The Long and Short of it

The Long and Short of it

Friday, November 4, 2005

greatlakeshoops.com

The month of March is the greatest month for sports every year, and this year was no different. Once again, I took my yearly sojourn to the Breslin Center, on the campus of Michigan State University, for the Michigan High School Basketball semi-finals. This makes for an exciting and inexpensive weekend of the best high school hoops Michigan has to offer. This weekend afforded me a little time to stop and think about the state of high school basketball today, and where it is headed for the future.

Being a basketball junkie, I have a very solid foundation of knowledge supporting my thoughts and opinions on the sport. I have written numerous times on the pervasive money culture in the National Basketball Association, as well as the propensity of college basketball's best to leave school early for the NBA. But, I have never made it a habit of criticizing high school sports, commensurately. High school basketball, my favorite sport to watch, has been regressing over the past few years. Not, necessarily, in terms of its popularity or its excitement, but with respect to quality of play. In addition to this, I think many programs have forgotten that high school basketball teams are not farm clubs for college—most players will never play at the next level.

I firmly believe that the declination of the quality of high school basketball, at least in my state, can be attributed to just a few very specific things:

1.) Early recruitment
2.) The AAU or “summer league” circuit
3.) "Potential"

[Early Recruitment]

College coaches and prep analysts do not even allow players to develop before they become targets of interest. Coach Bobby Knight, the former head man at Indiana University, freely admits to recruiting his former star guard, Damon Bailey, in the eighth grade—where I come from that is middle school. Not only does early recruitment, such as this, taint the quality of play in high school basketball, it also dilutes the quality of the college game. Players often do not round into form the way college coaches and recruiters expect, thus wasting precious scholarships and time on underdeveloped players. In addition to this, oftentimes early recruitment becomes an impediment to high school coaches. I have seen numerous high school players of promise become selfish before my very eyes—players who begin to read their own press clippings and hype in publications like Vince Baldwin's "Prep Spotlight." Early recruitment has given players an excuse to become too big for their britches, at the expense of their coaches and teammates.

I am of the opinion that these young people should not be contacted by recruiters until the summer prior to their senior year. This way, students can concentrate more of their time on schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and just being kids.

[The AAU Circuit]

AAU basketball, at least in terms of its inflated importance to high school basketball recruiting, is relatively new. In the state of Michigan it has all but surpassed the actual high school basketball season as the most important venue for the appraisal of talent. AAU leagues in Michigan basically amount to summer leagues for players that have been deemed to be college-bound, or at least have shown signs of POTENTIAL—pure athletes angling for scholarship opportunities. Just this past season I saw numerous players in my hometown hyped for their performances on the AAU circuit, only to be brought back down to earth when the ACTUAL season began. AAU was not good for these players because it over-inflated their ACTUAL ability.

AAU basketball, truth be told, is no different than your run-of-the-mill pro-am exhibition; teams very little defense. Players with average scoring ability are made to look great and players with great scoring ability are made to look like phenoms. In spite of this, college coaches and recruiters still lean heavily upon AAU basketball—and not just because they have more free time in the summer. The evolving importance of early recruitment and AAU basketball to high school recruiting both hinge upon one word, “POTENTIAL.” It’s the thing that coaches cannot teach; and, sadly, it is the one thing that holds many players back from being able to learn.

["POTENTIAL"]

Everything in high school basketball recruiting these days can be summarized in a word, "POTENTIAL." Players are no longer critiqued simply on how they play the game—their ability. Nowadays, players accrue or relinquish value like cattle on the futures market. The question is not how good a player is, but how good a player MIGHT be. The overarching criterion for judging a player in this way is his physical prowess, plain and simple. Height is everything. If a player has height he is worth recruiting, no matter what. In my hometown last year, there were two highly recruited post players, one a 6 foot 9 senior and the other a 7-foot junior. Sadly, neither one of these players could fight their way out of a wet paper sack. They were then and they are now underdeveloped, underweight and are the benefactors of having the hype machine working for them early on. Meanwhile, at a school closer to the city, there was a six foot five inch player who could play three positions, with tremendous shooting and ball-handling ability, who was overlooked because he was dubbed a "tweener"—one who doesn't fit the prototypical size pattern.

At what point are we going to realize that success on the basketball court is not a factor of prototypes? The sole criterion, in my mind, should be how well a player can play the game, period. Measurements of POTENTIAL and TALENT only take you so far, and one must keep tabs on how those things translate onto the court.

What follows is a list of Michigan basketball players, high school and college, who embody the binary at hand: Should basketball recruiting be about kinesis or potential? Many of the names you will recognize and many you will not. Many of the names read like trivia question answers along the lines of “whatever happened to…” In any event, this is my attempt to showcase the spoils of ACTUAL ability as over and above POTENTIAL ability.

[The Kinetic Kids]

(Suppliers of motive force. Buzzwords: "gamers," "tweeners," "positionless," not heavily recruited, etc.)

Here is a list that I have compiled of players, in the last 8 to 10 years, who have had great success at the game of basketball in spite of having little interest from coaches and pundits in early recruitment, AAU face-time, or tremendous hype. Many of these players were labeled, “tweeners,” long before they ever got to college. These players were all great in high school, but most were not considered prototypes.

--Takias Brown 6’9’’ 240 lbs, Flint Central High School: Takias is a dominant power forward who came into his own late in his high school career. He proved himself to be the best big man on the floor at the BCAM all-star game in 2004; a game in which he outshined post players who had already received scholarships from Rutgers and Michigan State. Tak is currently playing JUCO ball in Illinois. Tak Brown: Good size, great player, no hype, no D-1 scholarship.

--Corey Santee 6’2’’ 185 lbs, Flint Southwestern Academy: Even though he couldn't jump over a roll of quarters, Corey still started at point guard for TCU for four years. He averaged 15 points and 4.5 assists per game for his career. He was not not heavily recruited in or out of state. Santee also helped groom Brandon Bell into a legit D-1 caliber player.

--Nick Stapleton 6’0’’ 175 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Nick was not heavily recruited because of his size, at just barely six feet tall. He started four seasons for Austin Peay at point guard leading them in scoring and assists for his final two seasons. During his senior year, Nick was in the top five in the nation in scoring.

--William Hatcher 6’2’’ 190 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Again, William was not heavily recruited out of high school because of his smallish stature. At just over six feet tall, he lacks the advantage of seeing over his defenders. But, in spite of this, Hatcher led the University of Miami-Ohio to the regular season title in the Mid-America Conference during the 2004-2005 season. He started at point guard and averaged 10 points and 3 assists per game.

--Jay Youngblood 6’5’’ 215 lbs, Southfield High School: Many schools took a pass on Youngblood and, Like Allen, left him for Coach Schmidt at MCC in Flint. He spent his two years at Mott, won the player of the year award, and transferred to Kent State. In the Golden Flashes' last game of the 2004-2005 season, Youngblood scored 29 points.

--J'Nathan Bullock 6’4’’ 225 lbs, Flint Northern High School: Bullock vastly improved his shooting and dribbling ability to go along with his power game this past season. As a senior, he averaged better than 20 points per game and 10 rebounds in one of the top conferences in the state of Michigan (SVL). He did not, however, receive any hype in state. At only 6'4'' Bullock does not have the ideal height to play either the small or power forward position; but, Bullock is a gamer, and Cleveland State is getting a three-year starter, no doubt.

--David Kool, 6’2’’ 190 lbs, Grand Rapids South Christian High School: An extremely underrated player, Kool has a knack for positioning himself to score at will. He is one of the smartest players I have ever had the pleasure to watch. He should be a high D-1 prospect but was always projected to be a mid-major guy. In the final three games of the state playoffs this year, Kool scored 32, 37, and 43 points on his way to winning the state title for Grand Rapids South Christian. If Michigan were smart, they would forget Jerret Smith and lock-up David Kool. Western Michigan got a steal when they signed this kid.

[Potential Players]

(Capable of being, but not yet in existence. Buzzwords: prototypes, hyped, physically talented, raw, future, projects, athletes, etc.)

What follows is a list of highly-recruited players, most of whom have had the advantage of having prototypical size for their position, an extended AAU career, or a hype machine working overtime—some have had all three. You might think that I am being overly critical with respect to these players, but I will be the first to say that I hope I’m wrong.

--Gary Lee 6’5’’ 175 lbs, Flint Northern High School: Probably the least known, least deserving, player to receive a big ten scholarship in this state. Lee received a scholarship from Northwestern University for reasons yet to be determined. Lee wasn't even the best player on his team in high school. I can only guess that NW's coaching staff saw his size, 6'5'', his position, shooting guard, and just assumed he was a can't miss. They missed. Lee never saw the floor as a freshman and, by the end of the season, was academically ineligible. It seems that Northwestern’s head coach, Bill Carmody, wasn’t the only one not doing his homework.

--Olu Famutimi 6’5’’ 200 lbs, Flint Northwestern High School: This one hurts. Famutimi was one of my favorite players to watch coming out of Flint. He is probably the most amazing athlete we have had in the city, ever. He was a McDonald's All-American despite being injured in his senior season, and was Stan Heath's prized recruit at the University of Arkansas. But, Famutimi has not reached even a fraction of his potential--not even close. His shooting is abysmal and he hasn't developed his ball handling skills to play on the wing. Everything about this guy, in terms of his physical prowess, is prototypical. He's an amazing athlete, but only a decent basketball player. For some odd reason, Olu thought it would be a good idea to enter the NBA draft in 2005 after two awful seasons with the Hogs. Olu is currently playing in the NBADL in Little Rock, Arkansas.

--Jaquan Hart 6’6’’ 175 lbs, Flint Northern High School: Hart first signed with Michigan, then with Ohio State, and finally with Eastern Michigan. He has what most would consider the perfect height for the two-guard position, 6'6'', but plays without heart and will probably never get a better opportunity to shine on a basketball court. He never put in the time in the weight room or the classroom. It’s really too bad because he was a great high school player.

--Zach Gibson 6’9’’ 195 lbs, Grand Blanc High School: Gets the "Gary Lee Award" as the most overrated player in the State of Michigan in 2005, in my humble opinion. Gibson, to be sure, has the most to prove in college. Like his conference-mate Tom Herzog, Gibson has little strength and athleticism to play power forward at the next level. But, what he has is height. If Gibson were an inch or two shorter, he would be a mid-level recruit at best. Here's hoping it works out for you, Rutgers.

--Walter Waters 6’10’’ 280 lbs, Detroit Southeastern High School: Walter was first recruited to play for Pittsburgh, then Cleveland State, then Schoolcraft Community college. Recruitment doesn't usually follow such a path, but Waters is really big and not very good. Playing with Brandon Jenkins (Louisville) probably helped Waters immensely with recruiting.

--Drew Naymick 6’10’’ 250 lbs, North Muskegon High School: Naymick was heavily recruited for his size, 6'10'' and 235 pounds, but he rarely sees the floor at Michigan State. He averages right about two points and two rebounds per game. He should not be shooting the ball in actual games, ever.

--Kirk Walters 6’10’’ 240 lbs, Grand Rapids South Christian High School: Recruited by Arizona, has the size, has the frame, but is soft and barely ever sees the floor. He averaged 2 points and 1 rebound per game in his second season with the Wildcats. The last time I saw him play he was being well received by the Wildcat faithful; it reminded me of the many ovations received at the Palace by Darko Millic. Once again this preseason Walters is being hyped, but I’m not buying it just yet.

And so, the long and short of it is this: The smart money is on players who can play NOW. Who is to say that such players have already met their full potential? Recruiting on the basis of potential is risky and often leads to first round NCAA tournament ousters from WAC teams. Coaches and recruiters should learn from the Kwame Brown’s and Lenny Cooke’s of the world. Bank on players who are students of the game, players like David Kool and William Hatcher. These players win.