Blackburn

Brandon is a mortgage broker here in Nashville. He was on his way to the NBA and doing extremely well in the pre-draft camps before suffering a knee injury in one of the games. He rehabed and had a couple tryouts with NBA teams. He ended up playing in Italy for a couple of years before moving back to Nashville.

My understanding is that such a violation results in a prohibition from AAU competition for a year or two but I am not certain. According to their website, they have other non-AAU events lined up.

sorry, i was referring to AAU substate. they finished 2nd in the AAU state behind the Memphis Bellevue who was 1st or 2nd in the Nation last year and couldve won and that was without AL players. I dont know about the substate results for YBOA.

No, they didnt have a game in substate that was closer than 20

I would be surprised if the SE Elite doesnt destroy everyone.

I am with you in the sense that it should be about the kids. However, it seems more and more that it isnt. This is due, in my opinion, to the shoe companies' involvement in summer basketball. The general notion of having sponsors involved with basketball (i.e. Nike, Reebok, etc.) is a good idea for exposing kids and getting them to major camps. But there is also the pressure to win when shoe companies are putting money on the line. That pressure leads to battle for kids when it shouldnt and that brings hostility b/t programs. However, shoe deals arent all they are cracked up to be. Most think that sponsored teams are getting all sorts of money and gear, when in reality, that isnt always true by any means. Getting free jerseys is a bonus, but many just offer breaks on jerseys/shoes until your team accomplishes something or puts a "big time"player into D-1. Back to the topic though, I think there is just more interest in basketball in Mid TN than there used to be. The cities have grown tremendously the last 10 years and there are definitely more teams to accomodate more players, all of which hurts the Travelers presence in this area and accounts for the improvement of Mid Tn teams. It used to be if you wanted compete nationally and you were from Mid Tn, then the Travelers were your only option. Now, many teams without shoe deals are finding ways to get to Kingwood and to get to Vegas and other big events. If you can find a competitive team in your area, why drive 2 hours aways to play for another team. I am just pleased to see the sport growing in Mid TN. Hopefully, more solid basketball people will get involved to teach kids from a young age solid fundamentals to go with the athleticism and take a group of kids they have known and developed all the way through. It is so much harder to work to develop kids than it is to just go find the best 15 year old for that season and discard them the next year for the next 16 year old . However, I hope that the trend becomes the former rather than the latter.

Travelers used to be able to come in and take all the best players from Mid Tn b/c there were no other capable teams. Now, they arent getting those players and are becoming desperate. By all accounts, Nike is unpleased. There are Mid Tn teams that use AL and KY players. However, TN AAU banned AL kids from playing in the Districts this year. Case in point, the SE Elite 15U has a 6'11 kid from AL and one of the best two gaurds in AL (kid started for a state tourney team and scored 15ppg). Anyway, neither were permitted to play in the substate or state AAU tourneys. Meanwhile, the Y had a couple big kids from MS apparently. Doesnt seem fair, does it. Cant really grasp the logic there, but neither can the AAU folks.

OK AFO, so, by way of your example, coaches would convince their best players now at the 15U level to play with SE Elite for the next few years?

So the model everyone is looking at is to send the best players on your team to whichever team is designated the best in that age group? So these kids would have a different coach each and every year?

So what teams are you suggesting should combine?

Marcus Jefferson is easily the best player on the Thunder 15U by a long shot though I think Upton is a solid player as well. I am not sold by any means on Williams' game. He isnt bad, but he isnt in the same class as those guys above. I dont know how he played in the state, but i have seen him this year and in years past and he deserves consideration.

AAU was developed to give kids a forum to play in the summer. Now apparently it is only about giving the best kids a chance to play? A lot of times those kids that arent the best will also get looks from smaller colleges b/c they are seen on the team with a good player that can take them a couple rounds into an event. If you dont think relationships are critical, just look around at kids on teams and see how they got there. X knows Y who knows B who knows this superstar kid. Coach A used to Coach with Coach C but there was a falling out. Half the kids went with Coach A's new team and half with Coach C's new team. Sound familiar to Middle TN? Relationships are everything. That is why there isnt a cohesive Mid TN program, b/c relationships have been tarnished over the years. If teams want to combine, then fine, I dont have any problem with that. But it is much more complicated than that. There is no reason Mr. B shouldn't explore all these options. I applaud him for having a vision and trying to make it happen. CCB is right, there are a lot people out there to make a buck off a shoe deal. However, just because you have a shoe logo on your chest, it doesnt mean you are making money. If you are making profit, then you are doing something wrong anyway. All that money should go into a non-profit mechanism. Some people get so ingrained with the shoe companies that problems start. its happening in TN right now, a couple bad years, a disatisfied company, and a program desperate and willing to do anything to get back on top. We have been over the fact that kids are gaining exposure everywhere now and outlets continue to grow, so I want someone to answer this thoughtfully because I am honestly curious as to the response, Why does this one super team really need to exist?

Obviously not every rumor or allegation is true but there are plenty of instances where they are true. I think that is why a lot of teams separate. Seems like "The Game" is suggesting that talented kids wont progress to college if everyone doesnt combine and put together a team of the best. First of all, there are way too many recruiting folks out there to let that happen. Check out www.unapproved website.com for an example. Andre covered the 15U state over the weekend and profiled his top 20 kids from the event. Vanderbilt signed a kid from AL that didnt even play AAU ball. The players will always be found in this day and age. There is also another factor at play in the combining of teams. Where do the so-called non stars go. AAU is about relationships. Kids often want to play with coaches they have known and with other kids they are friends with. A lot of coaches dont want to cut kids they have known for years and like. Maybe that hurts the program, but it is also part of the deal in many cases. I wouldnt hold it against a coach for cutting kids b/c that is his prerogative, but often times teams dont have that needed depth b/c they are carrying kids they have known for 3-5 years and dont contribute much on the court. It is just part of the dynamic. Where should the line be drawn? Obviously depth is major in AAU events where you play multiple games in one day and just to have the best matchups. Just a personal decision from coach to coach as to whom to keep I guess.

It'll never happen. Part of it is ego b/t kids not wanting to be selfless and part of it is distrust. Not sure how it is in Memphis but in Mid Tn there is much distrust between programs. Unfortunately, a lot of it is warranted through past actions. Once the people who really care about the kids get involved and start running programs the right way, things will be better. Part of this post has to do with the Memphis kids playing harder. I submit that we need better influences at the younger ages and people who will teach these kids solid ideals and principles about being selfless and putting yourself on the line for your teammates. It is also reflective of the lackluster middle school coaches that teach bad work habits. Not all are bad, dont get me wrong, but most have no clue about the game and what it takes to teach kids the right way to play. The rise of teams from Mid TN is very recent trend really so programs are really just being built now from the ground up. The Travelers used to have a stronghold on the best players from the Mid State but that has changed big time over the last 3 or so years; of course that causes a problem in and of itself. It would be interesting to revisit this post in about 4 years and see where things stand.

McAdoo plays for the TN Thunder 16U. He has a lot of potential. Great athlete and long. Needs to develop more back to the basket skills though. Has a decent mid range jumper.

They have had this happen to two teams? What age groups? Ridiculous what some teams will do to get ahead.

I havent heard that the Thunder has a bid. If they do, it must be from a Super Regional, possibly in Atlanta. If the Travelers didnt get the host spot, then I dont know that they have a bid either. BTW--Memphis Celtics got disqualified from 15U State today. SE Elite Silver now gets the spot.

We are on the same page. Even more absurd is the fact certain kids were told they could play and drove up from AL only to find out at the gym door that a letter was sent that day banning them from playing. Couple that with the fact that the AL substate had already taken place so they couldnt play there either. Doesnt really seem like the best interests of the kids were at stake in this instance. Guess it would have been too logical just to make the AL kids cross-boundary this year rather than banning them completely at the last minute. Dont you get the feeling that some major AAU programs had influence here b/c they were losing control over the midstate players?

AL kids are not allowed to play in the TN AAU Districts this year as many of you know. For AAU purposes, they are in the same District as TN and these kids have competed in the past. However, TN AAU has banned those kids from playing this year. Also, TN AAU says they are not cross boundary athletes b/c they are in the same District so they can't play virtue of that cross boundary rule. Does anybody else think this is a joke? Seems like a ploy to keep the Central teams down since Huntsville is quite a bit closer to Mid Tn than even Memphis. Meanwhile, it is easy for Memphis teams to pick up cross boundary kids from Miss and Ark. Ky kids are also allowed. Am I missing something on this or isnt it just ridiculous.

Teams with Super Regional bids have the option to choose that bid or the State Bid should they qualify. The state bid is theoretically a better seed so teams usually take that one. Also think that b/c the Travelers are considered a host team for Nationals this year, that they get a bid as well.