This has become an annual tweet that ruffles some feathers, but I think it is important and (hopefully/potentially) educational.
Indiana has 13 teams at the 17u level heading to Texas this weekend for the live period. Several others are traveling outside of the “general area” as well. Most, if not all, are full of GOOD small college prospects.
At BEST the trip is largely unnecessary. At worst it is completely counterproductive to the recruitment of the players.
As a general rule, exposure is NOT an issue so I’ve probably backed off the severity of my take a little bit (other than circling back to the trip/cost being unnecessary).
The unfortunate situation that “we” have found ourself in is that in order for a team to get good players they “NEED” to be on a circuit. However, outside of maybe 4-5 teams a year, I would recommend the other 40+ teams to not play on a circuit at all. You end up traveling AWAY from the coaches who WANT to see you.
Yall players out there gotta stop quitting. All you all do now is quit. If the table isn't perfectly set for you...you quit. How you gonna be a legit college player or pro and you won't fight through hard ish at the high school and aau level??? Demand more of yourself.
D3 or JUCO?
As a former D3 athlete I can relate to kids not wanting to go D3 at first… but that’s basically all because of perception. The truth is D3s have some of the best schools in the country.
This is also a regional topic because a kid in Texas is probably more likely to go JUCO than a kid from New England where we grow up on D3 being around. Would love to hear you guys thoughts!
Indiana High School basketball chooses to stay behind the game.
This is likely a reason why half of the only Nike program in the state is from outside Indiana. Remember one of their scouts saying “these kids just aren’t good enough anymore”. 😔
It's time for the IHSAA to listen to its coaches in each sport, vs. administrators.
$10,000 per school for bench personnel to run the clock? That's a made up number. That's roughly $450 per home game.
I'm in for that!