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Is it basketball?

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JAF
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Jeremy Leveille
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Is it basketball? Empty Is it basketball?

Post  Bert54the1 Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:18 pm

In this forum in the last couple of weeks lack of scoring has been discussed. Many scores have been in the 40s, a few in the 30s (Pinkerton's 35-32 win against the Winneys), and a few have failed to get out of the 20s.

Is it a down year for talent? A year where players can't shoot? Or is it the officiating?

It seems according to a few reliable sources that I have spoken to (especially one at the Spaulding Central game) basketball in New Hampshire is a blood bath. Depending who you have officiating any given night can be a mugging. Hand checks, holding etc.

I've see about 16 games this season and I tend to agree. I am simply looking for other opinions.


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Post  SeacoastDad Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:18 pm

I'm not sure if the overall refereeing this year is any better or worse than other years, but from the games I've seen this season, there is one thing that really gripes me. It's the two-hand hand check that doesn't get called. Even though I am old school and don't like any kind of hand checking not being called, I guess I can live with the one-hand hand check. But, as soon as both hands are on the offensive player (especially way out beyond the arc) at the same time, I think it's a foul and it should be called. I don't recall it being much of an issue in previous years, but it's certainly noticable (at least to me) this year. There's no favoritism -- it's (not) being called the same for both teams.

I don't know if that one pet peeve has much of an impact on the low scoring, but it's a good topic for conversation.

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Post  Tuesday and Friday Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:32 pm

We actually discussed this topic 2 seasons ago at great length. I started a thread about it and it had some nice input from Forum members. I will post more about this later.


And............. the refereeing has NADA, ZILCH AND ZERO to do with all these low scores.

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Post  Tuesday and Friday Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:51 pm

Before I add my thoughts on why scoring is so low this year, last season and the season before........

............... I would like to hear from Jeremy Leveille on the matter Wink

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Post  rwvogeley Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:07 am

My take for what it worth;

Scoring is down for the following reasons
Jacking up threes does not win in the long run. You need to establish an inside game to open the outside game.
Most kids do not realize that anyhone shooting just threes are a dime a dozen, it is the midrange game that coaches are
looking for to add to there offense.
Only players I have seen this year posting up Light from Pinky, Miller from Lderry who has the biggest upside of any player I have seen this year, and Lunn from BG(great hands) needs the ball more.
Hand checking-This was a major point of emphasis from the NHIAA two yeArs ago.One hand check is a reflex I buy that,
but two hands is a grab. If the officials called this teams would run out of players by halftime. I even asked an official before the BG West game if he was going to call the handcheck, he basically laughed and said there would be no players come the second half.

Fundamentals- How many times does a fast break exist and they don't stop at the free throw line and look at the wing-often
Guards coming back for the rebound from a foward, but instead hang at half court for the bunny. Also the foward getting a
rebound poujnding it up court jumping in the air and throwing the pass behind a teammate.
Last year at this time saw talented players like Madol, Green, Wickey, McClung , Caleb Donnelley
Talent is down this year big time.
Add all the above factors and that is why scoring is down.

Just my opinion---thoughts







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Post  Bert54the1 Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:12 am

Wouldn't physical play have something to do with low shooting percentages. It seems impossible that it wouldn't have an effect. It has to.

I did a little research....Just a sampling.

In a recent D1 game with less than 80 total points scored....28 total fouls called....17 total free throws shot.
In another D1 game with close to 80 total points scored there were 19 total fouls called...14 total free throws
And in still another D1 with close to 120 total points scored there were 38 total fouls called and over 50 free throws.
And in one more with over 120 points scored there were 32 fouls called and 29 total foul shots.
Ok ...in one more game with over 130 total points scored there were approximately 40 fouls called and over 50 free throws shot.

All three games were physical battles. I did my research.

I'm just thinking out loud.

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Post  Jeremy Leveille Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:00 am

Tuesday and Friday wrote:Before I add my thoughts on why scoring is so low this year, last season and the season before........

............... I would like to hear from Jeremy Leveille on the matter Wink
Ok I'll bite. T&F, I'm guessing you're insinuating that my answer would be about the lack of a shot clock. Well, you're right. That is part of the problem, no question about it. These are just some of the games I have witnessed so far this winter where a shot clock was utilized:

Bishop Guertin 76 Cambridge Rindge & Latin 73 (boys)
St. John's Prep 80 Bishop Guertin 63 (boys)
Kimball Union 78 Berwick 53 (boys)
New Hampton 71 Tabor 69 (girls)
Central Catholic 80 St. John's Prep 56 (boys)
St. Mark's 64 St. Paul's 44 (boys)

See a pattern? The Central Catholic game was a real treat to watch. Fast break basketball at its finest. Central pushed the ball hard up the floor, the ball moved seamlessly from one player to another. They were getting the ball inside, kicking it back out, moving it around the perimeter, getting and-1's inside and knocking down threes everywhere. St. John's Prep actually played pretty good defense, but Central was simply hitting on all cylinders and putting on a clinic. Man it was fun to watch! Watching that game I wished that is how basketball was played in NH. The bottom line is that the shot clock increases the speed of the game, which increases the amount of easy baskets in transition, and it also increases the number of shot attempts. More shot attempts = more points. A shot clock also means less teams playing zone, which means less teams coming down the court, making 2 passes and then settling for a three without creating any rhythm to their offense. Less teams playing zone also means more teams that pick up their man at half court, extend their defense and really get after it with tough, in-your-face man-to-man defense, pressuring the basketball hard and help defenders coming over to dive into passing lanes - the kind of defense that forces turnovers and gets layups on the other end.

Is the shot clock the only reason for the lack of scoring in the NHIAA? Nope. There are other reasons. One of them is the lack of depth in talent. Most teams now only have 1 legit scoring weapon, maybe 2 whereas in past years you would have 3 or 4 potent scorers on a team, sometimes even 5 or 6. This year opposing defenses can just gear up their defense to stopping that one kid. They'll play zone, box-and-1 or a triangle-and-2. Either that kid will still get 18 points but he'll have to take a ton of shots in order to do it so he shoots 6/18 and as a result his team scores 40 for the game. Or that defense prevents him from getting any good looks because they were geared up to stopping him, he only gets 7 points and since he doesn't have enough scorers around him his team only scores 40 for the game. And even if a team does have a pretty decent starting 5 chances are they have a big drop off when they go to their bench.

Hmmm, a couple other quick reasons...
-Lack of fundamentals - kids nowadays grow up jacking up threes and trying to make fancy no-look passes rather than focusing on the fundamentals. They want to slap the backboard while they do a layup because apparently is looks cool. Well guess what, it doesn't look cool when you miss the layup because you slapped the backboard so hard. They want to do a behind the back pass on the break to a teammate who isn't even ahead of the basketball (nor is he running in his lane wide enough on the break like he's supposed to) and as a result the ball sails into the bleachers rather than making the simple play, coming to a jump top at the foul line, looking off the defender and making a crisp bounce to a cutting teammate for a layup.

-Lack of ball movement - too many times players are coming down the court and jacking up threes or making one pass and then a shot.

-Overall sloppy play - often times you either have kids out there running around like chickens with their heads cut off going 110 miles an hour at this frantic pace and as a result they're chucking the ball over a teammate's head or they get a wide open layup and the ball slams against the back board and goes into an opponent's hands. Either that or the pace is so slow that there's no rhythm to the game and no one's making any shots. Way too many turnovers this year.

-Poor free throw shooting - again, kids come up trying to put the ball between their legs and see who on their team can 'touch rim' rather than working on their free throws.

-Not as many pure shooters around anymore. We have had some real, knock down shooters in this state over the last few years. Burt, Fitzpatrick, Stevens, Donnelly, Gould, Colby, Meisser, McClung, Al-Darraji, LaRosa, Jones, Kimball, Vigars, Cronin, Mondoux, etc. Now we have Pat Welch who is a great shooter but then who else?

-Last but not least, PREP SCHOOLS - more and more of the state's top talent continues to go to prep school. Laguerre, King, Lombard, Auger, Joseph, Gilligan, O'Brien, Tarczewski, O'Connor, Nicholson, Jozokos, Rafferty, the Dean brothers and Bartoldus. Not to mention NH kids who have gone to Central Catholic like Desrosiers, Marsden and Gemmell. If all 17 of these kids had played all 4 years at their NHIAA school this is a MUCH different conversation we're having right now.

Ok that's all I got for now, I'm going to bed.

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Post  GNG Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:42 am

I don't believe it's the ref's. They have been calling the games the same way for years.

I believe it's a little of what everyone has mentioned above. The things that stands out to me is how bad these teams are fundamentally.If turnovers were points NH hoops would have the highest scoring offense in the nation.

Talent void, BIG TIME. It was not to long ago every team would have 3 to 4 really good hoop players. Now you are lucky 2 on a team, and in some cases finding one is a challenge.

Shot clock. My man Jeremy and I agree on this. Nothing else it would SPEED up the game. Not gonna happen in this state, not in my lifetime.

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Post  Bert54the1 Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:21 am

I agree, it's a lot of things. Most of what Jeremy says is true. However, I don't see how having a shot clock is going to stop teams from playing zone. Lots of colleges play it...

Lack of fundamentals....Sloppy play....putting the ball through their legs for no advantage.......turnovers......Sounds like an AAU game broke out in NH.

I will never disagree...it does seem that the quality of play is down. But how is that so? Why? These kids are playing basketball 12 months a year. It has to be something more. Jeremy, are you saying the coaching is down, too?

Don't discount the officials role in this. Look at the #'s I posted last evening. Who's behind the whistle makes a difference.

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Post  JAF Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:52 am

I agree with a lot of what Jeremy writes. I would like to add though that kids focusing on one sport has also taken its toll - especially in this state. There just isn't enough depth to lose 3-5 players per team to focus on some other sport. Those 3-5 kids may not be the top scorers, but they certainly make an impact or play some role.

I believe the lack of fundamentals comes from two factors - #1 (by far) video games and #2 coaching. I know when I grew up we'd be playing some sport outdoors rather than some video game. Having coached travel basketball in Litchfield at the 3rd-6th grade level for about 10-12 years between my 3 boys - I got to see a lot of the players/teams that are now at the varsity level. Seeing teams rely on 1-2 players and have no real offense to speak of was the norm. Playing defense the right way was rarely taught. Talking with other coaches I also found that many didn't have a "normal practice" time - it seems the "game" has become more important than the "practice". Travel players are "rec superstars" which usually led to a lot of bad habits. Having a parent coaching from the stands to do something different than what the coach is asking for on the other side is more the norm than the exception.

As a coach, I definitely saw the benefits of two things... #1 - keeping track of all shots taken/made and #2 using that data in practice to work on layups, shots within 5' of the basket, and the medium range jumper. We also spent at least 10 minutes of our weekly 90 minute practice working on free throws. That's difficult to do - as a coach, you're always trying to maximize your time. For me - it was worth it in the end as our shooting and free throw percentages went up as the year went on. I used to use one of those weighted balls for a passing drill - that increased our accuracy and speed on the pass. Trying to get everyone involved instead of just feeding 1 or 2 players the ball was also a key. Telling players that I need them more for defense *and* having their parents "buy in" certainly helped. I saw quite a few teams that had one player scoring 70% of their points. I could then take my lanky, speedy, in your face defender and make the other teams offensive player work harder. He would get his points, but come crunch time he may not be scoring as much.

Even though I've gone to the other side as a referee I still see a lot of the same lack of teaching fundamentals at the travel level. Since I'm "new" I get to officiate Frosh and JV games - I'm not sure we're going to see "great basketball" any time in the near future. Any really good players get quickly moved up to the varsity bench - some get varsity minutes, but again those 3-5 players that are focusing on other sports have made an impact on the FR/JV level. Finally, something for you to ponder about hand checks and fouls called. Prior to every game, referees have a "pre-game" - that's where you talk about the rules and more or less your style. In one recent pregame between rivals, my partner and I talked about being "tight" early on. We must have called 8 fouls in 2 minutes. Now two things happened #1 - the parents started grumbling about "letting them play" and #2 - the coaches took the opportunity during free throws to call over players and tell them to knock it off. For the rest of the game we may have called 8 fouls (until perhaps the last minute or so), but the game started having flow. As a referee, parent, coach, and player - flow is what you strive for, right? I cannot control whether you make your layups, free throws, jump shots, or 3-point shots, but I do want you to play basketball so that I do not have to be "part of the game". The biggest complement an official can have is to not be seen. I think coaches essentially telling their players to get away with as much as the referees will allow is wrong - coach your players to play basketball like the game should be played. It's easy to point the finger at the referee because he/she is or isn't calling certain fouls (in particular the hand check), but who taught and encourages the player to hand check? Coaches (and referees) don't want too many fouls called because that means players 8, 9, & 10 on the bench will get a lot of play time. As one coach said recently at referee meeting "who wants to see my #8 player in the game, not me and certainly not you".

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Post  JustinMcIsaac Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:02 am

I would agree that a shot clock is needed in HS B Ball- though I don't necessarily think that will bump up the scores. I think better defenses are being employed by most teams- kids playing HS Ball now watched the Celtics win a title on the strength of team defense, and I think that has rubbed off on the play and coaching philosophy of a lot of teams.

I think another factor is that HS ball is starting to mirror college ball on offense- it's either a lay up or a 3. No mid range jump shooting, or not a ton of it.

The Souhegan vs Portsmouth D2 Semi Final from last year was one of the lowest scoring games I can remember, and it was by no means poorly played. A defensive game isn't for everyone, but when played at a high level can be quite entertaining,


Last edited by JustinMcIsaac on Tue Feb 14, 2012 11:03 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : I spell like a 3rd grader)

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Post  rwvogeley Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:38 pm

I think Jeremy hit the nail on the head. A shot clock is needed and the reason for the fouls and free throws numbers get back to the hand checking.
If you talk to any college coach they can assess a team and its coaching rather quickly, how they defend the pivot and how the hedge and recover on screens. These are things that need to be taught while shooting can be done on there own.
I remember talking to acurrent NH player and he was telling how great his team is because they ahd a kid who could windmill jam.
I asked him if that meant they started the game with a three point lead. He coiuldn't understand that it didn't mean anything to the scorebook. That is the problem today, the kids perception to what the game is really about--the teaam and not some kid hotdogging for his friends in the stands.
I think that AAU can also take some of the blame. Parents who don't like the way a coach is treating their superstar kid can start his own team tomorrow and does.Too much focus on winning and not focusing on the basics.

That is why I enjoy seeing a team like Spaulding play, Year in and year out, their coach has his players up there by setting screens and boxing out and help defense.
Most colleges do n ot play zone. They play a combination which is a man to man and switch on crosses withthe weak side foward playing the passing lanes. Or they try the Syracuse flex-usually unsuccessfully.
















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Post  basketballtime Wed Feb 15, 2012 1:07 am

To me it's quite obvious what the differences are. First off Jeremy is correct the shot clock makes the game faster which leads to more points being scored. The second thing is the speed that it's played at. If you truly want to see what the difference between NH highschool basketball is other than the shot clock go watch a prep team play. They do everything at a much higher speed and more physical style than you see watching NH highschool basketball. That's why I think parents should wake up and see that if your kid wants to play as high a level as they can then they need to put them in the highest level they can find so that they learn how to play at that speed. I actually think aaa is great for kids from NH because it brings them out to the real world of basketball. The bottom line is if you want to get better then be with the best around and challenge yourself to reach that level. bounce

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Post  JAF Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:00 am


I've heard the prime excuse to not have shot clock is cost. That is cost to buy, install, and operate. Also, while some schools use students to work the table, many use adults or teachers that get paid to work. Whether its true or not, who knows.

I think it's interesting that basketballtime notes that prep games are faster and more physical. Physicality is one of those issues that is under constant discussion in referee circles especially as it relates to how the game is called at different divisions. Watch a D1 game, then go watch a D4 game. The Campbell coach spoke to the referees this past weekend - he had some comments about how when they travel "up north" he has to tell the boys to not breathe to heavily on their opponents. Teams that come to Campbell expect a "bloodbath" because they get Manchester/Nashua area referees.

I think you meant aau (not aaa) - in any case to some level I agree, but there is a real water down there too. Anyone can put together a team - there are some good programs out there, but not all aau is equal. Much faster game, they don't want fouls called, and defense is rarely a concern. Whether that's good or not depends on your viewpoint. Winning 100-20 happens a lot - sometimes it's because some coach is 'getting back' at some other program for their beatdown in a previous year.

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Post  GNG Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:44 am

Friend of mine who was at the game texted this after the Merrimack- Dover game. "Horrible basketball game"


That seems to be the norm rather then the exception for alot of teams pale this season. Sad No Sleep confused

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Post  Bert54the1 Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:47 pm

Took the wife out for a hot Valentine's date....Dover @ Merrimack.....It was not pretty. The refs had little to do with ugliness. There is not too much to add....just ugly.

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Post  NHhoops Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:20 am

I know exactly why the level of talent has declined in NH high school basketball, and it's got nothing to do with the refs, the shot clock, the coaches, or the food these kids are eating. It's because of the gradual death of AAU in the state of New Hampshire that has taken place over the last 6-7 years. Whether you agree with the principles of AAU or not, the fact of the matter is that playing for an AAU team in the spring and summer is the best way for local kids to improve their games, and determine whether they can play at the next level. AAU provides local NH kids an opportunity not only to practice 1-2 nights a week during the offseason, working on their ball skills, but to travel to tournaments throughout the Northeast and the country and play 3-4 games a weekend against more talented, athletic teams loaded with D1 abd D2-level talent. It is just inevitable that your game improves when you are challenged like that.

If you go back to a period of the last 5-7 years, you could go up to the AAU state tournament in Durham and see a good 8-10 AAU teams in the U16 and U17 brackets competing with each other. Teams like the NH Playerz, NH Wildcats, NH Falcons, Concord Storm, Seacoast Stingrays, Nashua Shamrocks, and FastBreak. These teams were loaded with the best high school players from the Concord, Nashua, Manchester, and Seacoast area. Because of the sheer number of teams, many more NH kids were given an opportunity to ply their trade in the off-season. You'd have guys like Tyler Roche, Corey Hassan, Paul Chergey, Mike Stys, Joe Fremeau, Zach Etten, etc running with and against each other.

Sometime around 3-4 years ago, AAU started dying in NH. Parent coaches like Scott Hill (Falcons) and Jim Mulvey (Stingrays) disbanded their programs because their boys were no longer involved. At that time, Mark Dunham started building the Jayhawks into the preeminent AAU program in the state. He attracted all the best local talent, and even his "B" team had some of the best high school players around. The problem was, at the same time, all the other AAU programs started disappearing. No more Concord Storm, Nashua Shamrocks, NH Falcons, etc. If you were a good high school player, you now had very few options to play AAU. Sudi Lett was just starting the Bishop Elite, but that was more of a local Manchester club team in its early days. Then, two years ago, Mark Dunham moved to New Jersey and the Jayhawks folded, leaving the Bishop Elite as currently the only local AAU team who is committed to competing on a more national level.

So you see the problem? Several years ago, local NHIAA players had plenty of opportunities to play for an AAU team, and all that hard work in the off-season was reflected on the high school courts the following winter. If you are a sophomore or junior now in NH, and want to play year-round and compete against better competition outside the state, what are your options? Sudi Lett can only carry so many players. Unless some other coaches step up and establish some competitive AAU programs for local kids (and I'm not forgetting Granite State Raiders and Frank Alosa, but I consider that more of a paid basketball academy than an AAU program, because they don't participate in any tournaments outside the state), the level of NHIAA talent will continue to detoriate. Our kids need to have the platform to compete against better talent during the off-season. Because that platform has been missing the last few years, we are seeing the results of it in terms of a decreased skill level amongst current high school players, and quite frankly, some very boring games to watch.

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Post  JAF Thu Feb 16, 2012 12:17 pm


Very interesting NHhoops - makes a lot of sense. I know when my boys were at the younger ages there weren't too many options - probably 4-6 teams I was aware (U12 through U14 - in fact T&F's son and my son both played for Scott's Falcons program). However, in the years since I've been a referee there seems to be a lot more teams - although now that you mention it - I don't remember doing any AAU games last Spring although I don't pay as close attention anymore since my kids aren't playing basketball anymore. It's interesting that there isn't a parent that's willing to step up - they certainly like to "coach" or "officiate" from the other side and almost always seem to know more than the "coach" or "referee". Wink Razz

Something else happened about 3-4 years ago - the State of NH - Charitable Trusts Division started tracking down all the various AAU programs in NH and requiring them to register and report (I know because I ran a baseball program). There's a lot of extra paperwork and scrutiny that some didn't want to deal with. I understand the "need" for the scrutiny especially since you're talking about people's money and it's not cheap to run these programs, but I have to imagine that whole process scared off a few well meaning parents.

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Post  Bert54the1 Thu Feb 16, 2012 1:14 pm

I believe that there is a dearth of fundamental basketball. Maybe that's why old school officials, and you all know who they are, will not call anything less than blood letting. They are disgusted with the game as well.

In the physical NH game where fundamentals should be a necessity, where "strong on the floor" should be a player's mantra, we see an absence of these basic foundations. Players like Salem's Klecan 5 feet 5 inches of heart, are awesome because they exhibit these fundamentals. Corey Hassan could do those high-light-reel things, but he had a sense of fundamentals and his shot didn't look like a mistake. Hassan also had a work ethic as well, 500 jumpers a day.......That's what the legend says...whether it was July 5th, August 20th, or a Saturday after practice....he did the work.

Today, every game I see those loose, sloppy players who are a turnover waiting to happen. One-handed passes off the dribble, Putting the ball between your legs not to get an advantage, but to look cool....... Trinity has Sistare who is pretty fundamental for a freshman.....I like his game. I believe foundations and fundamentals start at an early age, but youth coaches are another discussion.

Anyway, I think it goes way beyond AAU. I know a lot of kids who play AAU. I speak to them about it, and they tell me they played 5 games this past weekend in Mass or Rhode Island, had a practice on Wednesday....yada yada yada.....They also tell me that fundamentals are rarely stressed. The game's about up and down, throwing it down, or shooting the three ball. Maybe I don't know the right kids. Someone once told me that Hassan and his crowd played for a guy, and forgive me if I spell his name incorrectly, Paul Faizon, who stressed fundamentals and skill development at practices. You know that basic, boring stuff. It is my understanding that in its swagger and allure, AAU basketball doesn't really encourage that today.

This is my perception...I'm not an AAU guru...I don't enjoy spending my weekends in a gymnasium in April. I only know what I hear.

Maybe there were never any really good, fundamental, skilled basketball players back in the days before AAU when kids played three sports. I don't know. Maybe we truly need AAU, or we will never see good basketball again in NH.

I guess I need to pay more attention to student/basketball-athletes who have graduated in the last couple of years and see where they are playing now.

I'm thinking about Charles Barkley's recent criticisms of the poor play in the NBA and basketball in general. (And everyone knows that the NBA still offers the excitement of high-flying slam dunks which by the way always constitute 8 of the top 10 every morning on ESPN. Did you ever see a jump stop, a bounce pass and a lay-in on the top-ten?) Anyway, to criticize itself ESPN even showed a bunch of low-lights to accompany Barkley's rant. I wonder if those guys played AAU?



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Post  NHhoops Thu Feb 16, 2012 1:25 pm

Just to clarify, JAF, I'm sure there are a few more New Hampshire AAU programs currently out there than I've given credit for, but they tend to be very localized teams serving just a few surrounding towns, or even have players from just one high school who want to play AAU together. They may participate in local tournaments at the RAC or the Sportszone, playing against other NH and VT-based teams. What my post is alluding to is the lack of "regional" or "national" AAU teams in NH, which travel to major tournaments like the Gym Rat in Albany, Hoop Mountain in CT, the Rumble in the Bronx, or the AAU Nationals in Florida. If we want to get back to the talent level of players such as Tyler Roche, Corey Hassan, Chris Lutz, and Chad Millard, then something needs to be done to rejuvenate the "grassroots" level of basketball in this state, where local kids have the opportunity to train with the best in the summer, and get outside the state for some major competition. Of course, I realize these kind of players I've mentioned are now the ones most likely to transfer to the prep schools, whereas back in the day of Roche, Hassan, etc., that wasn't as much of a consideration. I certainly meant no slight to the local AAU teams in NH, because I know those coaches are volunteering their time and giving kids an opportunity to play ball.

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Post  basketballtime Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:08 pm

The reason you should have your child play aau ball is so number one they can play more basketball while hopefully getting on a strong aau team that competes outside the state against top level players so they can get an understanding of the speed and physicality of the game. When it comes to skills you have to be pretty naive to think your kid is going to get better skill sets without parent intervention. In other words what makes a parent think you can drop your kid off at a camp or practice or a school and think they are going to get what they need skill wise to get better? Don't get me wrong there are plenty of good coaches out there but are they really helping your kid do what they need to be the best possible player they can be? There are lots of variables such as how much time the coach works with your kid or what kind of instruction they are giving them and if they even know how to see a mechanical flaw and fix it? The real truth lies with the parents taking the time to research the situation their child is in and the game of basketball mechanics with their child so they are on the same page. A parent can offer their child a lot more than any other coach can as long as they are willing to spend the time it takes learning the game and being there for their child. Once you and your child understand the all the skills it will take hours and hours of repetition to to achieve your childs goals much more than any coach could ever give your child. So the bottom line is there are no short cuts and if your kid loves the game enough to put their blood sweat and tears into the game to be the best they can be why I guess it's up to the parent to give them as much help as they can don't ya think???? bounce

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Post  Bert54the1 Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:20 am

"The real truth lies with the parents taking the time to research the situation their child is in and the game of basketball mechanics with their child so they are on the same page. A parent can offer their child a lot more than any other coach can as long as they are willing to spend the time it takes learning the game and being there for their child. Once you and your child understand the all the skills it will take hours and hours of repetition to to achieve your childs goals much more than any coach could ever give your child."

Yes parents have a role in this...
1. Be there for the kid.
2. Stress to them that TEAM is everything.
3. Encourage them to listen to their coaches and never make excuses.
4.Research the best coaches, programs....
5. Get your child individual skill work when financially possible. This is big in baseball circles.....If you can't afford it, ask the local high school coach if he has a player who knows fundamentals and would like a part-time job.
6. Take your kid to practice every time he needs a ride.
7. Study the coach, maybe try to understand a coach's philosophy...
8. Shut-up and let the coach coach.
9. Teach you child that their basketball future after HS is a long shot at best. Tell them to study, do their homework, and they will have a future in college, but it most likely won't be on the basketball court.

But really, you want a parent to buy a book and learn basketball skills to teach their sons and daughters. Maybe If my kids were 6'11" I would buy a book and teach them a drop-step.

Unfortunately, many parents have no understanding of the game or how to coach or teach it. Go to a JV game, before the varsity crowd gets there, and listen. Listen to the father who hasn't played since 5th grade yell to his kid to shoot. Or the mother who thinks that her son is the second coming, she's yelling at another kid to pass.

It's late and I'm ranting. How about that Nashua South team? I heard they dumped West...look out.


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Post  nhhoopsguy Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:39 am

Lots of AAU programs currently promise a lot of things to parents, including visits from prep school coaches, college coaches and such!
If you look at the past five years of NH basketball, and I am only counting NHIAA schools, how many of those players have recieved $$ for college for BASKETBALL, not another sport?
I don't include prep schools, as most of those players are from out of NH!

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Post  nhhoopsguy Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:40 am

And the real answer to the low scoring is poor foul shooting, turnovers and some basic bad basketball !

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Post  Bert54the1 Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:04 am

I agree AAU promises a lot; do they deliver?


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