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All Things TuGard
the stream of the game
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Do you think AWilly has enough offensive game? Against Collegiate, it kinda looked like it was transition or bust for his scoring, but perhaps a different story in this game.
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he was pretty mediocre in aau. He was injured to begin the season. Yeah heās very much an energy guy, probably needs to develop his handles some more or otherwise heās an undersized wing at 6ā3/6ā4 (even more than Leon and Leon also has the long wingspan going for him).
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I kinda hate this take. Wins and losses mean more for HS ball than AAU. You can learn more about how a kid fits into a real team and what type of competitor & leader he is vs. in AAU play which is basically just like an All Star skills showcase. I know the kids/teams are still competitive but itās different.
I also like seeing how kids react to being by far the best player on the floor getting double and triple teamed in HS play. Itās a lot easier to get good looks playing on Takeover/Team Loaded etc. alongside 4 other P5 players.
Edited to add that the reason college coaches pay attention to AAU is because itās logistically easier. The players come to them instead of vice versa.
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I watched Cofieās latest game tape this morning and his ankle is nowhere close to 100%. He honestly shouldnāt be playing. Still put up like 25 against a good team but was a shell of his self from early in the year. Not comfortable going to block shots on defense and isnāt running at full speed. You can tell heās frustrated by it.
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Itās competition level. Outside of the elite prep circuit (and select talent-dense areas), the high major recruits are so much better than anyone else on the floor that they can get away with things they canāt in college, and their role is really different. Itās hard to see what will be a real strength for a guy at the high major level without seeing him doing it against a similar caliber of opponent.
Once the shoe circuits get to their championship events, I think the play is quite competitive and fairly high level. Teams arenāt always running the most enjoyable schemes or have guys who are playing outside the team concept (we all remember the Boogie Fland PSA Cardinals experience of this past summer), but itās valuable to see what a guy does when heās against someone he canāt just out-athlete.
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Ankle injuries are the new appendicitis for our guys?
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I mean he wouldnāt be a UVA commit if he wasnāt injured his senior year of high school smh
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Iām saying you look at both. Obviously if a kid is overwhelmed in AAU play thatās notable. But itās almost like two different sports and college ball is a lot closer to HS ball than AAU. Teams have styles of play, offensive and defensive schemes, each possession is valued differently than when youāre playing multiple games in one day, multiple times per weekend, etc.
Basketball is more complex than simply accumulating the most talented and skilled players. Those players need to be good basketball players, too, and I donāt think AAU is a good setting to learn that. I remember watching Devon Hall play for BWSL and becoming so frustrated seeing him have to play with Troy Williams and Cat Barber. They were absolutely terrible teammates and Devon basically didnāt have a role whatsoever. If you only saw Devon play for Boo, youād think he was a fringe Mid Major prospect. Thatās why he got dropped out of the top 100 and lost his 4th star when he reclassified. The scouts rated AAU Devon not Cape Henry Devon. There are dozens of similar examples even just with UVA players where if you only looked at AAU play, youād get the completely wrong impression.
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I do think coaches want to see kids with their high school teamsā¦thatās the purpose of June. And obviously they go out once in a while during the season, like to hit the winter events where they can see lots of guys in one stop. But itās treated more like collecting leads to follow up on during the AAU season. Christian Bliss last year was the perfect example. For good reasonā¦these kids will fool you in HS. We see them every year, pop up and then fade away come summer.
And high school basketball is incredible, for the kids who are playing for their hometown or schools theyāve long attended. But most of these guys at this level arenāt doing that today. It doesnāt have the same meaning. And most of these high level high school programs, itās all about getting them to college more than winning. Very little difference from the AAU season, only more angled at individual development whereas the summer is for putting it on display.
I also think AAU gets a bad repā¦I watch way too much of both, and in the majority of cases thereās not much difference between it today. You have good and bad coaches/programs on both sides.
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Some relevant comments by Adam Silver on youth basketball and US needing to course correct in the wake of the league having increasingly more international players.
Basically, play fewer games, more practice and more team-based skills.
Would be great recruiting pitch for Tony to finally bag a 5 starā¦
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Soccer. Have basketball playersā second sport be soccer. Im telling you. bball iq/awareness and the footwork
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This is somehow gonna end in Jay Bilas once again advocating for the college game to adopt even more of the NBA ruleset.
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On that topicā¦is London Johnson gonna get drafted?
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Haha my soccer coach used to always say stuff to us like, āDo you think the European youth football players are playing pickup basketball in the spare time? No, theyāve got a ball at their feet and either practicing foot skills or playing pickup football.ā Now Iām imagining a European basketball coach saying something like that to his players but in reverse haha
But in reality, the Europeans have dedicated sports schools. And it starts much earlier than us. And everything runs through those schools. A lot easier to develop skills that way.
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I do think if the NBA does jr camps, it needs to widen itās reach outside just a select few. 5 stars still have a higher hit rate, but also feels like a lot more unranked kids/late bloomers are making it in the NBA.
Feels like it would be risky to put all your eggs into developing a targeted group
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Having lived in Europe for a long timeā¦
The second biggest youth sport is tennis as every village has a tennis facility right next to their football/soccer pitchā¦ really helps with footwork.
The third biggest youth sport is ping pongā¦ there are outdoor ping pong tables EVERYWHEREā¦ my kids would keep a ping pong paddle and balls in their backpack. There were outdoor ping pong tables within two blocks in every direction from our houseā¦ and we lived in multiple locations. Also good for footwork.
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Didnāt he get a big signing bonus? That may offset the hurt of being a g-leaguer for a few more years.
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I think this could be all heading towards expanding their international NBA Academy model to domestic prospects too. So full-time education and training for US high schoolers with NBA-hired staff.
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