Recruiting 101 – Choosing an AAU Team
I’ve spent 13 years in the world of recruiting and have been able to see it from a variety of different sides. In 2010 I started my own scouting service, the Indiana Recruiting Guide, going into my freshman year of…
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Continue ReadingI’ve spent 13 years in the world of recruiting and have been able to see it from a variety of different sides. In 2010 I started my own scouting service, the Indiana Recruiting Guide, going into my freshman year of college. Over the course of three years the service grew to a place I never could have imagined as a 20-21 year old. College coaches at all levels from the Big Ten to the Ivy League, from in-state Division III schools to Junior Colleges in Arizona, and everyone in between would contact me when looking to recruit the great state of Indiana. Then, over the next six and a half years I was on the coaching side of things at IUPUI, Hanover College, Defiance College, and Wabash College. After getting out of coaching, I worked for national recruiting service NCSA helping athletes and their families across various sports reach their collegiate goals. Finally, in June of 2021 I settled back in to the scouting service game when I took over Prep Hoops Indiana from Eric Gardner. Having had 13+ years of experience from all different sides of the recruiting scene has helped me deeply understand the process. I’ve personally recruited student-athletes, helped families with the recruiting process, and work closely with college coaches now to identify potential targets.
For many people, the recruiting process can be overwhelming. Many parents and families have never experienced it before and find it nearly impossible to know how to best navigate it all. Over the next week or so I’ll be doing my best to answer any and all questions to give you a starting point as you pursue your goal of playing college basketball. In this edition, we will try to help you navigate the wild world of grassroots basketball.
Part of getting ahead of the recruiting process is becoming your own best salesman. There is a level of marketing that goes along with “winning” the exposure game and we are here to share some of those secrets. How should you choose a team? What tournaments should your team play in? Are you better off being the best player on a lower-level team or a role player on a higher-level team? These are some of the most common questions from parents when trying to select a team for the spring and summer. We will attempt to answer all of those questions and more below.
Of all of the topics we are going to cover in this Recruiting 101 series, this one might be the most ambiguous. Every situation truly is different and everyone’s experience will be unique. Also, someone could find success taking one path while someone else may follow in those footsteps and come away with entirely different results. This is truly an area where you have to do what you think is best and try to make the most out of every given opportunity. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a blueprint to success. Here are some of the recommendations I’ve come to over the last 13+ years of experience with grassroots basketball.
- The more structured the team/program, the more enjoyable the experience is going to be. Generally speaking, programs that have been around for a while that have an established brand are going to be your safest bets. If you are lucky enough to be with a team that has come up age group to age group over the course of several years I would do everything in my power to NOT leave that situation. However, if you are coming into this for the first time and trying to pick a program I would lean towards the established brands. You want to try and find a group that will stick together as opposed to having roster turnover and random “rent-a-player” situations every weekend.
- Find a coach you trust. Regardless of the situation, it isn’t likely you are going to receive a ton of high-level coaching during the spring and summer. That is not meant as a shot at AAU coaches, but it is simply a matter of resources. At most, you are going to practice once a week and that probably isn’t even feasible for most programs. Essentially, you are showing up to play games on the weekends. That is 100% okay, but it also means there isn’t a whole lot of time to actually coach the team. Still, you want a coach who will run a regimented program (again, trying to steer clear of the constant turnover some programs face) that also will establish some level of structure and accountability to the team. In Indiana, there are a lot of AAU coaches that do a very good job. You can find a good situation.
- WHERE YOU PLAY YOUR GAMES MATTERS. This is my current crusade about the current landscape of grassroots basketball. Shoe circuits are making it harder for legitimately good college prospects to get recruited. If you are a mid-major or high-major prospect then it doesn’t matter where you play your games. Coaches will travel wherever to go see you play. However, other programs, even many at the Division I level, don’t have the resources to travel the country to see you play. If you are a prospect in the state of Indiana you should play the OVERWHELMING VAST MAJORITY of you games in Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, or Louisville (or those surrounding areas). If your team makes one “trip” per summer that essentially doubles as a vacation that is totally fine. However, going to play live periods in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, etc. is doing far more harm that good for a lot of prospects. If you are a DII/DIII/NAIA prospect (which is most guys on the 3SGB or UA Rise circuits for example) the coaches who would primarily be recruiting you are NOT going to make the trip to see you 8+ hours away from home. Similarly, any coach who happens to see you in the middle of Texas will realize you are from Indiana and probably just move on even if he likes you as a player. You would be much better off playing games locally where coaches from the bordering states can come see you play frequently.
- Find a situation where you can showcase your talent. Winning always matters and you shouldn’t just play on a terrible team in order to put up 30 points a game. However, there is something to be said for showcasing your ability. If you aren’t playing regular minutes then you should seek another opportunity. The point of grassroots basketball is to get exposure so you need to be in a situation that allows you to put your game on display. Again, that doesn’t mean you need to be “the man” because not everyone is “the man” at the next level. If you are a spot up shooter, you need to be on a team where you are getting catch-and-shoot 3’s. If you are a playmaker, you need to be on a team that allows you to be a playmaker. If you are a post player, you need a team that feeds the post. Every situation is different, but this is area where you can be a little selfish about your needs. Without changing teams five times over the course of the summer you should work to find a spot that will accentuate your game.