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Anyone else see/read the article where Kobe Bryant

23jumpboy

Senior
Jan 5, 2003
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really spoke down about AAU ball? Interesting reading. I don't have the link but you can google it, yahoo it, whatever..
 
Problem with the AAU system is that kids spend most of their time just playing games. And, if you've got bad habits and errors in your fundamentals, playing games will not fix them, instead games can very often just reinforce and instill those flaws to an even greater degree.

Instead, the way to improve one's fundamentals is through hours and hours and hours of boring ass drills. AAU coaches aren't particularly interested in wasting hours and hours of their days on drills, they'd rather be coaching games, and the players would rather be playing games.

My understanding is the Euro basketball academies focus more on drills, while playing fewer games, so yeah there probably is plenty of truth to Kobe's comments.
 
Personally, I think Kobe was spot-on. But you should see the BEATING he's taking on Twitter from "talent scouts" like Evan Daniels, Justin Rowland and "basketball journalists" like Michael DeCourcy, etc.

One interesting thing I thought was one 'analyst' who criticized Kobe because "...I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN HIM AT ONE AAU GAME."

Really!!??

Aren't many (most) of these guys who rank and report on HS-aged kids people who NEVER played college bball themselves?

Wouldn't these 'journalists' be the first to jump down someone's throat when they are criticized for their takes on coaches "when they never played a minute of big-time bball themselves?"

Daniels tweeted, "My point isn't to necessarily defend AAU ball. I just think to point blame to 1 specific area is inaccurate. There are universals (sic) problems." Weird -- when asked to point out the MAIN problem, it seems okay to factor out ONE thing as the worst. If someone asked me about why segregation was a bad thing and I ONLY talk about 'racism,' I don't think that would be such a bad response and it certainly wouldn't mean I'm saying that's the ONLY bad thing about it.
 
Originally posted by brian.mikeson:
Personally, I think Kobe was spot-on. But you should see the BEATING he's taking on Twitter from "talent scouts" like Evan Daniels, Justin Rowland and "basketball journalists" like Michael DeCourcy, etc.

One interesting thing I thought was one 'analyst' who criticized Kobe because "...I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN HIM AT ONE AAU GAME."

Really!!??

Aren't many (most) of these guys who rank and report on HS-aged kids people who NEVER played college bball themselves?

Wouldn't these 'journalists' be the first to jump down someone's throat when they are criticized for their takes on coaches "when they never played a minute of big-time bball themselves?"

Daniels tweeted, "My point isn't to necessarily defend AAU ball. I just think to point blame to 1 specific area is inaccurate. There are universals (sic) problems." Weird -- when asked to point out the MAIN problem, it seems okay to factor out ONE thing as the worst. If someone asked me about why segregation was a bad thing and I ONLY talk about 'racism,' I don't think that would be such a bad response and it certainly wouldn't mean I'm saying that's the ONLY bad thing about it.
The point is that if Kobe never watches one minute of AAU ball (which he doesn't), what exactly are his qualifications to judge what goes on in AAU ball? And that's valid.

AAU certainly has its downsides. But here's a question- what were guys like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and so on (guys from what is now seen as the golden age of pro basketball) doing in the summer while they were in HS? I'll tell you what they were doing- they were playing pick-up basketball. Not being coached in any way, shape or form, just playing and developing their skills. Tell me how that's any more constructive than playing AAU ball. In both cases, development is likely to depend on the individual player. If the guy puts in the time, and goes about it the right way, he'll develop.

What you really have here is a condemnation of the COLLEGE system. Euro teams grab top players at an incredibly young age (often before they're even in HS), and invest in them in hopes of a future payoff. The kids get some money, and a lot of opportunity. The US system is 100% different, because the real minor league for players doesn't pay anything. All the incentive is to make a name for yourself individually.
 
Originally posted by mj2k10:

The point is that if Kobe never watches one minute of AAU ball (which he doesn't), what exactly are his qualifications to judge what goes on in AAU ball? And that's valid.

AAU certainly has its downsides. But here's a question- what were guys like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and so on (guys from what is now seen as the golden age of pro basketball) doing in the summer while they were in HS?
You don't have to watch an AAU game to know what they're about...more specifically, what the weekend-long TOURNAMENTS are about.

Do you not think Kobe Bryant has close contact every single day with players who've come up through the AAU-type system and he's heard from THEM what they did while going through it? Don't you think he could've asked them how they developed their game in comparison to how he did without every attending an AAU tournament?

I didn't watch a minute of WWII as it happened--nor did I live through it--but it's entirely possible for me to know the causes of it.

AS TO LARRY BIRD, MAGIC, ETC. No doubt they played pickup ball in their off-seasons, but do you honestly think those ratio of those guys playing 'games' to them spending time developing their SKILLS in drills, clinics, w/ their HS coaches, etc. was the same as HS-aged players in the US today?
 
Back in the old days, players attended camp after camp in the summer. At camps, you would work on all the fundamental stuff + play pickup games.

Today, AAU is far more than a summer time thing anyway. AAU takes up the bulk of the year for most of these players in one way or another.

Of course players can still work on individual skills, and many still do. However, the coaches that they spend the bulk of their time with have little interest in taking the time to work with them one on one, for the most part.
 
Originally posted by Smashcat:

Just what does Kobe like? LOL
20 foot turnaround jumpshots with 2 guys guarding him?

And lots o' money.

As to some other on here, it's highly unlikely that Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, etc. spent more than a week getting any kind of coaching during the summers. That was generally against the rules, just like it's against the rules in college.

AAU probably has become too big a part of player evaluation. What's a better alternative? If you really think it's "more HS coaching", you're kidding yourself. Playing in HS for some these guys means playing for an even worse coach, against far worse competition. And even if the coaching is better (debatable- it depends on the HS), give me the choice between a loosely coached competition in which the best talents compete, and a better coached competition in which a truly elite athlete is going against almost no one who's even good enough to play D1 college, I think you're going to learn a lot more about players from the former.

The Euro system very well might be better. Get rid of college basketball, and maybe the US can go in that direction.
 
Originally posted by mj2k10:

Originally posted by Smashcat:

Just what does Kobe like? LOL
20 foot turnaround jumpshots with 2 guys guarding him?

And lots o' money.

As to some other on here, it's highly unlikely that Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, etc. spent more than a week getting any kind of coaching during the summers. That was generally against the rules, just like it's against the rules in college.

AAU probably has become too big a part of player evaluation. What's a better alternative? If you really think it's "more HS coaching", you're kidding yourself. Playing in HS for some these guys means playing for an even worse coach, against far worse competition. And even if the coaching is better (debatable- it depends on the HS), give me the choice between a loosely coached competition in which the best talents compete, and a better coached competition in which a truly elite athlete is going against almost no one who's even good enough to play D1 college, I think you're going to learn a lot more about players from the former.

The Euro system very well might be better. Get rid of college basketball, and maybe the US can go in that direction.
I certainly wasn't Larry Bird or Magic Johnson, but I got plenty of coaching during the summer.

Transy camp was staffed by Transy's coaches and they worked with players directly. High School coaches were also there with their teams.

At UK camp, we received instruction from guys like Herb Sendek and Billy Donovan.

We would play a handful of partial squad scrimmages where our HS head coach would travel with us and coach us. Not sure of the legality, but we did it.

Even with the limited AAU schedule, the HS coach was right in the middle of it.

The best players would travel to 5-Star camps throughout the summer where they would both receive instruction from up and coming coaches, but also compete with other top players.

There was summer travel squad stuff, but it was much more limited.

Whether it was better or not is debatable. But it was definitely different. And players got a lot more attention in the summers than you are implying. If anything, you got more instruction in the summer than any other time. It was when you got better.
 
Get rid of college basketball.

Lol.

This board has a few members that go to the most far of extremes of reality.
 
Originally posted by .S&C.:
Get rid of college basketball.

Lol.

This board has a few members that go to the most far of extremes of reality.
I know from experience that your brain doesn't necessarily function very well, but try to follow.

Kobe says the Euro system of developing players is better. He could be right. The Euro system is one in which there is no such thing as "college basketball", and professional teams are 100% responsible for finding and developing their own players. If you want to try to copy that system in America, the easiest way to do it is to eliminate college basketball.

Simple logic, nothing extreme about it.
 
Kobe is way off. USA holds every title at every age group in World play. The best players in the World are still Americans. Just a stupid take by a bitter man
 
kobe is so off its hilarious and the people agreeing with him just want to hate on AAU because its easy.

lets be real...he is pissed his players suck and is trying to find blame. when he played in europe...he took about 30 shots a game. is there another player who plays less like a euro than kobe?he is part of the problem...he charges/charged almost a $1000 to attend his camp yet provided NO skill workwhy blame JUST AAU? 2-3 months during the summer, how long do HS coaches or college coaches get to influence these kids? much more right...Cliff Alexander has been at Kansas since May and still has no post moves. kobe wants to blame the sneaker companies, yet he has probably made 100+ million from nike...what has he done to better the game? everyone talks about how skilled euros are, here is the catch. for every gasol or dirk...how many guys get drafted and never see the light of day in the NBA or are a complete bust? USA has dominated every USA even regardless of age bracket for almost a decade now. cool...they play a prettier version of basketball that results in nothing but losing. we are part of the problem...most euro stuff is all about practice, not competition. look at how they build soccer players. not here in america...we need games!!! our guys would be a ton better if the college level had 2/3 fewer games and increased practice time by 2/3s.
grass roots AAU needs to do more and be better. for sure. but he shouldnt be making it. and the folks chiming in in support of him i'd say are mostly pissed that they dont get recruits and think AAU is just "dirt handlers" who cheated them out of the latest 5 star and just want it all do be demolished. but really have ZERO clue what is going on.
 
The impressionable teenagers who look up to Kobe when he's jacking up shots 1 on 5 is doing more damage to the game than AAU. Dude is shooting 38% from the field this year with this kind or garbage play and you got kids thinking he's playing the game the right way because he's Kobe.

This post was edited on 1/4 11:37 PM by wildcatsboston1984
 
Boston hit this B^%#^ on the head.

How many euros get drafted and never see the light of day in the NBA?

AAU ball could be improved in several ways, but it's better that some alternatives, and euro ball is overplayed badly especially on this board.
 
I think AAU sucks because it takes away the value of winning, it seems to be more of a showcase. Oh we lost, no worries, we got two more games today.
 
Originally posted by UKBrassowTipIN:
I think AAU sucks because it takes away the value of winning, it seems to be more of a showcase. Oh we lost, no worries, we got two more games today.
I think this is a broad generalization which is common when folks talk about AAU.

should AAU be about winning or getting 15-16 years olds better at playing basketball? maybe focus less on winning and more on skill work in practice.
 
While I am not a Kobe fan, what he says hits the nail on the head, AAU ball is horrible, poor coaching, no teaching just some dirtbag just trying to find a good player to ride his coat tales and get something out of it.
 
This AAU "minimalizes winning" argument was included in the Jordan biography written by Roland Lazenby.

The theory being that if Jordan had played AAU ball, he would inevitably have lost a ton of games growing up.

Instead, he barely lost at all, at any point of his life, other than his first 2-3 seasons with the Bulls.

Growing up, he valued every game. Winning was the goal, and losing crushed him.

It's a theory.
 
I believe that Kobe Bryant is the most popular douche that has ever walked the earth. Statistics prove that he is 100% wrong on every claim he made. He should stfu and go back to shooting every shot until he retires (sooner, rather than later, I hope)
 
Originally posted by Dirk2Bowie:
I believe that Kobe Bryant is the most popular douche that has ever walked the earth. Statistics prove that he is 100% wrong on every claim he made. He should stfu and go back to shooting every shot until he retires (sooner, rather than later, I hope)
exactly what stats prove what wrong? I don't like Kobe perse but he hit the nail on the head with this one .
 
Originally posted by caneintally:

Originally posted by Dirk2Bowie:
I believe that Kobe Bryant is the most popular douche that has ever walked the earth. Statistics prove that he is 100% wrong on every claim he made. He should stfu and go back to shooting every shot until he retires (sooner, rather than later, I hope)
exactly what stats prove what wrong? I don't like Kobe perse but he hit the nail on the head with this one .
he hit the nail on the head? its cool you think that but you clearly are not involved with anything on the AAU level or any coach level.

pretty much everything kobe said was BS....people just agree with him because its easy and supports an agenda that folks are familiar work. lazy argument to make.
 
i will be honest i read the last comment and the initial article and didn't see there was a whole pissing contest going on in this thread which i want no part of . IS AAU or what i would call And 1 ball a problem ? Sure . Are there great teachers and programs in that same system that actually care about developing every player they have ? Sure. But i am not here to argue for or against it as i don't have any dog in the fight . I just thought it was funny someone was bashing Kobe for one of the few things he got right.
 
Kobe sounds like an anonymous GM from 2003. Kobe's take is how we end up with the following people on NBA rosters.

Andrea Bargnani
Zarko Cabarkapa
Andreas Glyniadakis
Yaroslav Korolev
Viktor Khryapa
Maciej Lampe
Raul Lopez
Darko Milicic
Sergei Monia
Zoran Planinic
Pavel Podkolzin
Vassilis Spanoulis
Jake Tsakalidis
Nikoloz Tskitishvili
Slavko Vranes
Frederic Weis
Jiri Welsch

These guys all sucked. They didn't suck because they were at athletic disadvantages. They sucked because they were not good enough at basketball Spare me your "Andrea Bargnani was a #1 pick" crap. He sucks. He does not have control of his body.

Kobe's take is the reason why this awesome quote by Jason Kapono exists.

"I should have left UCLA after my freshman year, moved to Yugoslavia and changed my name to Jason Kaponovich. I'd have been a first-round pick."

So yeah, I think Kobe is wrong. The best players in this country played AAU ball. For better or worse, this happened. AAU ball didn't hurt the shooting of Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. AAU ball didn't hinder the hands and footwork of DeMarcus Cousins. AAU ball didn't hinder the ability of Anthony Davis to play help defense like the practicing witch that he is.

The rebuttal to Kobe by Mike DeCourcy is one of the best, most incinerating comebacks I've ever read.
 
We can look at ANY statistic of top 25 leaders of ANY category of the NBA. Tell me where foreign players dominate... If Shaq stays in Orlando not one person other than Kobe cares what he thinks anyway.
This post was edited on 1/5 7:37 PM by TY U 2 WCS 4 9
 
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