Spurs vs. the AAU

[Phil125]

Is the AAU hurting the NBA?  If the Spurs are any example I would say yes.  Since the rise of AAU in boys basketball we have seen the decline of mentally strong savvy basketball players.  Teams covet smart team players and they are getting harder and harder to find.  How many mentally strong role players are left in this league and are any of them under 30?

We all marveled at the Spurs this post season the passing, the selflessness, and the team first mentality.

The Spurs had two regular rotation guys that were born in the USA Leonard and Green.  You could hardly call either of them me first players. 

We call Pop the best coach in the NBA, but could half the players in the NBA even handle playing for him.  Dwayne Wade would probably break down in tears the first time Pop laid into him.

Teams now want to emulate the Spurs.  Well it looks like that means drafting international and getting a coach who tells it like it is and more importantly have players who can handle it. 

The AAU is an NBA machine not a basketball player machine.  It also explains why there are no more big men and so many point guards.  Teaching a seven footer to play like Olajuwon or Kevin McHale is hard.  Teaching a 6 foot PG to use his athleticism to slash to the basket is easy.

Why is Al Jefferson suddenly becoming a force in the NBA?  He learned how to play in the post.  Defenders have been quoted as saying they don't even know how to defend him when he's down there.  Nobody plays like that anymore.

Good luck trying to be the Spurs.  They just don't make them like that anymore.  At least not in the USA.

[wdleehi]

The one and done mentality hurts the game just as much.  College coaches don't have the time to teach players to play team ball.  They need to get as much out of them as possible right away.


So very few team are built around guys that have played a lot of team oriented ball before they enter the NBA.  The Spurs are the most successful example.

[cons]

i agree, and i'd add though that i think the rise of AAU and the one and done players has coincided with the money/ NBA salaries spiraling into the stratosphere - > the young players coming up want to win, sure, but the #1 motivation is money, and probably rightfully so.  So i think the result is we're seeing a lot of guys who play well individually, get paid, and then (to a degree) sit back and enjoy it.
  it's their job to do this, and their responsibilities really are to themselves, their families, long term - not really to a certain team, to how may championships that team wins, or to a fan base. So money takes priority over team play and championships in general, and so yeah, a team like the Spurs w a surplus of guys with a different mentality can thrive. 
 

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Maybe the reason the AAU and US college basketball develop players that way is cos that is what the scouts look for. If The took ones team 1st guys in th top 5, or teams with properly run scouting  like the Spurs got more lottery picks then the emphasis would shift.

[D.o.s.]

[Celtics4ever]

My kid is going through the school system right now I've seen AAU ball, some high school, and grade school and biddy ( little guys ball).   A lot of coaches play their sons in biddy ball but these kids get cut in grade school  My son played less and still was the leading scorer on his team and best shooter in fact some games he was the only kid who scored.  He also lead in assists.  But it did not matter the coaches son played more because his dad sucked up or coached the team at the youth level.   But lot of these suck up dads'  kids got cut in 6th grade because they were horrible and Dad and the suckign up could could only take them so far.

Few skills are taught anymore folks.   I worked with my son and I think he learned more from me than his coaches at every level.   As he went up in grades, they ran more but only the kids who did stuff on the side or practiced on their own got better.  I don't think we teach basketball skills very well anymore in the US.  Europe does a better job teaching shooting.   I've always helped if asked and I played ball for an Army team that toured Europe it was my job over there.   But the fact, that I played ball for a living in the 90s intimidates many coaches.   My son is a 6'6" sophomore now  and now the good players get the playing time.  That doesn't always mean my son either.   MY daughter earned a full ride to college, one down and one to go.

I think AAU ball is a waste of time.   It does provide competitive play against others and that can improve players some but the D isn't great and it is little more than a platform for hotdogs to showoff.  A young guy is better off shooting 500/day  jumpers at game speed than playing AAU ball or lifting weights.  The great shooters have always done extra work and that never changes.   Some of them were taught some and others worked hard alone.   It is not fun and not glamorous as AAU.   But Tim Duncan didn't learn his bankshot or jump hook at AAU.  He developed and practiced it alone.  Shooting drills in practice help too but the great shooters always put in hours on their own.

[D.o.s.]

Tim Duncan didn't start playing basketball until he was in high school. Do you recommend that method, too? 

[Celtics4ever]

Tim Duncan didn't start playing basketball until he was in high school. Do you recommend that method, too

Just a further testament to his hard work.   I didn't either.  My daughter never played until eight grade and she was a 15 PPG and 12 RPG senior.   I don't think it matters until the High school level.   There are only 12 spots on a varsity roster so it sorts out who can play or not at that level.   Unless your a phenom no one watches grade school ball scout wise.   I have seen 1 or 2 eight graders courted by colleges but it is rare.   

I am sure their are some good grade school coaches but I seen them also teach stuff that is flat out wrong and had to correct my children.