Exposure VS. AAU

[bballfan87]

What is your view on Exposure events?

What about AAU?

Which helps the kids more?

[CUMAN13]

I think there is good in both AAU and Exposure events. Teams can help players of all talent levels by playing both. The teams that are strickly AAU are missing out on the college coaches seeing their better players because even though the AAU National Tournaments are NCAA Sanctioned in the 14u - 16u ages there are very few scouts that attend. The teams who just play Exposure events are missing out on their younger players getting to play in the team concept of AAU National competition and getting better for the Exposure later. Unless you are recruting the best 10 kids from a 100 mile radius of where your team is based than the fast pace one on one games that the Exposure tournaments end up turning into will not help your team as a whole. Put your players in the best situation. PLAY BOTH !!! (It can be done)

[ParisRiverRat]

IF you can play...they will find you!!! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[PHargis]

For some reason, why does this make one think that the effort is being diluted. Certainly Tennessee has a lot of good players but where is this going?

[philtenn]

IF you can play...they will find you!!! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

 

I hear that saying from time to time so you're certainly not alone in believing that. And, to a certain degree, I agree with that statement. But, it seems to me that statement is only true for the major D1 schools and the players who are good enough to play for them. For those girls (and this is the large majority) who better fit mid-majors, D2, D3 and NAIA schools, I think it's a big mistake to believe in that statement. Those schools do not have the recruiting budget to scour the entire country for talent and they don't have the luxury to just check out the top 50 girls listed on HoopGurlz list - they don't have a chance of getting those girls. Many times they just focus on the girls in their region. If you're a good player who isn't in their region, there is a good chance that they will never know you exist.

 

In my opinion the vast majority of the parents and players need to be more proactive in the recruiting process. Don't get overly dependent on your high schools or AAU coach in finding a school for you. Find the school YOU want to go to and that fits YOUR academic and other requirements, and start recruiting them. Be careful how you do it, but you can learn how to do it through some great books out there on the subject. It's important to learn about the unwritten rules of the recruiting game.

 

Finally, even if you are a major D1 quality player and all you have to do is wait for those schools come see you play or read about you in the newspaper, you're still doing yourself a disservice by just waiting. Most of the major D1 girls are not going to make a living in basketball so education remains the priority. And not just any education. You should be looking for the best education that fits your interests and your individual gifits. The best basketball school recruiting you may not be the best school for your education.

 

The point is, don't just sit there waiting for the team to find you. Be proactive and your chances for success on AND off the court will go way up.

[robpride]

Cant argue with any of that!

[philtenn]

I think there is good in both AAU and Exposure events. Teams can help players of all talent levels by playing both. The teams that are strickly AAU are missing out on the college coaches seeing their better players because even though the AAU National Tournaments are NCAA Sanctioned in the 14u - 16u ages there are very few scouts that attend. The teams who just play Exposure events are missing out on their younger players getting to play in the team concept of AAU National competition and getting better for the Exposure later. Unless you are recruting the best 10 kids from a 100 mile radius of where your team is based than the fast pace one on one games that the Exposure tournaments end up turning into will not help your team as a whole. Put your players in the best situation. PLAY BOTH !!! (It can be done)

 

Years ago, I would have agreed with you. But, right now, it looks like the difference between AAU and Exposure is getting smaller and smaller. With the recruiting emphasis starting at 13 and 14 years old now, "younger players getting to play in the team concept" is being threatened.

 

I do agree that there are positives with the exposure events. I think it's a shame for parents and players that with AAU now morphing toward more of an exposure event philosophy there is one less option for the serious competitive player.

[compusatman]

My daughter has played "local" AAU since she was in the 6th grade. What a joke. It was never anything more than a money making venture for some local dollar who couldn't care less about where your daughter goes to college.

 

She now is on Justin Wimmer's 16u National AAU team with some of the best players from Morristown to Richmond. He has one goal...to see how many girls he can hand place in D1 schools each year. His benefit? Building a network. Maybe someday he will get a coaching job out of it. Otherwise, it is a labor of love.

 

We just returned from Boo Williams Nike Invitational in Newport News/Hampton Roads, VA and will return there this weekend for the VA State Tournament. We made it to the final four and at 8am on a Sunday morning the D1 scouts were out in droves. School shirt, hat, and nametag with clipboard in hand. Meeting girls in person. Talking to them. One on one.

 

If you are not playing for a national team then you ain't getting noticed. Playing school ball is just sometihing to do in the wintertime. Playing national AAU is the only way to get into the thick of things. Yes, there are still other things you must do like film, camps, etc. But when a coach from Duke calls you to the side and comments on your jumpshot or your speed then chances are your name will be remembered. Local AAU ball might improve your skills but what good is that if no one knows who you are?

 

No one wants to practice 4 times a week over a 100 mile radius in addition to running track, playing softball, soccer, etc...not to mention Algebra, but the cost of a college education is staggering and nobody is going to hand it to you on a silver platter. What do they say? No pain...no gain? Your choice.

[robpride]

I doubt the coach from Duke would break the rules if front of fellow coaches.

[Bri]

I doubt the coach from Duke would break the rules if front of fellow coaches.

 

 

Echoing what robpride said, They can't talk to the girls there unless the girl has already signed with them. They can't even email the girls during event times, it has to be later on that night. I was there & couldn't even talk to my niece's coach because my daughter was playing @ the event.

[reboundmaster]

What is your view on Exposure events?

What about AAU?

Which helps the kids more?

 

 

What I wonder is this: many of you have stated that exposure meets your kids' needs better--getting in front of college coaches sooner/more and having a chance at getting her college education paid for. Understandable. But why do teams that are mostly exposure-oriented consistently play AAU substate and state events? After all, in the AAU system, the goal is to play these events, and advance to Nationals. Since in the upper age groups AAU Nationals is right up against the exposure events, many of you know in advance that your teams will not go to AAU Nationals because of choosing to go to the major exposure events. So why play in these AAU events? I notice in the AAU State tournament brackets for these upper age groups (15, 16U) there are several teams (Memphis Elite, various Flight teams) that are involved in their AAU State tournaments, yet even if they win, they will skip the event for the exposure tournament instead. Why stay involved with AAU at all?

[robpride]

The Memphis elite does go to nationals....as do the Tn Wings and the Pride The only one ive ever know not to go was Flight affilliated