A Little Hinky... I came across a really interesting article on Yahoo Sports that seems somewhat appropriate right now, considering its March and we are hitting NCAA Tournament time.
Check out the story right here
To me...and those of us here at OSG World Headquarters, this is not a surprise. It is not something new. It is not something we haven't heard discussed in places not seen by the public. It is basically one of the NCAA's "Dirty Little Secrets". The recruiting of people to coerce players into signing with an agent is not something new. It's something done...pretty much on a regular basis.
The story uses Kevin Love, now of the Minnesota Timberwolves and an Agency run by former NBA Players Association Director Charles Grantham as the example, but there are examples all over the world of College and Professional...and for that matter High School Basketball.
There are plenty of people at fault here. The NCAA for not being aggressive in t
heir policing of both AAU Coaches and Agents. The Agents in particular are a problem. The all are looking to make a buck...and in some cases any way possible, rules be damned. And then there are the AAU Coaches. I still wonder sometimes how the "AAU Teams" have become the outlet and place to turn for all successful High School basketball players. The Coaches and/or "Sponsors" of these teams aren't accountable to anyone. They seem to always have the money for great gear and to travel all over the country. Surely they don't have to sell magazine subscriptions or boxes of donuts to raise this money. When I played basketball back in the day...these kind of things didn't exist. You had Summer Leagues, but they stayed within the Metro Area and they were run by the High School Coaches, not guys who have no attatchment to pretty much anything other than money
heir policing of both AAU Coaches and Agents. The Agents in particular are a problem. The all are looking to make a buck...and in some cases any way possible, rules be damned. And then there are the AAU Coaches. I still wonder sometimes how the "AAU Teams" have become the outlet and place to turn for all successful High School basketball players. The Coaches and/or "Sponsors" of these teams aren't accountable to anyone. They seem to always have the money for great gear and to travel all over the country. Surely they don't have to sell magazine subscriptions or boxes of donuts to raise this money. When I played basketball back in the day...these kind of things didn't exist. You had Summer Leagues, but they stayed within the Metro Area and they were run by the High School Coaches, not guys who have no attatchment to pretty much anything other than money((Kevin Love photo Courtesy: Google Search))
Why doesn't anyone police the AAU Teams? Many of the Coaches seem to be in it to make a buck. They don't seem to have a problem taking other peoples money on the promise that they will deliver a "Star" player. Why can't they be policed? Why can't they work within the rules like a High School or for that matter a College has to?
I can go on and on about this subject, its one that I have followed closely over the years. It is amazing to see how the game has developed from a game to a business. Not just on the Professional Level, but apparently it has fanned out to include the Grade Schools.
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