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If you are a basketball fan, I urge you to read George Dohrmann's new and highly acclaimed book, "Play Their Hearts Out," a captivating and compelling look into what is described as "the wildly dysfunctional, incredibly lucrative youth basketball machine" and "the Friday Night Lights of grassroots basketball."
You'll thank me in the morning.
Dohrmann, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and the magazine's investigative reporter, spent more than eight years gathering information on youth basketball in southern California, the coaches, the players, their parents and their involvement with shoe companies. If you had a hint about what is going on, this book will broaden your education.
In 2000, while working for the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, Dohrmann was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories that uncovered academic fraud involving the University of Minnesota's men's basketball team. This is his first book. Trust me, you won't forget it. And you won't put it down.
Dohrmann was granted access to coaches and parents and a group of talented young basketball players as they traveled from coast to coast to participate in elite AAU tournaments. The two major figures in the drama are coach Joe Keller and Demetrius Walker, who once was rated as the No. 1 player in the nation as a 10-year-old.
There are other figures who receive plenty of exposure, including Sonny Vaccaro of Nike/Adidas/Reebok fame and the Godfather of grassroots basketball, Pat Barrett, a well-known AAU coach in the Los Angeles area who once was described by Nevada-Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian as "the biggest whore in the business," and recruiting analyst Clark Francis of Hoop Scoop, whose national ratings are a driving force among pre-teens.
If you think grassroots basketball has all the respectability of an ambulance chaser and the integrity of a slave auction, you won't be disappointed or surprised by Dohrmann's findings. It is all there in glorious technicolor, one detail after another, one example after another, one quote after another, names and dates and places. There are no anonymous sources.
But if you think that it is a legitimate and upstanding way of helping kids to get exposure to college coaches and to obtain scholarships, this accounting of the exploitation that turns many youngsters' hoop dreams into nightmares--even before their teenage years, even before they enroll in high school--might open your eyes and your minds.
The power wielded by the shoe companies is astonishing. They have all the clout of Michael Madigan, maybe more, whether they are dealing with the NCAA or the NBA.
There are payoffs of at least $1,000 a month to mothers to move their sons from one school to another to another and at least $100,000 a year to coaches to wear the logo of Nike, Adidas or Reebok. Kids whose perception of a nutritious meal is a taco or pizza washed down with Gatorade are wooed with enough sneakers and warmup suits and merchandise to open their own stores.
Keller and Walker are fascinating characters and Dohrmann follows them from the time Keller proclaims that he has a master plan to establish the best youth program in the country and discover "the next LeBron," from the time that Clark Francis declares that 10-year-old Demetrius Walker is the No. 1 player in the nation in his age group to the point where Francis drops him to No. 250 as a 16-year-old.
In the end, there aren't too many hard feelings. Keller thrives on the publicity and continues to do his thing with a new crop of youngsters, leaving Walker behind. Walker earns a college scholarship but never seems to regain the magic he once had. Most of the other players in Keller's program also go to college. Barrett still is coaching AAU basketball. And the shoe companies continue to thrive and do business as usual, with the blessing of the NCAA and NBA commissioner David Stern.
Read the book. It isn't a stretch to compare what Dohrmann uncovered in southern California to what is going on in Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York City, Detroit and other parts of the country...the coaches, players and parents...the exploitation, payoffs and greed...just change the names and the faces.
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Mr. Bell,
I finally read Dohrmann's book, that you suggested as well. I think the book demonstrated that he knew a lot about one of the "games within the game", however; from a demo graphical standpoint... Its obvious Dohrmann is not strongly connected to the grass roots basketball more quiet of the "bigger fish".
For, admittedly selfish reasons, I am encouraged. His work in some ways tells a story from one "side" or "interpretation" of the real ill-affects of the shoe companies well-financed efforts to be relevant in the "hood of hopes and dreams".
I'm encouraged, because I just realized, and; now can completely understand what my advisers has been trying to tell me for the past nine months.
"Pearl, your work will have no middle ground, people will either appreciate and learn from it, or; they'll distance themselves farther from you and your work."
I say, thank you Mr. Dohrmann... you just assured me that I'll probably have no friends or associates left after everything is "said and done".
And, that's just fine by me...
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
I bought it yesterday and I'll share my thoughts in a day or two....
I finished the book last nite and Mr. Bell, you were correct, once I started I couldn't put it down. It was a great read and unfortunately it confirmed what we already knew. That our children are literally being prostituted and forfeiting their adolescence for a college scholarship and a pipedream of playing in the NBA. As I have said before, I feel sorry for these kids because the adults that they are supposed to be able to trust for proper guidance and direction are the same adults that are guiding them down this path that is counter-productive to them having a fighting chance at being successful in life.
What stood out to me most of all was how willing the parents were to allow men that they knew very little about to make decisions concerning their children's futures. These men made decisions on which schools the kids should attend and make them repeat a grade all for the sake of basketball. Also, it was amazing to see how many parents would allow their children to live with these men, again, all for the sake of playing basketball. One the most profound statements made in the book was when Joe Keller commented and I'm paraphrasing because I don't have the book in front of me "the best team to have are kids all from single-parent homes." Wow. That said it all to me!!
Unfortunately, Joe Keller is not unique. There are Joe Kellers in every city and state where AAU basketball is being played. And we all know that we have more than our share here in the Chicago area. The sad thing about that is they will continue to exist as long as people can make the amounts of money that they are making off these kids.
Darnell:
I have a question for you...
After having read Mr. Dohrmann's book... Did you feel that you learned more about how "the grassroots game" is operate, and why is it operated the way it is?
Or, were you more shock and drawn to the short stories of abuse?
Curtis K.Jackson Sr.
Curtis, to answer your questions, and this is the unfortunate part, this book wasn't as enlightening as it was illustrative. I am around the game quite a bit so I clearly understood going in that the type of abuses described in the book occur on the regular and as a norm. There was nothing in the book that shocked me, but it was interesting because it was out in the open for all to see.
I clearly understand that this is just one story attached to a large corrupted culture that is geared toward making billions of dollars on the backs of defenseless victims -the kids. In fact, I have a friend who coaches for one the biggest and most recognized AAU organizations in the chicagoland area. Honestly, I've heard worse stories than what was described in the book.
Hopefully this answers your questions.
Darnell,
Thank you for your response. The purpose of my question, other than the obvious; was for "you" to self-report that really most of what was said, has been said many times before... But without a bit more declaration.
Have you ever wondered, that when we talk about the kids that are being "slaughtered"- hard core exploitation- the most are African-American kids. But, yet we impartially say- the kids.
The truth is, as I see it... the real story is what is the actual necessity or purpose of this thing we call "grass roots basketball". To me, when the camps went away, the players and those adults who choose to get played, just use the circus-style summer traveling circuit of Club Ball to act as the pacifier for those with potential marketable value.
Think ... did Anthony Davis improve more as a player from playing club ball? Or, was he the lucky ticket holder of the gift of growth- extra 6 inches of growth. Same skills... Just in a bigger- scratch that- taller body.
Now, for those who think I am attacking Davis' new found top-recruit wealth, are wrong.
I just see it for what it is...
Darnell, here are some questions I ask for you to ponder as you watch high school and college basketball games this year?
1.) Who benefits the most from the nationally televised high school basketball games that showcase, at best for the most part; one or two players that are regarded as supposed top ranked talent?
2.) What purpose does the ranking of high school teams (in any sport) in local and national papers serve, when you consider all sports page-bestowed national champions, are mostly mythical?
3.) Who benefits the most when five of the best players in the city play for a locally operated club basketball coach during the summer club ball circuit season, playing in tournaments mostly sponsored by shoe companies?
4.) When you watch the University of Illinois' football and basketball programs play, whom do you think benefits the most from the relationship between Illinois and Nike?
5.) Since the 1994-95 Chicago high school basketball season, there has been a steady incline in the emergence of club ball coaches in this area. Who do you think was the most influential on this club ball movement, and; why do you think they chose Chicago as their new frontier to drop their influential anchor?
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Taylor Bell
Seems to me that Jackson may have more to say about the culture of grassroots basketball than most of your readership. I read the "Who is Curtis K. Jackson"? blog you wrote on him from some time ago, does he work for a particular scouting service? If so, which?
Kelvin
What about the AAU program that has to sell cookies and candy to travel because they don't have sponsorship, are they corrupt as well?
If you check and I know you guys will, most of your one and dones in the NBA played high-caliber AAU ball!
Some of you fuss because the coach at the high school doesn't have a teaching certificate, and then you are upset because the shoe companies are involved with AAU, we live in America, and unfortunately the way it is set up, you have the rich and you have the non-rich, that is why I am for neighborhood schools, when I was growing up, you had heroes in every neighborhood, now the heroe doesn't attend the neighborhood school, he may live in the neighborhood, but he travels an hour and a half to get to school, if you are going to fuss about AAU, at least comment about neighborhood schools, before they are all charter schools!
Kelvin,
Thanks for your comment, but; I don't profess to be an expert on the this subject matter. However, I have more than 20 years of experience of observing marketing and promotional agendas of major shoe company: executives, reps, sponsored teams and coaches, tournament events and camps from the inside and out.
And, to answer your question; I do not work for any publication groups, scouting services, or any other similar public or private entities.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.
Phil, I think if you read the book you would better understand what people like Curtis and I are speaking of. I think we tend to measure the success or importance of AAU basketball by the kids who make it to the NBA. What happens to the kids who don't pan out? Especially after they have forfeited their formative years solely investing in a sport.
This book illustrates, clearly, that these children are literally being prostituted by adults who sole purpose is to profit on these kid's back. It also illustrates how they discard them the minute they realize that the kid is not going to be what they expected him to be athletically.
Simply put, and I have said this before; I feel sorry for the kids that don't make it and I feel sorry for the kids that do. In either scenario the price they pay is too high. One day we are going to realize that the combination of talent and infantile education is indeed a recipe for failure in the long run. Ask Antoine Walker, and I say that with all due respect to the young man, I am just making a point.
Curtis,
Thanks for the clarification, but I would like to know what you think about the climate of graas roots basetball and where do you see it going in the future?
Also, what is the progress of your work called the Shoe Pusher?
Kelvin Louis
Kelvin,
A few weeks before the start of the 2011-12 basketball season.
Curtis K. Jackson Sr.