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To those basketball fans who admit they don't like things as they are but concede that "old school" coaches and their methods must bow to today's coaching style and AAU-dominated philosophy:
The game isn't as good as it used to be. Yes, there are more good athletes. But they aren't better prepared, fundamentally or technically or mentally or emotionally or academically. Teamwork has been replaced by selfishness. Dunking, not pure shooting, is praised as an art form.
Remember when the Chicago Public League featured iron-willed coaches who taught fundamentals and discipline and teamwork and defense?
Remember Larry Hawkins, Bob Hambric, Spin Salario, Luther Bedford, Lee Umbles, Jim Foreman, Charles Stimpson, John Schultz, Frank Hood, Herb Brown, Bill Warden, Landon Cox, Frank Lollino, Roy Condotti, Willie Little and Jim Brown?
Perhaps a history lesson is in order. The AAU or summer coaches and the shoe companies long ago realized that they had what it took -- national exposure, free trips from coast to coast, free sneakers and other merchandise and easy access to college coaches -- to wield more influence over 17-year-olds than their parents or high school coaches.
It all began in 1981 when Sonny Vaccaro, Dick Vitale and the late North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano met at a New York City airport. Vaccaro, armed with a suitcase that included a sample pair of Nike shoes and separate endorsement checks payable to Valvano and Vitale, forged a business relationship that would prove to be pivotal in the launching of their star-studded careers.
It also established a dominance of exposure for college basketball teams on the East coast, with the able assistance of ESPN.
Chicago television personality Merri Dee came up with the idea of organizing a program for inner city athletes to obtain better educations. But soon after the ground-breaking program was launched, it was stolen and re-packaged in the form of the AFBE camp.
In 1982, Vaccaro met with 34 of the nation's most influential high school coaches in Santa Monica, Calif., to discuss a way in which he could help them be competitive with Converse, then the dominant shoe company. The coaches emphasized that a support system had to be established that included free shoes, apparel and guaranteed invitations to the AFBE camp and the Dapper Dan all-star basketball game.
The plan, as Chicago-based writer C.J. Jackson outlines in his forthcoming movie project, called for using the evolution and the ills of single-parent homes in urban communities across the country as a platform to make the coach, particularly African American coaches, more of a surrogate father figure and provider.
"This was, and continues to be, a strong reason why the demographics of the high profile high school coach changed from the Irish and Italians to African American coaches," Jackson said. "Vaccaro understood the streets and knew it would serve him and his agenda better for the long haul to give certain coaches an edge, such as Bob Wade in Baltimore, Perry Watson in Detroit and Landon Cox in Chicago."
In 1991, Vaccaro and Nike CEO Phillip Knight came to a parting of the ways when it was revealed that Vaccaro apparently didn't trust coaches of color and sponsored many of the more well-financed clubs on the West coast where he could observe them more closely. African American coaches soon learned of what Vaccaro was doing.
Soon after, when Vaccaro moved to Adidas, the bidding wars over players and coaches of influence began between Nike and Adidas, resulting in mostly inner city players being showered with free shoes and summer travel, even Kentucky-style Fed Ex packages. And comes coaches reportedly received $100,000 stipends.
"The real issue is that none of this destruction would be possible if it was not financially viable," Jackson said. "Our kids have been exposed to illusions of grandeur by masked shoe pushers sporting sheepish smiles that appear as protectors or providers of opportunity to kids without experienced adults to identify these wolves.
"Besides, many school administrators have no interest in interrupting this influence because it pays the bills that matter. So we continue to point to fathers that are not providing instead of looking closely at the agenda of those who stand to benefit from this exercise of exploitation, the people who make the rules and those who are charged to enforce them."
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Mr. Bell,
Very enlightening post.
While reading it, a question arose in my brain...
Is there anything we can do to fix the situation?
What can be done to help these kids?
AAU has no rules so it will be a very difficult task to change things. trips, free gear and shoes, and small lump sums of cash from shoe companies keep many of our coaches noses wide open during the off season.
Interscholastic Athletics has rules which is why people hate Marty Hickman and Calvin Davis. As I've said before, the high schools, the city and state associations, and administrators must join with the NCAA, the NBA, and the shoe companies to set policy anf fix the problem. Who within this group do you think would not want to fix this? (easy one) One fix would be requiring that every elementary and high school coach has a degree. Sports is education, right? Most of the AAU coaches would then not be coaching at schools, which could be a good start toward reform.
You are right, I don't have to like it. In fact, it is downright disgusting and irresponsible, to say the least. I took my 9 year-old son with me this weekend to Merrillville for the Nike Showdown. What I saw this weekend should be in violation of children's labor law of some kind. There were literally hundreds of children playing basketball nonstop. Let me start by saying Nike has invested heavily in these kids. They are outfitted like professionals. The kids are outfitted from head to toe, literally. The kids had bags, uniforms, shoes, socks and backpacks bearing the Nike emblem. I saw so many kids carrying orange boxes, you would swear that we were at the local Foot Locker.
I watched children spend their whole day at this gym playing games and eating nachos, chicken fingers and fries. I observed kids sleeping in the bleachers while waiting on their next games. I saw some amazing athletes and by all accounts, they were having fun competing. I saw all the usual AAU guys, high school coaches, and college scouts evaluating talent and talking to AAU guys and the high school coaches. And then there is the normal contingent of former basketball players hanging around and talking with the current players. I am always curious as to what business these 40 to 50 year-old men have with these kids.
As I stated earlier, I saw some amazing athletes and good games. My son was truly amazed at the amount of dunks he saw during the games, so was I, and at the lack of defense that allowed them. As Saturday wore on the play became less intense as the kids were clearly tired, both mentally and physically. The players started to show frustration and by the end of the night there were quite a few technicals called on both coaches and players that I didn't notice earlier in the day.
The weekend was highlighted by a bench clearing brawl between Old Gold and the Mac Irvin Fire which lead to both teams being disqualified from the tournament. As the coaches were being separated from their attempts to fight one another, I immediately thought of these children who I was thoroughly impressed with. The kids were resilient and competed hard, some teams played 8 or 9 games in less than 72 hours, and to be left with the improper influences of the men who coach them is truly a shame. I feel bad for the kids and inparticular the ones who have nothing to counter those influences. My son and I talked about the behavior exhibited by the adults involved on the way home and hopefully I was able to get him to understand how wrong it is when we act that way. For every kid who doesn't get that kind of counsel I feel bad because they deserve more.
MORAL TO THE STORY, BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU TAKE YOUR YOUNGSTER, TRY THE ART INSTITUTE NEXT TIME OR NAVY PIER!
WHAT DID YOU REALLY EXPECT TO SEE AT AN AAU TOURNAMENT?
SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE A LITTLE UPSET WITH ALL THE FREE STUFF THE PLAYERS WERE GIVEN, THIS HAPPENS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU TAKE YOUR YOUNGSTER, IF YOU DON'T APPROVE OF WHERE YOU WERE GOING IN THE FIRST PLACE!
I HAVE READ YOUR POSTS, AND YOU DON'T APPROVE OF AAU BASKETBALL, SO GUESS WHAT, STOP GOING!
Junior, you are funny. It sometimes amazes how you find a way to miss point everytime you post. But at least you're consistent, I'll give you that. But you are correct in your assertion that I do not approve of AAU basketball. I would take that position on any institution that I believe exploits children to the extent that this entity clearly does. These kids are caught up big business at the highest level and the benefactors are the gym shoe companies, the NCAA and the flesh peddlers who literally sell these children to the highest bidder.
Junior, what you fail to understand is that there is nothing more expensive than free. The 'free stuff' you speak of in your post is anything but that. These children pay a very high price for all of the trinkets and travel that they receive. Unfortunately, no one seems to notice what that price is until they are done playing. This is not something that I would expect you to understand but I am confident that others on this site will.
Darnell how did you find out about the Nike Showcase? The season has barely ended and I am already looking for games to watch! Thanks for your help and for your responses/comments in this space.
Scott, thanks I appreciate that. I found the schedule for upcoming tournaments on chicagohoops.com.
AAU BALL ISN'T ALL JUST BIG BUSINESS, YOU HAVE SOME TEAMS THAT AREN'T BEING BACKED BY THE SHOE COMPANIES, THEY CAN'T FLY HERE AND THERE, BUT THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING POSITIVE IN THESE YOUNG PEOPLES LIVES!
FIRST OF ALL THE ELITE PLAYER HAS TO PERFORM AT A HIGH LEVEL TO KEEP THE EYE OF HIS POTENTIAL SCHOOL, IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN A TENNIS PLAYER OR BASEBALL PHENOM, YOU MUST PERFORM TO GET A FOLLOWING THAT YOU ARE WORTH YOUR WEIGHT IN GOLD!
DARNELL, AAU BALL IS HERE TO STAY, AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, OR ME, OR TAYLOR BELL, OR CURTIS, IT IS HERE, IT IS GOING TO STAY HERE, SORRY YOU AND YOUR SON HAD A MISERABLE TIME AT THE EVENT!
P.S. IF YOU DON'T SHINE AT AAU EVENTS, YOUR RATING AROUND THE GLOBE WILL GO DOWN, AAU BALL IS WHAT GOT LEBRON JAMES HIS CULT FOLLOWING WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL!
DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE MINOR LEAGUES EXPLOIT FUTURE MAJOR LEAGUE BALL PLAYERS?
WHAT ABOUT TENNIS ACADEMIES, DO THEY EXPLOIT YOUNGSTERS?
DARNELL, YOU JUST DON'T LIKE HOW AAU BALL IS BEING RUN, AND THAT IS YOUR RIGHT TO EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS, BUT WHEN YOU TURN ON A COLLEGE GAME AND YOU SEE JOHN WALL, SHERRON COLLINS, JOHN SCHEYER, JUST KNOW ONE THING, THEY ALL PLAYED AAU BALL!
Phil,
1. Minor league baseball is not exploiting youngsters, they are being paid.
2. Yes, tennis and golf academies are exploiting youngsters. Do you feel that these academies are functioning out the goodness of their hearts? I don't.
3. James would have been a cult hero without AAU ball. AAU, the shoe companies and the coaches, use the fear factor. If you don't play and god forbid you play poorly, you will never make it.
Some individuals look at a problem, which the AAU system is, and wonder how to improve it or make it better. Other people just say it is what it is, live with it. Can the situation be improved? I hope so. Even a casual observer, like me, should be concerned.
Jay, I totally agree with you. I do not believe that if these kids didn't spend the entire spring and summers playing AAU that they won't be able to get scouted by major universities. If nothing else these schools are way to greedy to allow good talent to seep through the cracks. Unfortunately, these children believe that if they don't participate, they won't get the necessary exposure.
Again, I feel very bad for the kids, even the ones that make it, because life is so much bigger than a sport. And what do we think happens to young people once their time is up being an athlete and they start to realize that they aren't prepared to do anything else in life?
And for the record Junior, my son and I had a great time this weekend. We are huge basketball fans.