Every day you should make an effort to be great. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be the best every day but be great for you. There are times when your best still isn't good enough for everyone else but it shouldn't matter as long as you were great for you.
I'll take the comparison to sports. There are times when coaches realize quickly that their teams are overmatched but they compete to their best of their abilities during a game. You can't fault the effort but the other team is simply better. Your team was great that day even though the team didn't win the game. I know every one wants more but sometimes that isn't realistic.
There are times when a team seems overmatched athletically and talent wise yet, figures out a way. A great example is when Villanova beat Georgetown in the 1985 National Championship Game. Villanova was great that day and essentially forced a dominant Georgetown team. Another example is Princeton upsetting defending National Champion UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And we can't forget about Boise State beating heavily favored Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
There are also other times when your team is great yet the team falls just short. Perfect examples of this are:
UCLA over Missouri. Missouri played great that day but UCLA had an answer and here it is.
Florida's Mike Miller makes a tough buzzer beater to take down Butler. This was our first true introduction to Butler
There are also times when a team is great for a half and then can't hang on during the second half. A good example of that is West Virginia during their Elite 8 game vs. Louisville when it seemed like they couldn't miss in the first half. The below video is the whole game. You don't have to watch the whole thing but it's interesting to see WVU be great in the first half and then Louisville be great in the second.
Whatever you do, be great for you. Things tend to work out for people that try to be great every day.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Good vs. Great Shots
I am a huge preacher of getting GREAT shots every single possession. I know it isn't always feasible but with the high school rules in Minnesota (no shot clock) why would ever not take a great shot. I am certainly not saying that players will make every single great shot but the percentages increase drastically when you go from good to great.
What is a great shot?
A great shot is a lay-up or a dunk. It is also most inside-out 3's. There are also great shots for certain individuals. The reason I say this is because certain guys have a knack for making certain shots that are difficult for most.
The main shot I am talking about in this situation is a pull-up jumper. Now, according to the new analytic thinking, anything mid-range is considered a bad shot. I disagree. If one of your players has really worked on that shot, that shot can become a great weapon. Again, it's not a shot for everyone. If a player can make that shot 50%-60% of the time, it still is a great shot. Only if a few things occur. Those things are getting a few reversals on the offensive end to force the defense to shift. The more times the defense is forced to closeout, then the chances of them increase of not being able to get a good contest on the shot. And that's what you want, an uncontested look.
Last season, we tracked our shooting percentage for when we got a paint touch and when we didn't. The stats are crazy. We shot right around 63% with a paint touch and in the mid-30% when we didn't. All that stat says that good things tend to happen when someone gets a touch in the paint. That's why inside-out shots become great shots.
What is a great shot?
A great shot is a lay-up or a dunk. It is also most inside-out 3's. There are also great shots for certain individuals. The reason I say this is because certain guys have a knack for making certain shots that are difficult for most.
The main shot I am talking about in this situation is a pull-up jumper. Now, according to the new analytic thinking, anything mid-range is considered a bad shot. I disagree. If one of your players has really worked on that shot, that shot can become a great weapon. Again, it's not a shot for everyone. If a player can make that shot 50%-60% of the time, it still is a great shot. Only if a few things occur. Those things are getting a few reversals on the offensive end to force the defense to shift. The more times the defense is forced to closeout, then the chances of them increase of not being able to get a good contest on the shot. And that's what you want, an uncontested look.
Last season, we tracked our shooting percentage for when we got a paint touch and when we didn't. The stats are crazy. We shot right around 63% with a paint touch and in the mid-30% when we didn't. All that stat says that good things tend to happen when someone gets a touch in the paint. That's why inside-out shots become great shots.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Take a Basketball Break
Throughout the course of the year, if a kid completely concentrates on basketball, he/she is bound to develop some type of injury. There just isn't enough time for the their bodies to rest. I believe there needs to be a change because they NEED a break.
Over the course of a year a good high school player will compete in roughly 25-30 high school games and 40-50 AAU games. If you add in 40-50 high school practices (I think that's right, might be a little high) to go along with 20+ AAU practices. I can't forget about potential summer or fall league with their high school team which gives them roughly 20 more games. Think about all those numbers again. Over the course of a year they are playing in roughly 100 games to go along with 60+ practices. On top of that, many of their own skill trainers that they work with during the spring, summer, and fall. That'a a ton of basketball for developing bodies.
My biggest concern is burnout. I've seen several players that just get sick of playing when they get to college or during college because they are "forced" to play so much. It just isn't fun anymore.
Another huge concern is overuse injuries. You look at a lot of middle school or high school players and they are completely concentrating on basketball (or another sport) at a very young age. That just isn't good for their bodies, especially when they are still growing physically. That is also the reason why you are seeing more and more stress reactions/fractures, back injuries, and knee issues in younger athletes. Their bodies can't take the same consistent pounding of one sport over and over.
They need other sports in order for their body to adjust and do different movements. Even if the sports are similar there are slightly different movements that will help with development. And college coaches also like to see athletes play multiple sports in high school. Why? They know that when the athletes actually concentrate on one sport they will develop even more once they get to college.
Even if you concentrate on one sport as a high school athlete you need to take several breaks throughout the year in order for your body to recover. As my wonderful wife would say, take a "zero week" because your body needs a break. It just isn't healthy going non-stop from November to July.
You can look at college basketball for a perfect example of concentrating too much on basketball. That perfect example is Kevin Ware, formerly of Louisville, and his broken leg. He landed on his foot like any player would throughout the course of a game, but his leg snapped. He had a stress fracture in his lower leg that was ignored for months. Legs don't break like that on a play like that if he didn't.
As far as I know, Ware was a prep basketball star that didn't play another sport in high school. He was constantly on the go for his high school team and then AAU team. He then went immediately to college and is consistently pounding on his legs for a few more years. He didn't take much of a break or one at all.
If you look at the top high school players in the country and they go non-stop from November (or whenever their HS season starts) until the end of August. There's the high school season, AAU from April to July, then the All-Star circuit in August, which players in Minnesota just got involved with. Potentially, there is open gyms multiple times in a week during the fall and we go right back into the high school season.
Kids need a break and us, as coaches, need to enforce that. And a break shouldn't consist of just a weekend. They should take at least a week off multiple times a year in order to rest their bodies.
Over the course of a year a good high school player will compete in roughly 25-30 high school games and 40-50 AAU games. If you add in 40-50 high school practices (I think that's right, might be a little high) to go along with 20+ AAU practices. I can't forget about potential summer or fall league with their high school team which gives them roughly 20 more games. Think about all those numbers again. Over the course of a year they are playing in roughly 100 games to go along with 60+ practices. On top of that, many of their own skill trainers that they work with during the spring, summer, and fall. That'a a ton of basketball for developing bodies.
My biggest concern is burnout. I've seen several players that just get sick of playing when they get to college or during college because they are "forced" to play so much. It just isn't fun anymore.
Another huge concern is overuse injuries. You look at a lot of middle school or high school players and they are completely concentrating on basketball (or another sport) at a very young age. That just isn't good for their bodies, especially when they are still growing physically. That is also the reason why you are seeing more and more stress reactions/fractures, back injuries, and knee issues in younger athletes. Their bodies can't take the same consistent pounding of one sport over and over.
They need other sports in order for their body to adjust and do different movements. Even if the sports are similar there are slightly different movements that will help with development. And college coaches also like to see athletes play multiple sports in high school. Why? They know that when the athletes actually concentrate on one sport they will develop even more once they get to college.
Even if you concentrate on one sport as a high school athlete you need to take several breaks throughout the year in order for your body to recover. As my wonderful wife would say, take a "zero week" because your body needs a break. It just isn't healthy going non-stop from November to July.
You can look at college basketball for a perfect example of concentrating too much on basketball. That perfect example is Kevin Ware, formerly of Louisville, and his broken leg. He landed on his foot like any player would throughout the course of a game, but his leg snapped. He had a stress fracture in his lower leg that was ignored for months. Legs don't break like that on a play like that if he didn't.
As far as I know, Ware was a prep basketball star that didn't play another sport in high school. He was constantly on the go for his high school team and then AAU team. He then went immediately to college and is consistently pounding on his legs for a few more years. He didn't take much of a break or one at all.
If you look at the top high school players in the country and they go non-stop from November (or whenever their HS season starts) until the end of August. There's the high school season, AAU from April to July, then the All-Star circuit in August, which players in Minnesota just got involved with. Potentially, there is open gyms multiple times in a week during the fall and we go right back into the high school season.
Kids need a break and us, as coaches, need to enforce that. And a break shouldn't consist of just a weekend. They should take at least a week off multiple times a year in order to rest their bodies.
National Team
Over the last couple of weeks there has been a lot of buzz in regards to playing for the National Team in basketball. Paul George's compound fracture and then Kevin Durant dropping his name out of the competition has made the upcoming World Cup of Basketball a huge question mark for the US team.
It's an honor to be able to wear anything with a USA across your chest. That should say it all but it certainly doesn't. Up until recently stars were unlikely to ever wear USA on the chest. They need a break, they have too much going on during the summer, they can't commit to that specific time frame, and/or they don't like the other guys that could potentially be their teammates.
In our country, the guys that play for the national team get paid big time money to compete for their respective NBA teams. It's can be tough to justify risking a ton of money to play for the good ol' USA. Even though their contracts are guaranteed, some players don't want to risk money in their next contract. It makes sense to an extent but the glory to wear the red, white, and blue should trump anything else.
When watching other countries play you will notice that ALL their top players play in all big competitions. Why? Their passion for their country trumps dollar signs. Even Manu Ginobili wanted to play for Argentina this summer even though he has a stress fracture in his leg. It could've been his last international competition and he wanted to make sure he gave it all for country, stress fracture or not. The Spurs quickly said no, because they were risking losing one of their best players for the upcoming season.
The US has done a very good job lately of structuring the National Team system at all levels. They are getting the best players in the country to wear the USA jersey from the time they are 15 years old. It'll be interesting to see how the best players react to the Paul George injury (or any injury for that matter) in the future.
I don't think it bodes well for the US now that Kevin Durant dropped out on top of Lebron, Carmelo, and Kevin Love not wearing the jersey this summer. The World Cup of Basketball (formerly the World Championships) are a HUGE deal for the rest of the world. It's the only competition that has all the teams in the world playing in it instead of the Olympics, which limits teams based of geography. Passion and intensity will be at an all time high. Will the US be able to match other teams? It'll be interesting to find out.
Last thing I'll talk about is the amount of games that NBA players could play during their season compared to other countries. If you are on a good team in the NBA, you will play roughly 100 games during the season. The good teams in Europe will play at the roughly 85 games (from the info I gathered, couldn't find any teams exact record). The toll that amount of games takes on players' bodies is HUGE. Their bodies need a break and the summer time is the ideal time to take that break, so it isn't always feasible to play in another 12-15 games.
In closing, I don't think I could pass up an opportunity to play for the US but I don't make $12 million a year. Hopefully the US can continually pull in the best players in the NBA for the national team, if not, then we can talk about the Dream Team for the rest of our lives.
It's an honor to be able to wear anything with a USA across your chest. That should say it all but it certainly doesn't. Up until recently stars were unlikely to ever wear USA on the chest. They need a break, they have too much going on during the summer, they can't commit to that specific time frame, and/or they don't like the other guys that could potentially be their teammates.
In our country, the guys that play for the national team get paid big time money to compete for their respective NBA teams. It's can be tough to justify risking a ton of money to play for the good ol' USA. Even though their contracts are guaranteed, some players don't want to risk money in their next contract. It makes sense to an extent but the glory to wear the red, white, and blue should trump anything else.
When watching other countries play you will notice that ALL their top players play in all big competitions. Why? Their passion for their country trumps dollar signs. Even Manu Ginobili wanted to play for Argentina this summer even though he has a stress fracture in his leg. It could've been his last international competition and he wanted to make sure he gave it all for country, stress fracture or not. The Spurs quickly said no, because they were risking losing one of their best players for the upcoming season.
The US has done a very good job lately of structuring the National Team system at all levels. They are getting the best players in the country to wear the USA jersey from the time they are 15 years old. It'll be interesting to see how the best players react to the Paul George injury (or any injury for that matter) in the future.
I don't think it bodes well for the US now that Kevin Durant dropped out on top of Lebron, Carmelo, and Kevin Love not wearing the jersey this summer. The World Cup of Basketball (formerly the World Championships) are a HUGE deal for the rest of the world. It's the only competition that has all the teams in the world playing in it instead of the Olympics, which limits teams based of geography. Passion and intensity will be at an all time high. Will the US be able to match other teams? It'll be interesting to find out.
Last thing I'll talk about is the amount of games that NBA players could play during their season compared to other countries. If you are on a good team in the NBA, you will play roughly 100 games during the season. The good teams in Europe will play at the roughly 85 games (from the info I gathered, couldn't find any teams exact record). The toll that amount of games takes on players' bodies is HUGE. Their bodies need a break and the summer time is the ideal time to take that break, so it isn't always feasible to play in another 12-15 games.
In closing, I don't think I could pass up an opportunity to play for the US but I don't make $12 million a year. Hopefully the US can continually pull in the best players in the NBA for the national team, if not, then we can talk about the Dream Team for the rest of our lives.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Actions Not Words
Over the past two years I've gone through a lot in regards to my professional career. I was thinking about it this morning on my walk with my dog and how much the craziness of two winters ago completely changed my life. I won't go into details but it seemed like national news and I was completely engulfed in it. It was all a bad movie with me being a co-star.
I'm just going to go over all the things that I've learned over the course of the last two years.
Too many times in our lives we "talk the talk" but we rarely "walk the walk." What I mean by this is, most people preach about doing the right thing but rarely will they do the it especially in a group setting. Rarely will others come before the individual when times get rough or a tough decision needs to made. It's simply self-preservation.
Most people will never admit that they are looking out for themselves but that has become the norm. You would hope that the "leader" in whatever organization you belong to looks out for everyone rather than themselves. If you find that out that "your leader" operates like this, it might be a good idea to try and find a good organization.
As a leader, it is your job to make tough decisions. It's really hard to make the right decision when the decision process is rushed. Leaders shouldn't be making decisions that are rushed because they can't properly gather all the facts. I'm not saying that ever decision should take two weeks to resolve but all the facts need to be gathered to make an informative decision.
When dealing with bad decision making of high school or college students, the number one goal for administrators should be to educate. I'm certainly not saying that there shouldn't be consequences (suspensions) for their actions but administrators need to make sure that something is learned even if it's not the person that made the wrong decision. Below is a statement made by Oklahoma State after the Marcus Smart and Texas Tech fan altercation this past basketball season:
The above incident is a perfect example of how social media has created many firestorms over incidents like this. Social media can be a great thing but with how quickly word travels now, incidents like this or the one that I was a part of, there tends to be an overreaction from people that aren't truly "in the know." I'm not downplaying what happened or what happens in the future but opinions are thrown out there by the media and/or people that don't know or will never know the facts.
Last but certainly not least, this point hits home the most. If you know someone that has gone through a tough situation, contact them. It means a lot. Even if you don't know what to say, say something. The people in the situation will appreciate it greatly. Over time people that go through something life changing will learn who their friends truly are. I can honestly say that I learned a lot about a lot of different people. I also distanced myself from people after they distanced themselves from me.
I truly feel that I'm in a much better place now after what went down two winters ago. I have a beautiful wife, a couple of great jobs, and a wonderful dog that greets me every time I get home.
I'm just going to go over all the things that I've learned over the course of the last two years.
Too many times in our lives we "talk the talk" but we rarely "walk the walk." What I mean by this is, most people preach about doing the right thing but rarely will they do the it especially in a group setting. Rarely will others come before the individual when times get rough or a tough decision needs to made. It's simply self-preservation.
Most people will never admit that they are looking out for themselves but that has become the norm. You would hope that the "leader" in whatever organization you belong to looks out for everyone rather than themselves. If you find that out that "your leader" operates like this, it might be a good idea to try and find a good organization.
As a leader, it is your job to make tough decisions. It's really hard to make the right decision when the decision process is rushed. Leaders shouldn't be making decisions that are rushed because they can't properly gather all the facts. I'm not saying that ever decision should take two weeks to resolve but all the facts need to be gathered to make an informative decision.
When dealing with bad decision making of high school or college students, the number one goal for administrators should be to educate. I'm certainly not saying that there shouldn't be consequences (suspensions) for their actions but administrators need to make sure that something is learned even if it's not the person that made the wrong decision. Below is a statement made by Oklahoma State after the Marcus Smart and Texas Tech fan altercation this past basketball season:
Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, whose voice cracked with emotion as he answered questions for some 20 minutes, called it a "serious mistake" but a learning experience for a 19-year-old.
"I know Marcus Smart. I know his family. I know what he stands for, and I know he made a mistake. But that doesn't keep me from loving Marcus Smart, supporting him, loving him. Part of our job is to help him learn from this so it doesn't happen again."
The above incident is a perfect example of how social media has created many firestorms over incidents like this. Social media can be a great thing but with how quickly word travels now, incidents like this or the one that I was a part of, there tends to be an overreaction from people that aren't truly "in the know." I'm not downplaying what happened or what happens in the future but opinions are thrown out there by the media and/or people that don't know or will never know the facts.
Last but certainly not least, this point hits home the most. If you know someone that has gone through a tough situation, contact them. It means a lot. Even if you don't know what to say, say something. The people in the situation will appreciate it greatly. Over time people that go through something life changing will learn who their friends truly are. I can honestly say that I learned a lot about a lot of different people. I also distanced myself from people after they distanced themselves from me.
I truly feel that I'm in a much better place now after what went down two winters ago. I have a beautiful wife, a couple of great jobs, and a wonderful dog that greets me every time I get home.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Strengths and Weaknesses
Too many times I see things on social media regarding players' strengths and weaknesses. Here is some food for thought on that.
Lately, I've seen a ton of coaches writing on twitter about "What did you do to get better?" "Work now, playing time later." Etc. Now, I totally agree that the summer is a time that you NEED to work to become a better player, but here is a little different thinking on the subject.
Have you worked on your weaknesses this summer? I would hope that every player has worked on their weaknesses but sometimes they need to continue to work on their strengths and that may be more important for them to get playing time for their upcoming season. Players who are great shooters should continue to work their tails off by shooting. They can't neglect working on their shooting or that could become like other parts of their game.
You look at a player like Nik Stauskas and see his development over the summer of his freshmen and sophomore seasons. If you noticed, he worked on all types of shots and worked on taking more contested shots because he knew that he would have the ball in his hands at the end of the shot clock. He also worked on his handle but he knew that if he wanted to play at the next level he had to work on his shooting even more. I feel from watching some of his high school games that he had a really good handle in high school as well but his role changed once he got to college and then it changed after his first year. Now, he's a lottery pick after being an afterthought by many after he signed with Michigan. His confidence increased, how do you work on that?
I'm going to drop some old school knowledge on people here. I remember when Chris Porter came to Auburn after a couple of years of JUCO. His hype was huge. He had a great junior year and was named SEC Player of the Year as well as All-American. At 6'7", he was a power forward at Auburn. He wanted to play in the NBA and not many 6'7" power forwards get there. He needed to become a small forward and his game suffered his senior year because he tried to become a 3pt shooter. He was drafted late in the second round and has bounced around the world since. I'm not saying that he hasn't been successful but he tried to make himself into something that he is not.
And then there is...
Malik Rose
He was a also 6'7" power forward but he played at Drexel. He was also an All-American. He thought about entering the NBA Draft after his junior year but decided against it work on his game. The difference is, he continued to work on his strengths which was low post play, rebounding, and defense rather than try to become a jump shooter. He ended up becoming a serviceable 15'-17' jump shooter after working on it but he knew his bread and butter was in the paint. He had a successful NBA career as a bruising power forward for 13 seasons.
The lesson of the these two stories is...be you. Don't try to be something you aren't. Does this mean don't work on other aspects of your game? No. It means that you have to whatever you can to help your team. If that means you are the guy that does the dirty work then be the very best at that. If that means you are a spot-up shooter, then be the best spot-up shooter you can be. Love your role and force your coach to play you by dominating your role.
Lately, I've seen a ton of coaches writing on twitter about "What did you do to get better?" "Work now, playing time later." Etc. Now, I totally agree that the summer is a time that you NEED to work to become a better player, but here is a little different thinking on the subject.
Have you worked on your weaknesses this summer? I would hope that every player has worked on their weaknesses but sometimes they need to continue to work on their strengths and that may be more important for them to get playing time for their upcoming season. Players who are great shooters should continue to work their tails off by shooting. They can't neglect working on their shooting or that could become like other parts of their game.
You look at a player like Nik Stauskas and see his development over the summer of his freshmen and sophomore seasons. If you noticed, he worked on all types of shots and worked on taking more contested shots because he knew that he would have the ball in his hands at the end of the shot clock. He also worked on his handle but he knew that if he wanted to play at the next level he had to work on his shooting even more. I feel from watching some of his high school games that he had a really good handle in high school as well but his role changed once he got to college and then it changed after his first year. Now, he's a lottery pick after being an afterthought by many after he signed with Michigan. His confidence increased, how do you work on that?
I'm going to drop some old school knowledge on people here. I remember when Chris Porter came to Auburn after a couple of years of JUCO. His hype was huge. He had a great junior year and was named SEC Player of the Year as well as All-American. At 6'7", he was a power forward at Auburn. He wanted to play in the NBA and not many 6'7" power forwards get there. He needed to become a small forward and his game suffered his senior year because he tried to become a 3pt shooter. He was drafted late in the second round and has bounced around the world since. I'm not saying that he hasn't been successful but he tried to make himself into something that he is not.
And then there is...
Malik Rose
He was a also 6'7" power forward but he played at Drexel. He was also an All-American. He thought about entering the NBA Draft after his junior year but decided against it work on his game. The difference is, he continued to work on his strengths which was low post play, rebounding, and defense rather than try to become a jump shooter. He ended up becoming a serviceable 15'-17' jump shooter after working on it but he knew his bread and butter was in the paint. He had a successful NBA career as a bruising power forward for 13 seasons.
The lesson of the these two stories is...be you. Don't try to be something you aren't. Does this mean don't work on other aspects of your game? No. It means that you have to whatever you can to help your team. If that means you are the guy that does the dirty work then be the very best at that. If that means you are a spot-up shooter, then be the best spot-up shooter you can be. Love your role and force your coach to play you by dominating your role.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Las Vegas
Now that fall sports have started here in Minnesota, I'm going to go into why Las Vegas is a terrible place for AAU basketball and why teams shouldn't go there.
Vegas is an absolute disaster for college coaches
Depending on what colleges are looking for, it's the worst place to go watch games. Why?
1) There isn't a central location for games. Yes, all the tournaments have a headquarters but the chances of all a team's games to be at that spot are extremely slim. Coaches are driving for up to an hour to get to a game and games are NEVER on time and that puts even more stress on coaches trying to see prospects.
There was one time a few years ago that a whole tournament was on UNLV's campus in their Rec Center. It was perfect for coaches because all the coaches could sit tight for a majority of the day. That next year, the NCAA decided that it wasn't a good idea to have D1 colleges to host AAU tournaments. Even though, they generally have the best facilities to host large tournaments.
2) Would you want your 14-17 year old walking around the Vegas Strip after 10pm unsupervised? I'm not a parent but I have to think most parents would say no, especially if a scholarship is potentially on the line. I've even seen recruits out past midnight when they play at 8am the next morning. Not sure if I would want that kid on my team as a college coach.
3) There are a lot of gyms that will never see a college coach walk through the door. Why? These tournaments want an entry fee from the team and will take ANY team in order to fill their tournament. If a team goes there, with exception of the new Adidas Super 64, the chances of a team playing a team that is AWFUL is very high. I spent many hours in a gym by myself with no other college coaches in sight.
4) Tournaments are diluted. When a specific tournament crowns a total of 35 champions then there is an issue. I get that you want as many programs to be successful in order for them to come back next year but three divisions is enough for ANY tournament. Like I talked about in AAU Economics, if you crown 35 champions, someone is making a TON of money and it's not any of the kids or parents there.
5) It costs way too much money for any family to send their child there. You have to think about the flight out there, five days in a hotel, and potentially all the admission fees that the tournaments will charge throughout a weekend. Imagine if a family of four goes out there for "vacation" to watch their son play. $2000 in flights, $600 in hotels, $200 in rental car, $150 on gas, and probably close to $200 in admission fees. That's roughly $3000 (without food) for a trip. That's a little much if you ask me. Kansas City and/or Chicago would be MUCH cheaper.
6) It's way too hot there. The air conditioners are on way too high in the gyms. Nothing like a 40 degree temperature change when going in and out of the gym.
Vegas is an absolute disaster for college coaches
Depending on what colleges are looking for, it's the worst place to go watch games. Why?
1) There isn't a central location for games. Yes, all the tournaments have a headquarters but the chances of all a team's games to be at that spot are extremely slim. Coaches are driving for up to an hour to get to a game and games are NEVER on time and that puts even more stress on coaches trying to see prospects.
There was one time a few years ago that a whole tournament was on UNLV's campus in their Rec Center. It was perfect for coaches because all the coaches could sit tight for a majority of the day. That next year, the NCAA decided that it wasn't a good idea to have D1 colleges to host AAU tournaments. Even though, they generally have the best facilities to host large tournaments.
2) Would you want your 14-17 year old walking around the Vegas Strip after 10pm unsupervised? I'm not a parent but I have to think most parents would say no, especially if a scholarship is potentially on the line. I've even seen recruits out past midnight when they play at 8am the next morning. Not sure if I would want that kid on my team as a college coach.
3) There are a lot of gyms that will never see a college coach walk through the door. Why? These tournaments want an entry fee from the team and will take ANY team in order to fill their tournament. If a team goes there, with exception of the new Adidas Super 64, the chances of a team playing a team that is AWFUL is very high. I spent many hours in a gym by myself with no other college coaches in sight.
4) Tournaments are diluted. When a specific tournament crowns a total of 35 champions then there is an issue. I get that you want as many programs to be successful in order for them to come back next year but three divisions is enough for ANY tournament. Like I talked about in AAU Economics, if you crown 35 champions, someone is making a TON of money and it's not any of the kids or parents there.
5) It costs way too much money for any family to send their child there. You have to think about the flight out there, five days in a hotel, and potentially all the admission fees that the tournaments will charge throughout a weekend. Imagine if a family of four goes out there for "vacation" to watch their son play. $2000 in flights, $600 in hotels, $200 in rental car, $150 on gas, and probably close to $200 in admission fees. That's roughly $3000 (without food) for a trip. That's a little much if you ask me. Kansas City and/or Chicago would be MUCH cheaper.
6) It's way too hot there. The air conditioners are on way too high in the gyms. Nothing like a 40 degree temperature change when going in and out of the gym.
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