The corruption of Hoops........AAU

**GoMuskies** · 07-29-2009, 04:49 PM

I think Hill was tight with Beasley for non-shady reasons, and Huggins presented him with an offer he couldn't (and shouldn't) refuse. I don't think what Hill did was any more shady than any other assistant coach who takes his recruiting rolodex with him to his next stop. Beasley just happened to be the #1 player in the country.

**AviatorX** · 07-29-2009, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by GoMuskies

I think Hill was tight with Beasley for non-shady reasons, and Huggins presented him with an offer he couldn't (and shouldn't) refuse. I don't think what Hill did was any more shady than any other assistant coach who takes his recruiting rolodex with him to his next stop. Beasley just happened to be the #1 player in the country.

This is definitely true.

MuskieCinci · 07-29-2009, 07:55 PM

Wasn't Hill like a father figure to Beasley? I think Hill was actually a pretty positive influence on Beasley and Beasley just wanted to go to college wherever Hill was. Obviously the situation sucked for Charlotte but I don't know if Beasley ever really cared about them too much, he was more focused on Hill.

AdamtheFlyer · 07-29-2009, 10:01 PM

I don't get the no defense thing in AAU. There's plenty of defense. It's the toughest defense they play and face until they get to college. Branson Spearman is a 4-Star prospect in large part because of his AAU defense. Adreian Payne might not be a top 100 prospect if it weren't for his defense.

MuskieCinci · 07-30-2009, 12:31 AM

I don't know if it was just a bad game for him but the other night when All-Ohio Red was on ESPNU Payne got destroyed on the defensive end by Melvin Tab. He seems to just have random plays throughout the game where he looks incredible but for the most part his defense was lacking.

XUglow · 07-30-2009, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by AdamtheFlyer

I don't get the no defense thing in AAU. There's plenty of defense. It's the toughest defense they play and face until they get to college. Branson Spearman is a 4-Star prospect in large part because of his AAU defense. Adreian Payne might not be a top 100 prospect if it weren't for his defense.

Quote from Michael Beasley - “If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing,” he says. “I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU.”

**AviatorX** · 07-30-2009, 10:20 AM

The only defense in AAU is the defense that leads to the stats such as blocks, steals, etc. Anything to pad the stat line. Bottom line, you aren't going to see a kid giving 150% with 2 minutes left down by 4 on the defensive end, at least most of the time you won't.

AdamtheFlyer · 07-30-2009, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by XUglow

Quote from Michael Beasley - “If you’re playing defense in AAU, you don’t need to be playing,” he says. “I’ve honestly never seen anyone play defense in AAU.”

Beasley doesn't play defense in the NBA. I'm not even sure he could execute a basic figure 8 defensive slide drill in practice.

XUglow · 07-30-2009, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by AdamtheFlyer

Beasley doesn't play defense in the NBA. I'm not even sure he could execute a basic figure 8 defensive slide drill in practice.

ATF, the quote is from an article in the Wall Street Journal about the AAU being broken. It isn't a feature article about Michael Beasley. European leagues practice 5 or 6 times for each game. AAU teams play 5 or 6 games per practice. The assessment of "no defense" comes from a large number of players and coaches in college and in the NBA.

American Kids Flunk Basketball 101

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...288269744.html

If you compare AAU defense to say... a traffic cone, I guess it looks pretty good.