Showcases and "Elite" Camps

Over the course of the last ten years "showcases" have become commonplace in grassroots basketball.  You use to be able to showcase yourself with your high school or AAU team but now you can essentially play in a one day camp that is supposed to give you exposure.  The number one goal off each showcase is to make money.  It's clearly not about the kids.

When I was in high school I went to a few showcases in order to "showcase" my talent to college coaches.  I went to several "Metro Top 100" showcases run through The Hoop Group.  The showcases were always challenging for me because I was a big goofy white guy that played point for my high school and AAU team.  In the showcase setting, I was generally one of the taller guys on the team, so I would be stuck playing against bigs. It wasn't exactly an ideal setting to "showcase" my skills.  There were many D2 and D3 coaches there that didn't think very highly of my performance or lack thereof.

I went to another showcase run by Keystone Invitational (I think Hoop Group took this over and renamed it). There I was able to play the point and the coaches actually coached us rather than just make substitutions that happened automatically anyway.  I had numerous college coaches approach me after the camp and that's what makes it a great experience for players.

Over the past couple of years there have been a few showcases that have popped up in Minnesota.  These showcases are nothing but money makers for the people running them.  What each showcase does is not charge a few "highly known prospects" to make sure they can name drop on social media in order to get other kids there.  

I've witnessed one camp as a college coach that literally had five college coaches there after the event said that they had commitments from 20+ college coaches there. Another recent event had a lot of big names there and yet very few college coaches.  Even though the event was certified by the NCAA, kids and parents have to develop an understanding of how these showcases work.

And lastly, do you think that playing with a bunch of guys that you've never played with before is an ideal situation for you to be evaluated at? 

"Elite" Camps

I will be extremely brief on these.  The only "elite" camp you want to attend is one hosted by a college or university.  When I say hosted, it's not a private entity, it's run by the coaches of that college.  I believe that quite a few local D2's have their own elite camps and there are many D1's that have their own as well.  

These camps are very beneficial because you are playing in a controlled setting in front of the coaches of that college.  They generally don't charge a lot either because they want to make sure they can get their top recruits there.  The coaching staff might make a little money but it's not nearly as significant as a showcase.

So, if you can, go to a school's elite camp rather than a showcase.