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The emergence of AAU or summer basketball has forever changed the landscape of the high school game as we once knew it. Some would argue it hasn't been a change for the better, especially in Illinois.
"AAU isn't the answer," said Gene Ford, who was the Sun-Times Player of the Year in 1964 while playing at Crane and taught in the Chicago public schools for 31 years. "Kids suffer and programs suffer when coaches don't have teacher's certificates. They don't have professional preparation in coaching."
In 2004, Ford said he was offered a position as elementary sports coordinator by Calvin Davis, director of sports administration for CPS. In the position, he would be supervising more than 600 schools. At the time, however, he was making more money as an assistant principal.
"How can I go home and tell my wife that I am making less money?" Ford asked himself. "I didn't want people to recognize me for basketball but for my educational merit."
Ford, who later played at Western Michigan, currently teaches physical education at Laura Ward elementary school on the West Side. He has two Masters degrees.
Which brings us to an issue that affects all public and private schools in Illinois but most particularly the Chicago public schools. Who is teaching the kids? Are they qualified? And what are the academic standards by which they are allowed to participate? In other words, who's running the asylum?
"What is missing with the guys who have been coaching for the last 10-15 years is they have no degrees," said a longtime coach who served at two Division I colleges and recruited the Chicago area extensively.
"How do you talk education with a kid if you are a security guard? The problem is they aren't teachers. How important is it for a mentor who is a coach to emphasize the importance of a college degree to kids when they don't have one?"
The coach suggested to look at the web site Thechampion.org and click on to Chicago Public Schools. There, for all to see, is a list of every salaried teacher in the entire system. The problem is coaches who are non-teachers aren't listed on the web site...Simeon's Robert Smith, Whitney Young's Tyrone Slaughter, Brooks' Chris Head, Curie's Mike Oliver, dozens of others.
"After you do the research, you realize they don't have teaching certificates," the coach said. "A lot of guys don't have degrees."
And what are some coaches teaching?
An examination of one coach's class schedule revealed that he is teaching dance, choir, jazz performance, practical nursing therapy and something called Chicago Police and Firefighters.
"And it is getting worse with the one-and-done rule instituted by the NBA that forced players like Derrick Rose to go to college for one year before declaring for the NBA," the coach said. "How important is it for guys to get college degrees anymore?
"The biggest farce now is if you are a great player, like Rose or Kevin Durrant or O.J. Mayo, you only have to pass six hours in the first semester of your freshman year to be eligible to play in your second semester."
And the NCAA insists on referring to these players as "student-athletes." It appears many of them are getting good preparation in high school.
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What a load of tripe. Homeschoolers don't necessarily have degrees and they've been beating the pants off CPS results for decades. BTW, have you acrually SPOKEN to some of these bubble headed little girls getting degrees in "eduacation"? They're defiantely not smarter than a 5th grader. And why is a degree in "education" even valued? Better to have knowledge in the subject matter than in how to make attractive cork board displays. I'll take expreience over a degree in "education" any day.
Gene Ford was an outstanding CPS basketball talent who really did things the right way including taking advantage of academic opportunities. He makes a good point, but the issue is a very complicated one which is not easy to solve in CPS, the 3rd largest school system in the country. Though AAU has some good, it also has its drawbacks. Players get national recognition which can help generate scholarships, and coaches know how to assemble winning teams, but there are concerns about the rules, or lack thereof. For many many years all CPS coaches were required to be teachers in order to coach sports. The removal of this requirement occurred when many P.E. teachers left coaching to work in after school Driver Education which paid a higher salary. This migration created a high demand for sport coaches in our high schools. The requirement to coach was soon lessened to candidates having to be a board employee. This was a way to address the need. The CPS initiative which impacted the CPS coaching pool further was the elimination of 11th and 12th grade P.E. class as a graduation requirement in 1997 or 1998. This was when the Phys. Ed waiver was fully implemented within the system. As a result many gym teacher jobs were cut causing a number of P.E. teachers and coaches to seek work in other areas. After this occurred, the system began to allow non-board employees to become head coaches. This is why the ongoing training for coaches that I'm continuously pushing is important. Would it be ideal to have all degreed coaches? I would say yes, but what would the programmic impact be for the time being? Coaches training is more important than ever for the very reasons mentioned in this discussion. I have to say that some of the coaches who are non-teachers do a great job with winning games and helping to create scholarship opportunities. On the other hand, there are those non-teacher non-board coaches who cause much of our unsportsmanlike conduct and character issues. We are addressing these issues through our "Character Counts" training to the degree possible. We'd have to look closely at the statistics related to college attendance and graduation rates to really connect with the true academic success of student-athletes from CPS in general as well as at individual schools. We do have many wonderful success stories. Sometimes it's not our most high profile players who get degrees. This is a statistic that I am currently tracking. Sports Is Education! To Gene: I totally understand that you cannot ever go home and tell your wife you're taking a job that pays less money.
dm60462: You can't begin to compare the test results of homeschoolers to CPS students. Why is a degree in education valued? You must be joking. If you think anybody can be a good teacher you are sadly mistaken.
Mr. Davis,
So you're predecessors and you decided that it is more important to have good (meaning winning) coaches than have people who actually teach them and develop them into quality young men... Although many CPS coaches do a good job at helping Chicago's youth develop their character (through athletics), several whom ou support (and help recruit) are a detriment to personal development and maturity. Take Robert Smith, for instance. As a poster on another blog pointed out, how many of Coach Smith's star athletes are a=on pace to get a degree? Scholarships are one thing, but does he (and the Simeon administration, and you) help the students to be SUCCESSFUL IN THE FUTURE?
NO!
Whatabout Tyrone Slaughter, a man who admits he does whatever it takes to get people to Young cause "The IHSA let's me". I also overheard a rumor that Tommy Hamilton asked Slaughter if he could get a tutor in a class. Coach Slaughter allegedly told him to "F-off".
If true, how sad. Winning is more important that developing mature, intelligent young men.
Phil K:
You seem to have a comprehension problem. Mr. Davis' comments were designed to give historical information about the CPS coaching situation as it relates to degreed coaches. He didn't create the situation, and he certainly has disciplined coaches as needed while never supporting illegal recruiting. I hope he doesn't answer you. I will debate with you though. Where are you from? Did you play the game? Who did you ever coach? Are you just a blog head who speaks aimlessly?
Yes, education is very important thing. But I disagree with Mr Ford's assertion that only teachers and people with degrees can coach and have an effect on kids. I have coached middle school basketball for 5 years. I don't have a degree but kids respect and listen to me when I tell them they need a college degree to succeed. I also tell them I am going to school online to get my degree at 43 years old. So they know education is important but to say only teachers can coach basketball is not correct.
This is a difficult situation. If you go into these schools, you find very teachers who are black males. At one of the better non selective enrollment schools, I'm the only Black male who teaches a core subject (math, english, science or social studies). One in the whole school. While there are 5 other black male teachers, they all teach the arts. So trying to find these coaches/teachers are damn near impossible. That being said, being an effective teacher and coach is damn near impossible. There are so many elements that you have to deal with before you can even begin to think about winning. And the pressures of building a program/staying in the "red," doesn't make things any better. I guess the most frustrating part is when the parents choose a good basketball team over a good school.
One other thing that we don't realize is that because there are so few qualified black males in the system, it is very difficult for schools to keep them in teaching positions when they can make much more money in administrative roles. As Calvin Davis and Cyrus Mcginnis why they are no long coaches. Two qualified college graduates who make 6 figures, who were at one point CPS coaches.
DON'T YOU NEED 12 HOURS A SEMESTER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SECOND SEMESTER?
PLEASE CLEAR THAT STATEMENT UP FOR ME!
ALSO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ASCEP TESTING TO BE A COACH, IF YOU AREN'T A TEACHER, ISN'T THIS STILL VALID?
ALSO, COACH HEAD AND COACH SLAUGHTER HAVE WON STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, SO WHY ARE THEY BEING MENTIONED LIKE THEY ARE NOVICE COACHES, THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE AND WINNING ON THEIR SIDE TO SHOW FOR THE HARDWORK THEY HAVE DISPLAYED, AND THEY AREN'T BEING PAID LIKE SOME SUBURBAN COACHES!
ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE A BAD TASTE IN YOUR MOUTHS ABOUT AAU BALL, GET OVER IT, IT ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE, THE SHOE COMPANIES RUN THE MORE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS, AND THE SHOES AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE, I SAY STOP CRYING OVER SPILLED MILK, AND STOP CRYING ABOUT WHO IS COACHING THE YOUNGSTERS, JUST LIKE CALVIN DAVIS SAID, SOME CHOOSE NOT TO COACH, BECAUSE THEY CAN MAKE MORE MONEY TEACHING DRIVER EDUCATION, P.S. TO PUT SOMETHING ON A BLOG THAT IS HEARSAY IS PLAIN WRONG, THAT CRAP ABOUT A COACH TELLING SOMEONE TO BLANK OFF FOR ASKING ABOUT A TUTOR WAS UNCALLED FOR, WE NEED TO ELEVATE OUR LEVELS OF BLOGGING, IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMEONE WHO COACHES, THAT IS AN OPINION, NOT A FACT!
UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT RUNNING A HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM, THE HARDWORK IS IN THE SUMMER, AND LESS FACE FACTS THERE ARE COACHES WHO DON'T WORK THEIR PROGRAMS IN THE SUMMER, THAT IS WHY THE PRODUCT IS BAD IN THE WINTER MONTHS!
HERE IS A NEWS FLASH FOR EVERYONE, KENTUCKY THE NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NATION AT THE PRESENT TIME, HAS TWO IF NOT THREE PLAYERS, WHO WILL BE ONE AND DONES, YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS TYPE OF MONEY IN THE WORKING WORLD, THESE GUYS ARE SPECIALIST, LOOK AT GREG ODEN AND THE YOUNGSTER GRIFFIN FROM THE CLIPPERS, IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE THOSE GUARANTEED CONTRACTS THEY WOULD BE DAMAGED GOODS, EVERYONE CAN'T BE A SPECIALIST, WE ALL KNOW THAT A COLLEGE DEGREE WILL EARN YOU AT LEAST ONE MILLION DOLLARS MORE THAN A PERSON WITHOUT ONE, BUT THE MONEY THAT NBA PLAYERS MAKE IS RIGHT OUT OF RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
GREAT COACHES DON'T HAVE TO BE CERTIFIED TEACHERS, THAT IS A FACT NOT AN OPINION!
STOP BEING JEALOUS OF SUCCESS, THE REAL COACHES ARE AT THE SMALL FRY LEVEL, THEY GIVE THE YOUNGSTERS THE SKILLS TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ANYWAY! NOW THAT IS AN OPINION!
STOP WITH THE, HE OR SHE NEEDS TO BE A CERTIFIED TEACHER, THAT WON'T HOLD WATER ANY LONGER, CHRIS HEAD, STATE CHAMPION, TYRONE SLAUGHTER, STATE CHAMPION, COACH FROM SIMEON, STATE CHAMPION, GIVE THEM THEIR PROPS, AND MOVE ON!
Phil Smith Jr,
I know we disagree on alot, but is winning all that matters in HIGH SCHOOL? I for one, would love to be the head coach that wins a state title. However, I would rather see all 12 of my players go on to college, get a degree and come back in ten years as successful men with morals and good character.
Wow, these coaches won a state title. If I remember correctly, Chris head also assaulted one of his players. Is winning the only thing that matters?
This is where the debate should truely be.
Phil Jr I was a small fry coach for a couple of years and yes it's a great place to coach and teach the game of basketball. But even at that level there is pressure to win. There is nothing wrong with balancing education and sports. I just don't think it's monopolized by being a teacher. And it's Summer Basketball not AAU. Big difference. I have coached Summer Basketball also and happen to think it's ruining the game of basketball. But that's for another day you can coach sports without being a certified teacher period.
THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, SOME OF YOU ARE KEEPING A HANDBOOK ON COACHES, THAT COMMENT ABOUT CHRIS HEAD WAS UNWARRANTED, YOU ARE JUST SLINGING MUD, ELEVATE YOUR BLOGGING LEVEL, STOP THROWING PEOPLE UNDER THE BUS!
GOD BLESS ALL THE COACHES WHO COACH, AND THE REFS, AND THE FANS, AND GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE OF HAITI!
AAU BALL ISN'T PERFECT, HIGH SCHOOL BALL ISN'T PERFECT, AND WE ALL KNOW THE COLLEGE GAME ISN'T PERFECT, BUT TO BRING UP NEGATIVITY ABOUT SOMEONE IS WRONG, PLAIN AND SIMPLE, WE NEED TO STICK TO THE SUBJECT MATTER!
DON'T GET IN A MUDSLINGING CONTEST!
As if the article isn't sad enough, some of the responses sadden me even more. The fact that some of us believe that coaches don't need to have a formal education and be certified to teach our children is absolutely scary and unfortunately says a lot about us and the condition of our inner-city child athletes. No responsible group of people who invest in their children's education and development would allow individuals without formal education to attempt to teach their children anything at the high school level. And here we are defending it because some have won state championships.
The Phil Smiths of the world will tell you, and I've heard it many times before, that being a great player in high school automatically qualifies them to coach children. That's like saying having sex in high school qualifies me to teach sex education to these same children. That is irrational thinking and it is producing a generation of black inner-city athletes who improperly influenced and have the wrong idea about life and being productive in this society. We measure these kids success by their ability to get a college scholarship at a major university and tell them that have succeeded it they get one. We don't seem to understand that the Kentuckys and Georgetowns of the world are not basketball factories. They are institutions of higher learning that young people attend in hopes of preparing themselves for adult life. The vast and overwhelming majority of young people on these campuses are there for that reason.
I know someone will say but look at how much money the Derrick Roses of the world make. Point made. Now someone tell me how much money the Kevin Johnsons (his teammate who is sitting in prison)is going to make. And unfortunately there are way more Kevin Johnsons in this world than there are Derrick Rose.
To answer the question as to what difference it makes that an individual have formal education and be certified to teach is fairly simple. Any person who has ever been trained to teach anything understands that there is an art to teaching. Just because a person is a doctor does not and should not suggest that they can train or teach someone else to be one. There are methodologies that one must understand if he or she expects to be a successful educator. The same goes for basketball or any other discipline, especially where children are involved. Contrary to popular belief, basketball does not exist in a vaccum. The same principles that apply to the rest of the world are applicable to basketball coaches.
It is a sad commentary but we have, for a lot of reasons, found a way to effectively take student out of the term 'student-athlete.'
Hey morons, money is the problem with all of this. Blame any idiot who purchases a hoops ticket - that's the cause of the problem along with our racist traditions of being entertained by black people. Stop supporting this nonsense and donate to PIH in Haiti instead.
TO JOHNSON AND JOHNSON, I HAVE A NEWS FLASH FOR YOU, YOU GET THE PINHEAD AWARD FOR THE WEEK, YOUR COMMENT WAS RIGHT OUT OF LEFT FIELD, AND VERY INCORRECT AND VERY RACIST, SHAME ON YOU, FOR SAYING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY!
TO DARNELL, LEARN TO READ MY BLOGS BETTER, I NEVER SAID THAT A GREAT COACH WAS A GREAT ATHLETE IN HIGH SCHOOL, THAT IS INCORRECT, AND WHY WOULD YOU BRING UP A PERSON THAT WAS A FORMER TEAMMATE OF D. ROSE IN YOUR COMMENT, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER, YOU DO KNOW THAT THE PERSON YOU WERE SPEAKING OF, DID EARN A SCHOLARSHIP TO COLLEGE!
YOU CANNOT UNRING THE BELL, THERE ARE COACHES WHO COACH THAT ARE NOT TEACHERS, AND THAT IS A FACT, LIKE IT OR NOT, IT IS THE FACT ALL OVER THE NATION, NOT JUST IN CHICAGO OR THE CHICAGOLAND AREA, IN FACT YOU HAVE RETIRED TEACHERS STILL COACHING, ARE YOU GOING TO BLAME THEM FOR STILL WANTING TO COACH EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NO LONGER IN THE CLASSROOM AS WELL!
CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER, NOT THE CERTIFICATE THEY HOLD, THAT IS WHAT ASCEP TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT, YOU EARN THE CERTIFICATE OF ASCEPT TO COACH, THAT IS A FACT!
THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING TO COMMENT ON THIS SUBJECT, ONE PERSON SAYS THEY DON'T LIKE AAU BALL, ONE GUY SAYS THAT YOU NEED A FORMAL EDUCATION TO COACH BASKETBALL, ONE GUY SAID HE WOULDN'T PAY MONEY TO WATCH BLACKS PLAY, SO WE HAVE DIVERSE GROUP, THE BOTTOMLINE IS THIS, STOP PUTTING INDIVIDUAL NAMES IN YOUR BLOGS, UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO GO THEM AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT THEM, ALSO STOP MENTIONING FORMER PLAYERS IN THE CPS, THE COMPARISON TO ONE INDIVIDUAL PLAYING AND ONE IN PRISON IS UNFAIR, WE ALL MAKE CHOICES, WE MUST LEARN TO MAKE CORRECT CHOICES, AND HOW A COACH IS GOING TO HELP YOU DO SOMETHING OFF THE COURT IS BEYOND ME OR YOU, FINALLY, UNLESS YOU HAVE EVER RUN A PROGRAM OF ANY KIND, YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE ON WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A COACH, WHETHER CERTIFIED TEACHER, OR ASCEP TRAINED, COACHING IN THE CPS IS HARD WORK, I HAVE DONE IT, HAVE YOU?
Phil Jr,
"AND HOW A COACH IS GOING TO HELP YOU DO SOMETHING OFF THE COURT IS BEYOND ME OR YOU"
This is the ehart of my message: A coach in high school should help mold their players to make the right decisions off the court. While they are not 100% or even 10% responsible for the actions of other people, there are alot of life lessons that sports can teach our youth.
In the Pros, a coaches sole job is to win. In college, coaches should win while graduating players. At the lower levels(Pre-K through 12th grade), it is the responsibility of ALL the adults in these kids lives to mold them into mature adults themselves.
If a coach has winning seasons, but very few of his players have positive successful young adulthoods, then that coach is a bad "high school" coach. He doesn't get his most important task: to help these young men develop their character.
Hey Junior, try not to take others comments so personally. We are trying have adult recourse here. Let's just agree to disagree and try to keep your emotions under control.
With regard to the kid that I mentioned in my post, I did so to illustrate a point. It was not intended as a personal attack on the kid. However, you are 100 percent correct, he did earn a college scholarip. However, he didn't possess the necessary social skills to keep it! I don't believe there was ever a point in time where our kids need proper influence and guidance as they do right now! Often coaches serve as mentors to the children that they coach, especially for those who don't have fathers in the home to guide and direct them. In my estimation, these individuals need to be properly trained professionals in order to teach young and impressionable minds. The generation of coaches that came before them had to live up to that standard and in my mind, so should this new generation.
I don't know what ASCEP training is and I am no position to knock it, however, I know that there is no substitute for practical knowledge. If we intend to prepare our children to successfully navigate their to a college education we need to do so with individuals who have actually done it!
So as you can see Junior, for some of us, this is bigger than basketball.
It's interesting that this topic has now received 21 responses. Some of Mr. Bell's topics don't even recieve 1 response. This is an important topic because it involves all of us. Is there a completely right approach, or wrong approach to the necessary qualifications of a high school, probably not. We all know that just because a coach has a teaching license doesn't mean he/she is automatically a good coach. A coach without a teaching license is not a guaranteed good coach.
I know nothing about the ASCEP program. So, just as Darnell said, I am in no position to knock it. However it is difficult to comprehend that the ASCEP program can provide the learapproximate 128 semester hours required to achieve a teaching license.
THE HORSE IS OUT OF THE BARN, AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU GUYS SAY YOU CAN'T PUT THE HORSE BACK IN THE BARN!
1) AAU BALL IS HERE TO STAY!
2) IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR A TEACHER THAT IS IN THE BUILDING OF THE RESPECTIVE SCHOOL TO COACH, BUT UNLESS THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE THEY AREN'T GOING TO COACH ON THE VARSITY LEVEL ANYWAY!
3) DON'T THROW A COACH UNDER THE BUS IF THEY DON'T HAVE A TEACHING CERTIFICATE AND THEY ARE CURRENTLY COACHING, YOU AREN'T GOING TO REVAMP THE SYSTEM!
4) HECK, RIGHT NOW THERE ARE REFEREE SHORTAGES IN EVERY SPORT IN THE IHSA!
5) BACK IN THE DAY, THE LOWER LEVEL COACH WAS USUALLY A GUY FROM A GRADE SCHOOL THAT WAS THE FEEDER SCHOOL FOR A PARTICULAR SCHOOL, AND THEN IF HE WAS LUCKY HE GOT THE HEAD COACHING JOB AT THE PARTICULAR SCHOOL!
6) THERE WAS A BIG FIGHT OUTSIDE WAUKEGAN HIGH SCHOOL, AND 3 PLAYERS WERE SUSPENDED FOR TONIGHT'S GAME, ARE WE TO HOLD THAT COACH RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT OCCURRED OUTSIDE HIS SCHOOL?
7) I DON'T MIND YOU GUYS PUTTING YOUR 2 CENTS IN THE CONVERSATION, BUT I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR ATTITUDE, THAT IF IT ISN'T YOUR WAY, THEN IT IS THE HIGHWAY, RIGHT NOW IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE COACH IS THE LEAST OF A SCHOOL'S PROBLEM, IT IS GETTING THE STUDENT TO HIT THEIR BOOKS AND STAY ELIGIBLE!
8) I PRAY AND HOPE THAT SOME OF YOU AREN'T JEALOUS BECAUSE THESE YOUNGSTERS ARE MAKING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BOUNCING A BALL, AS YOU CAN SEE OPPORTUNITIES ARE MUCH GREATER NOW, WITH YOUNGSTERS LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL AND GOING OVERSEAS TO PLAY AND THEN COMING INTO THE LEAGUE, BRANDON JENNINGS FOR EXAMPLE OF THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS!
9) PLEASE DON'T HOLD A HIGH SCHOOL RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PLAYER'S ACTIONS WHEN THEY RETURN TO THEIR RESPECTIVE NEIGHBORHOODS, IF A YOUNGSTER CAN PLAY IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS OF FANS, THEY KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG!
10) TO ALL BASKETBALL PLAYERS, PLEASE HIT YOUR BOOKS, BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY ONE DAY, THE BALL WILL STOP BOUNCING AND YOU WILL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ELSE!
JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION!
Phil Smith Jr.
Left side of keyboard... 3rd key up. USE IT!!!!
Sorry getting into this game late. Just was reading back and found the article and the posts. Wow what an interesting array of views.
First off, a degree or an ascep certificate are pieces of paper. Having one does not ensure you'll be a quality coach. There are good coaches and bad coaches with or without degrees. What would happen to society if we made parents get a certificate? Would there still be bad parents? I would assume yes.
Someone responded to the shoe money issue. Shoe companies used to sponsor summer leagues and school teams in the 80's and early 90's. Then AAU came up and they could sponsor the elite players who were more likely to become pros and wear their product and make the company money in the end. This is called return on investment and is a standard business practice in all businesses. You invest into what will make you money. So long as the shoe companies want to invest there will be AAU basketball,. Unless the NCAA steps in and says that by accepting shoes, travel, and gear you're really a semi-pro and therefore you can't play in the NCAA, nothing will change. But the NCAA won't do that because that organization of higher learning is less about education and more about the billions of dollars in television contracts for their premier sports (football and basketball).
High school coaches, college coaches, pro coaches cannot control their players actions off the court. Gilbert Arenas anyone? Tyler Smith? Dozens of others each year. I've coached and taught players who have gotten D1 rides, who've played d2 and d3. I've taught players who are in prison and some who have died. I've won games and lost games. And all I've done is be a guide. Those players got themselves to those schools. Those players got themselves in trouble with the law. Oh and those players won and lost those games, I still have no points scored in a long career of coaching.
No, all these issues boil down to parenting. As a certified teacher and coach, I don't care what you say about basketball or academics, if the parent is not involved or is misguided in any way the best intentions will be laid to waste. If the parent is not involved in a child's education early and often, the best academic programs don't matter. School will become a day care center for the kid and they won't care about education.
If the parent allows a kid to do what they want without any discipline there is nothing a coach or school administrator can do to change that. If a parent thinks that they can move schools anytime someone tells them something they don't want to hear and do it with impunity, you will have transfers. If a parent's attitude is "my baby didn't do anything", you will have kids who think they're above rules and discipline.
If all a parent cares about is their kid getting a scholarship to get to the league (less than a .0001% chance), then you will have win at all costs mentalities. Programs that don't win will be shunned. Programs that discipline their players by reducing roles or playing time, well those players will transfer from those schools. Meanwhile, programs that do win (at all costs) will be celebrated for their on court success. And what happens off the court, the molding of them as men as someone stated, won't matter, what did you win last year is the only thing that matters.
There's so much more to this issue than whether or not someone is certified.
To: Mr. Taylor Bell
CC: Fans Of The Game
I personally don't understand why people don't get why today's basketball-on a grassroots level- is the most telling hint as to why the game on the NBA, College and High School levels are so unattractive.
Sure, if your a sucker for the "rankings scam", the scouting reports of the "top 100 players in the nation" and the hypnotic words of guys like Dick Vitale-that more so than not overshadow the glow of the game- well... you have answered your on question.
The game, at one time-a distant one time- was a tool innercity kids used purely as a means to access a better life via education- basketball scholarship. Now, its about playing games during the high school season, during the spring, traveling with other players on a team as part of circus act under the inference of a contract with a basketball shoe company and masked as a AAU or Club team...what a joke.
I have a theory: If your a talented player that made the Sun-Times' 1st Team All-Public League, living in an metropolis like Chicago... chances are, most of the top 50 Division programs are aware that you exist.
So, what does this have to do with the "Who is teaching the kids" theme? Its simple, get people like Jamie Brandon, Efrem Winters, Darryl Thomas, Marcus Liberty, Deon Thomas, Nick Anderson, William Gates, Walter Downing, Russell Cross, Raymond McCoy and Teddy Grubbs together, and have an open forum about "The Hype Of The Game".
I believe, within the an hour of the conversation one would find a common theme subject matter: don' believe the hype; that the only true teachers these guys ever had were the recreation coach, or the YMCA Biddy Ball coach and supportive parents.
In order to solve the problem, you must investigate the beginning of that problem. But, in order to do this, we must look at the role of the parent(s) in the process of many kids first recruiting experience... you know, when the grammar school English teacher sends the school's star to the cafeteria to have a one-on-one talk with the coach of a top-ranked public league team-to discuss his future- during his English class period,without the parent(s) having any idea such a meeting took place.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Damn, who is this Curtis Jackson? Dude, sounds like he has a lot to say and the evidence to back it up.
Still love the CPS
For: Curtis Jackson
I finally heard from some people about what Curtis K. Jackson Sr.is all about.
Well, considering the good and the bad, and admitting I heard mostly good. It seems to me, with the major cuts about to happen with CPS sports programs... Maybe, this your chance to get back in the game, and make a difference.
Everybody makes mistakes, but considering what your goal was with having the CKG Roundball Tournament in the first place, these kids could use your experience more so now than in the '90's.
I also heard you were working the Public League as a Sun Times reporter for Taylor Bell when your just barely out of high school and you were way better at getting information from coaches and players much better than Clyde Travis ever could.
This again, says there has to be more good than bad with you, because I've always heard, sorry Bell, that he was not really for the Public League, and loved reporting the bad more so than the good. But, yet he gave you a chance at such a young age.
What do you think?
Fred
Fred,
I hear you, I do. However, I have several writing projects that take up a lot of my time- not to mention the traveling I have to do between the East and West Coast. But, it has been on my mind to do something- privately and independently from the shoe reps and high school coaches influence- by accessing the former reputable players that would love the chance to get back involved in the game by helping the kids who need help the most- free of self-serving agendas.
As to Clyde Travis, it seems he is very appreciated and accepted by the CPS coaching faternity. And, covering the CPS is his main territory as far what I can see. Based on the "theme" his reports and stories are concerned.
I have daily request sent to me via cell phone, e-mail and fax to speak on different aspects of high school basketball from the NBA down to the gutter of AAU aka Club Ball; from sports radio , blogs to magazines.
However, you should know that Mr. Bell is one the best major city high school basketball writers in the country, not just Illinois. I speak to a lot of reputable H.S. Bkb writers from across the country, and Mr.Bell has more than most of them beat because of the passionate, historical, hard-nosed investigative pens he can interchange and use, is a testimony to his being a newsman's newsman.
I think after it is all said and done, Mr. Bell will always be seen as the guy you turn to when something needs to be mentioned, investigated, highlighted or researched... he is "our" print version of ESPN- when it comes high school basketball.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Much respect, Curtis. I guess you can't believe everything tale you hear about someone. And, if you were to get involved with game again, how would you do it? Would it be something like the CKG Tournament you did in the past?
Fred
Fred,
Thanks again, Fred. By the way, the event your refering to that I ran was the "CKJ Roundball Open" that was put together for 80 of the CPS under recruited boys basketball players.
I ran this event in May both in '93 and '94. We had shoe sponsorship with Reebok '93 and Adidas sponsored the event with shoes, socks, t-shirts, reversible tops and bottoms in '94.
Some kids really took advantage of that four-day event in a very positive way.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
I talked to Mr. Curtis Jackson on the phone back in 1994 as a high school senior, to ask if I could participate in the CKJ Roundball Open (as a player from Gary, Indiana). I remember this well, because even though he explained to me that he could not accommodate me (due to all of the roster spots being filled and that this event was put together solely for CPS players) he did provide me a compromise.
Mr. Jackson invited me down to the Southside YMCA to talk and break down my best game tape. After about an hour, he told me he would be in touch with me later that week. And, he did call me and invited me to the all-star game for the top 20 performers of the week's event, as well as he introducing me to a few college recruiters from Hunter College in New York City, University of California- Bakersfield and the University of Tampa. I went to visit Tampa and Hunter.
Now, I eventually went to Hunter College, but I did not see myself being a contributor to the team so I left the team before the beginning of the "94-"95 season to concentrate on my books. But, I did get my degree in social work. This is something, when you consider my actual high school coach never did a thing for me in terms helping me get to a school to play ball and go to school, probably because I was just a sixth man on the team.
Mr. Jackson, my family thanks you.
Mr. Lewis,
I thank you, and pass it forward- help someone else.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Ps: What is Glen Robinson doing now?