All just businesses? So technically these AAU coaches aren't doing anything wrong?

 

[UpAndUnder43]

So then obviously the Nike team is going to try to send its kids to Nike schools, with the coach getting a kickback when he can make it happen. Same with the other two.

That is terrible and corrupt.

Yeah...I’d like to see what % of Adidas kids go to Adidas schools or Nike kids to Nike schools. Not sure on the numbers. Could find it but that takes effort.

 

[MplsGopher]

There should be data to back that up. Or somebody needs to create data between each of those teams and the colleges that players choose to go. That is very corrupt.

I assume there are no regulations with AAU and these corporations. All just businesses? So technically these AAU coaches aren't doing anything wrong?

In my opinion, it is a violation of the spirit of amateurism as intended by the NCAA.

They either need to do away with that, for all sports, or they need to hold basketball’s feet to the fire.

 

[Just Gopher It!!]

There should be data to back that up. Or somebody needs to create data between each of those teams and the colleges that players choose to go. That is very corrupt.

I assume there are no regulations with AAU and these corporations. All just businesses? So technically these AAU coaches aren't doing anything wrong?

I wonder if AAU teams qualify as a non- profit?

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I'm old enough that I remember the days before AAU ball. back in the dark ages of the 60's and 70's, the only Summer ball meant going to camps and clinics that were mainly run by D1 coaches as a way to supplement their income and allow them to evaluate area HS players. The camps were mostly regional - Midwest kids stayed in the Midwest.

Originally, the AAU organization was tied to the Olympics - more of a developmental program for older athletes. In the 70's, you had a few summer leagues and tournaments pop up. Then in 1978, the whole Olympic system was re-organized so each sport had its own organization. As a result, the AAU organization was left on the outside, and shifted its focus more toward youth sports, and that is what started us on the road to the system we see today, with the all-star teams, national travelling teams, and the big summer circuit with showcase events and the big tournaments.

I believe there were also some changes in college hoops recruiting regulations at the same time, with the net impact of shifting focus from the high school season to the summer as the prime time for recruiting. And that is what led to all of the characters who inhabit the AAU scene - the bird-dogs who try to identify young players and steer them toward an AAU program with hopes of being "rewarded" if that player becomes a big-time recruit.

 

[obobo55]

I am probably the most naive person in regards to this, but how do kids choose which program to join? Is it simply which type of gear (shoes, uniforms, etc.) they like best? Are these top teams for each brand out there recruiting the best 6th graders for a feeder program?

 

[MennoSota]

I wonder who is more at fault, Coach Pitino or the AAU programs in Minnesota.
Were the AAU programs looking for the biggest payout under the table and Pitino refused to play that game? Was Pitino a young, arrogant prick who thought he was bigger and better at recruiting than to condescend to the AAU programs in Minnesota?
I have no idea what has happened. All I know is that I keep watching top talent turn its back on UMN and I've come to the point where I expect the best to leave the State.
Daniel Oturu was the lone exception. His Nigerian culture of family was, in my opinion, the basis for his stay at home decision. Most born and raised Americans are all about themselves and their own betterment, which is expressed in the best players leaving to programs out of the state.
Just my opinion. I could be entirely wrong. Either way, the best of the crop is leaving to go elsewhere.

 

[MplsGopher]

I am probably the most naive person in regards to this, but how do kids choose which program to join? Is it simply which type of gear (shoes, uniforms, etc.) they like best? Are these top teams for each brand out there recruiting the best 6th graders for a feeder program?

I would guess its a decision for a parent to make, much like parents and athletes choose a college.

Some kid is doing really well in a youth program, and a recruiter or coach tells the parent "you really should consider getting your son/daughter into a club program. Have you heard of _______ team? Check out the website" etc.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I think players choose AAU teams based on a lot of factors - who is coaching that team?......do they know the other players on that team?.......does that team have a track record of getting kids scholarships to big-time college programs?......and so forth.

It's my understanding that there is some competition for the top players, but I think a lot of it comes down to "my buddy is playing for that team," or "a guy from my school played for that team and liked it."

 

[A nonymous]

There is a lot of recruiting that goes on by these AAU teams. The AAU coaches spend a lot of time engaging with the kids during the high school seasons. Typically the coaches will scout players at the MSHSL games and give them offers to join their team. They hold “tryouts” but usually most of the roster is decided well in advance. All that being said, there is also some degree of regional bias.

these were my observations back when I was playing AAU ball >10 years ago. Many of the teams are different now, so I’m sure a lot of it has changed but the generalities of how rosters are put together is probably mostly the same.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

I would guess its a decision for a parent to make, much like parents and athletes choose a college.

Some kid is doing really well in a youth program, and a recruiter or coach tells the parent "you really should consider getting your son/daughter into a club program. Have you heard of _______ team? Check out the website" etc.

That is exactly how it happened with my kid.

 

[builtbadgers]

So many of them operate in the clear and have the best intentions. Only takes a few to ruin the party but even that has put a large emphasis back on the high school pre scout activity and then coach heavy viewing, character gathering. Family check, entourage or not.