Transfer Portal / NIL Marketplace:
Per a close source, AJ Storr asked Kansas for $1,000,000. The Jayhawks countered with $750,000 take it or leave it offer.
Storr left it.
@GovMikeDeWine
How do you plan on financially assisting those who work as Servers? Bartenders? Dishwashers? Hostesses? Etc —You need to FREEZE RENT/Mortgages/All Utilities in the State of Ohio. If the service industry can’t work, they can’t pay their bills!
Things I hardly see in HS Basketball:
•Jump Stops
•Drift Passes
•Ball Fakes
•Jab Steps
•Elite Role Guys
•Combo Post Moves
•Vocal Teams
•Pass 1st Guards
•Body to Body Ball Screens
•Players who admit it’s their fault
•Mean kids who like contact
•Eye Contact in huddles
Before AAU there was this. Kids playing outside. Calling their own fouls. Keeping their own score. Hooping against obscure older guys your parents told you not to be around...oh and keeping score to see who actually wins and gets to stay on the court. What a scene.
Nate Oats was a HS Teacher & Basketball Coach 8 years ago at Romulus HS in Michigan.
Today he got a 3-year contract extension through 2027. The base salary will increase to $3.2 million per/year.
You can do all the drills with your trainer, play same age AAU all day long & shoot on the gun until the street lights come on...but until you’re willing to kick someone else’s butt...you’re just a prospect and not a hooper. You have to hate losing in order to be different.
Players when you get home tonight take the trash out, put the dishes away, fold some laundry. Somebody just paid 4-figures this weekend for you to Hoop. Pay them back with a Thank you. It’s not cheap trying to get ordinary people a college scholarship!
A college basketball scholarship used to be an opportunity for some kids to have a better life than their parents...today it’s become about social media status or just another logo for a graphic designer.
128 College Credit Hours goes a lot further than 128 retweets or likes!
College Kids: If your lucky enough to have a Dad or a Mom that sends you letters, emails, text messages or left a voice message while your away from home. Save them. Someday when your coolness wears off you’ll read them, absorb them and thank them for doing it.
College Prospects: You have 55 days until College Coaches can watch you play AAU again. Finish Strong in the Classroom, Get in the best Shape of your life. Cut some Grass or Wash a car. Enjoy some humility. Prepare yourself for a great July!
The best players have 1 thing in common. They don’t want to dissapoint their Coach or Team...They care more about the Team Winning than the personal accolades.
I see Parents tweeting all day how much travel ball costs and how no D1 coaches aren’t even out yet.
We’ve only been telling you this for the last 5 years…
Crazy is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result.
AAU Tournament Directors: In 2021 stop wasting money on cheap trophies....give the kids something worthwhile...a shirt, a backpack, something they can use.
It will only help brand your event when the kids wear the item.
Back to my cereal.
3 things that catch my eye in AAU:
-Guards who get their teams to huddle up.
-Kids who jump stop or pass/shot fake.
-Kids who are vocal, but don’t look into the crowd for acceptance.
HS Kids: There’s nothing wrong with being a Role guy.
•Disrupt the other teams offense playing defense. Get deflections & 50/50 balls.
•Grab Offensive Rebounds.
•Make Foul Shots.
•Take Charges
•Be Vocal
Elite Role Players are a lost commodity. College Coaches want them!
If I were a 2023 high school player I’d try to get to as many College Elite Camps as possible.
There’s no guarantee a college coach will go see you in July on your aau team.
If you pay your $85 camp fee— I guarantee they will evaluate you at their elite camp.
Prospects: If you’re being offered by someone who hasn’t shook your hand, seen you play live or spoke to your coach, guardian or parents...don’t be surprised when they ghost you. A lot of offers right now are for PR buzz.
Recruiting is a Relationship.
Basketball is a Business.
AAU Players: You don’t need to post it or tweet it, but you need to thank whoever is letting you play this weekend. Every game is a FREE audition for a $200,000 scholarship.
Enjoy it. Playing hard, it’s fun.
Carry On.
#PrepScouting
Tips for AAU Players this Week:
•Control what you can Control.
•Have great body language.
•Be Coachable. Look your coach in the eyes.
•Take the blame even if it wasn’t your fault.
•Sprint. Play Hard. Take a charge.
•Go Hard in the layup line. Take realistic game shots.
Why is there soo much bad HS Basketball right now?
•Point Guards don’t pass 1st.
•Shooters hunt & don’t read screens.
•Post players don’t post & screen.
•Role players don’t pass, cut or d-up.
•Assistants are now recruiters & not ball coaches.
•Head Coaches are promoters.
The July Shoe Circuits: AAU Grid
Nike EYBL Peach Jam
July 13-25
N. Augusta, SC
UAA Session 1
July 8-11
Cartersville, GA
UAA Session 2
July 16-18
Frisco, TX
UAA Finals
July 23-25
Westfield, IN
Adidas 3SSB
Live 1
July 8-11
Birmingham, AL
Adidas 3SSB
Live 2
July 16-18
Omaha,NE
Chris Beard was a D2 coach 4 years ago. Now he is coaching in the National Title Game.
Tony Bennett was the first 1-seed to ever lose to a 16-seed a year ago. Now he is coaching in the National Title Game.
God is Good.
Imagine trying or bypassing 1 year of College to go to the G-League and play in front of 250 fans —-missing out on a chance to play in a Final 4 game like that tonight...
2022 Prospects:
•If you got a phone call from a College Coach today...Congrats, they’re interested in you.
•This doesn’t mean in 2 years they’ll still be intetested in you - You have to continue to get better & maintain contact.
•If you didn’t get a phone call, keep working!
If you told me 5 years ago Terry Rozier and TJ McConnell would be facing each other in the NBA Playoffs —I probably would have bet my 92 Ford Taurus on it...Simple lesson: Some kids get better & you can’t project heart.
July Coach Speak:
Where you staying?
Where’s your boss?
We need a game!
We still need a 19!
Who you like?
Who you watching?
Seen anybody for us?
I need a big!
Seen any shooters?
Who’s # 25 on court 4?
Did you fly or drive?
Where you going next week?
My boss hasn’t seen him!
Players:
If a school doesn’t call or text you in the next few days. You better get back in the gym ASAP! You also better thank your Mom, Dad, Coach, Parents, whoever it was, as they go back to work in the morning after hauling your butt around to chase your dream!
I only have 1 tenant of advice for kids playing AAU this weekend. Play Hard. No matter if you miss shots or if your team gets beat. Play hard. We always remember and talk about the kids who play hard. This is your ONLY audition.
PLAY HARD.
***SLEEPER ALERT***
Steven G. Keller
6-1/170/CG
2020 Graduate Student
Neptune, NJ
Democratic Elite Prep Tech
Elite Shooter with ability to play on or off the ball. Culture Changer.
NIL Collective Perspective:
Middle of the Road ACC Program has a roster budget (NIL) around $1.5 million.
Dayton unofficially had around $1.4 million in their collective.
Youngstown State had $350k last season and was speculated to be the highest NiL in the Horizon League.
Ohio teams like Moeller, St. Eds, Pick Central/North — just to name a few teams understand that you have to leave your comfort zone, your city and go play in events on a National Stage. December preparation will have them ready for March madness.
An early name is emerging for the Wofford Job. Lifetime Equipment manager Gordon Rogers. Both sides are ironing out the details. Reportedly wanting Clemson All-Access Football Pass, Cookout Gift Cards and a new pair of Adidas boost.
Potential D1 Prospects: There is only 1 Spring AAU Evaluation period this year. That’s means you have 2.5 days to play in front of D1 coaches.
Choose the AAU program that best serves your future. If you don’t play nobody will ever know how good you are or can be!
Norm Eavenson: High Major +
How lucky we all were to be friends with someone of his aptitude, his analysis, his character, his humility, his personality, all his life-lessons, his knowledge, his kindness, his humor, his transparency, his mentoring & his love.
Job Well Done.
2020 Prospects: If you received a Call or Text from a college coach today Congrats. This is the beginning of the process. Enjoy it. Don’t stop working...others will pass you up.
Upcoming Dates for College Prospects:
June 15th: College Coaches can call Prospects in the 2020 Class.
July 11th-15th: 1st NCAA Live Evaluation Period.
July 18th-22nd: 2nd NCAA Live Evaluation Period.
July 25th-29th: 3rd NCAA Live Evaluation Period.
There are roughly 550,000 High School Basketball Players in America — ONLY 3.5% will go on to play D1, D2 and or D3 combined!
Some of you don’t realize how good you have it…
Per a clo$e source, Butler is bumping up the head coaching salary pay closer to 2.4 million per/year for Thad and giving him an assistant pool around or near $800-900k.
Some Top Prospects from Saturday at Midwest Live.
@ohioBKcoaches
2024 Prospects:
Alex Bruskotter
Jonas Nichols
Joe Cabana
Jake Stephens
Warren Marshall
Duncan Moy
Kiir Kuany
Ian Ioppolo
Matt Biddell
Sharron Young
Hosea Steele
Jeremy Wilson
Jalen Brown
At 16 you can drive a car.
At 18 you can fight for your country.
At 21 you can drink a beer.
But in 2020, if you’re a college athlete you can’t play a sport because you have a 1.4% chance of getting Covid.
Oh, but you can attend classes and eat in the student union.
3 Things I hardly see with Guards:
1)Being Vocal on both ends.
2)Huddling their team up.
3)Waiting on ANY screen.
•Kids need to learn how to play slow-fast.
If you ever got to sit in a gym and watch basketball with these 3 guys…You were spoiled by the conversations, opinions and amazing topics.
Norm was the Teacher and we were all his pupils.
Real Hoopers find a way to get into the gym when school is canceled.
Days like this is when you made friends with a custodian...just to open up the back door for ya.
College Programs at the D4D
Kansas
Cedarville
Toledo
Youngstown St
Niagara
Mount Union
Marietta
California PA
Duquesne
Notre Dame College
Akron
Wisconsin
Lake Erie
Heidelberg
Cleveland st
Westminster
Tri-C
Hiram
Virginia tech
Northwestern
Miami-OH
WVU
Ashland
Pitt
Penn State
"The old adage is, parents overrate their kids by two levels and high school coaches overrate them by one level... Why engage? I'm probably not going to make them happy." -Norm
What do they all have in common???
Celtics:
Jayson Tatum
Jaylen Brown
Al Horford
Rob Williams
Grant Williams
Marcus Smart
Payton Pritchard
Miami:
Jimmy Butler
Pj Tucker
Bam
Udonis
Tyler Herro
Kyle Lowry
Oladipo
Markeiff
They NEVER transferred in College!!!
Names I’ve heard recommended for Ohio State today:
Bob Huggins
Randy Ayers
Jim Crutchfield
Thad Matta
Tate Moore
Mark Titus
Dawn Staley
Danny Nee
Gary Williams
John Behlein
Clark Kellogg
and counting….
2022 NCAA Division 1 Recruiting Calendar Updates:
April 8-10: AAU Events
April 22-24: AAU Events
June TBD: NBA Top 100 Camp
June 17-19: HS Events
June 24-26: HS Events
July 7-10: AAU Events
July 20-24: AAU Events
July 26-31: NCAA Academy Camps
Prospects: Nothing wrong with being a kid. Go see a movie, hit up miniature golf, cut some grass or wash a car...it’s ok to take a day off from the gym. You’re allowed to be a human. If you MISS the game, than your obsessed. Which is ok too. Sometimes you just need a refresh day.
Just because you received a D1 offer as a Freshman or Sophomore doesn’t mean that offer is still on the table come November of your Senior year. Don’t get comfortable!
Thanks to all the Players, Teams, Fans, Friends, College Coaches, Refs, Staff, Media and My family for making the Cleveland Dunk4Diabetes Shootout a success!
#d4d
Dear Senior Prospect,
It’s almost March 1st and you don’t have a D1 Offer yet. I’m sitting here waiting with a Full D2 Scholarship for you...but if you don’t accept it soon it will be gone!
Sincerely,
D2 Programs
Just because you’re not a D1 or D2 player doesn’t mean your career in basketball is over. A lot of College Coaches were not Scholarship players. Enjoy being part of a winning HS team & make yourself marketable for life.
Just saw a young black man...maybe 25/26 stop his SUV on Howe Ave in Akron, Ohio...get out of the vehichle and give a homeless white guy a bag of groceries from Giant Eagle.
And we have College Coaches making millions whining over a 10% paycut.
Grow Up. Be a Man. Be Thankful!
Parents & Players: I’ve been scouting HS basketball players since 2008. I scout for over 100 D1 Programs and another 20+ D2/D3 programs...nobody is asking about 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 players.
Don’t worry about your ranking. Worry about your physical and skill development.