To compete Nationally you must get the best players from middle tennessee and the surrounding states. Al , Ky . Even Memphis with all the talent they have still recruit from Ms and Ak. Most of this discussion has centered around ninth graders. YOMCA is the only nationally competitive 9th grade team in the state. Bellevue and the Elite are they only competitive 8th grade teams.
As far as the shoe companies go... get real they own this sport period. They will be involved you may as well join them if you can. Remember when you list all these kids and talk about how good they are. Only a few of them have a real chance to be major D1 players. We won't know for sure unless they are super stars until they are juniors or seniors. When scouts look at kids if they are under 6'5" they must have the whole package. A lot of these kids can't shoot or can't handle, can't create ... I think coaches should be focused on fixing this and making sure players have a complete game.
My prediction is the strong programs that do well nationally will keep getting stronger the weak will get weaker the end result Nashville will be like Memphis super teams sponsored by shoe companies. Ask bigyomca if things are better in Memphis as far as teams and coaches getting along.
On another note what happened to the travelers? They use to be an elite program they have a shoe company sponsor seems they not at the same level anymore.
