Basketball Academies

Over the last decade there are has been a flux of "basketball academies" that have popped up across the US and Canada. Many of these academies have failed miserably and a few of have survived and thrived.

The concept of a "basketball academy" is a great idea as long as it's run the correct way.  So what exactly is the correct way? The correct way should be to put the best of the best together and have them compete against each other on a consistent basis. To be able to practice more and then have some select games or tournaments against other academies throughout the country or world.

There are a few models of the academies that would be great examples to use. The first is the Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA). It's located in Canary Islands just outside of Spain. It has a slew of European athletes that are looking to play college basketball in the US. Their main focus is basketball and they have a school (I believe it's a loose term) and have SAT/ACT prep in order to qualify through the NCAA Clearinghouse.  Their players generally qualify through the NCAA and have been placed all over the US including Seton Hall, Louisville, and Minnesota.

A few years ago, a top 100 US player was sent there by his parents for his sophomore year in high school. His name is Khadeem Lattin. His journey can be look at here. Although, his path isn't that of a "normal" top 100 recruit, it's definitely interesting to have your sole focus be books and basketball, and that's it. That article is definitely worth a read.

Another "basketball academy" that many people in the "know" of college basketball is tied in with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). HERE is what the AIS is all about. In reality, it really isn't a basketball academy but there is major focus on specific sports each athlete participates in. It is also  government funded, which makes it much different than what we are use to here in the US.

The AIS has produced a ton of collegiate talent that we are use to seeing. Former #1 pick, Andrew Bogut went to AIS before he went to Utah. The next big thing to come from Australia, Dante Exum, just graduated from there in December and was just recently the #4 pick in the NBA by the Utah Jazz. Two San Antonio Spurs, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, are products of AIS as well. St. Mary's in California has a pipeline from AIS to their campus and has help lead them to great success in the West Coast Conference.

In the US there really aren't any true academies like the CBA and the AIS but there are a few that are trying to emulate what these models are truly about. The first program I will talk about is IMG Academy. It's as close as anything we have in this country to AIS. There are several different sport associations that are tied to IMG. They have great facilities and really advanced nutrition and weight training for all of their athletes.

IMG has been a place where many pro athletes go and train during the off season and it's a place where a lot of potential NFL and NBA draft picks go to train for the combine and the upcoming season. It also houses a few of youth US National Soccer teams. They haven't had a "prep" team for very long but a few alums that most people have heard of are DeAndre Daniels from UConn, recent Syracuse signee Chris McCullough, and Jamari Traylor from Kansas.

The next two models that are probably the most well known in basketball circles are Findlay Prep and Huntington Prep. Both of these "schools" have their players (they technically aren't students of the name of the school they "attend," I know, it's confusing.) attend a local private school and then operate as a separate entity with their basketball program. The players from Findlay attend The Henderson International School and are funded by a Las Vegas car salesman by the last name of, you guess it, Findlay. Findlay has only been in existence for nine years but has a slew of D1 and NBA alums including Avery Bradley of Texas and Boston Celtics and Anthony Bennett of UNLV and now the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Huntington Prep is based in Huntington,WV and was originally started by Rob Fulford, now an assistant at Missouri. The players attend Huntington St. Joseph's Central Catholic school during the day and operate as Huntington Prep after school ends. Players stay with host families in the Huntington area. Many of their players are originally from Canada, Eastern Europe, and some African countries. I'm not sure how they are funded but they have done very well since it started six years ago. They have some famous alums in #1 pick Andrew Wiggins and Minnesota Timberwolves' backup center Gorgui Dieng.

I won't mention the many failures that have happened all over the country but the main reason they fail is because they lack funding. It doesn't help that they will oversell what they have when they don't really have it. Besides the lack of funding there is rarely a school association or a school to attend which is key for many of the athletes at the school because they need to get qualified through the NCAA Clearinghouse.

As with many other things in life, most of the issues come down to money. An adult is trying to take advantage of families that are looking for their son to get a full scholarship to a university or college. Would you really want to give your son away to someone you don't know, someone that you are giving $10,000 to, and mostly importantly someone that doesn't truly have the best interests of your son in mind (some times they do)? What about having your son living in a "apartment" that has nothing but the "school's" basketball players with no adult supervision? These are worst case scenarios but I would be better for your son just to go to junior college and get proper education and legitimate coaching.

These are many of the questions that need to be asked when dealing with any new "basketball academy" in the United States. There are just too many unknowns that won't be good for any type of development (physical, social, emotional, and educational) for your son. Like with any new product, do you really want the first edition (like an iPhone) or do you wait until all the kinks are out and everything is figured out. Take this approach when it comes to making a decision regarding anyone selling this basketball product.