NYT Article on EYBL hoops

[sludevil]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/magazine/in-search-of-the-next-andrew-wiggins.html

For those who haven't seen it already, it offers an in-depth look inside the world of EYBL/AAU basketball (including some of the more unsavory aspects of elite high-school-level hoops). Great read if you have the time.

[thetorch]

Eye opening piece. Even those with the best intentions will dive head first into the muck to get ahold of some Nike money.

No where in that piece does it show that even the HC of this program has any background in coaching basketball at any level besides this team. The same guys capable of coaching a 4th grade team are now coaching the best HSers in the country because they have marketing skills and connections to shoe companies. The STL Eagles for the most part have high quality coaching in this area, but I shudder to think about the experience of the coaches at similar levels of AAU. No wonder we complain about how poorly the game is played.

[Old guy]

Well, as you know money and power are both capable of bringing corruption to just about anyone. Basketball coaches and players are definitely not exempt. This article clearly shows how people with the purest of intentions, that of getting deserving kids a good education and a chance to play basketball in a broad arena, abandon these dreams to follow the money trail. Disgusting really. The kid from Mali was played hard until he developed bcck problems that limited his performance. Sad thing, both because the coach did not provide his him with some needed recovery time, and because the kid himself really did not care if his back would be permanently messed up, just in order to impress the scouts.

[billikenblue]

Been going on like this for many years..watch hoop dreams again or watch it for the first time...a1994 documentary that is relevant today