When did I learn this?

So I'm in the 2nd week of Cage Camp at Oklahoma Christian University (one of the largest fundamental basketball camps in the country), and as always it seems that the kids are getting worse and worse. Now let me qualify that last statement.

I am working with the NBA Division (10th -12th graders) this week for the first time in 10 years of camp; usually I am a Master Teacher or Director in one of the middle school leagues. This week there are approx. 8-10 seniors, 6-7 juniors, and the rest sophomores in a league of 44 kids. Out of the entire group there is 1 legit prospect as a sophomore, and about 8-10 kids that are pretty skilled, probably starters on their varsity teams. So I say all this to let you know that there is a lot of teaching going on in a pretty young high school group.

I have found myself telling my team multiple times, "Come on guys, you guys are high schoolers!" And so I think to myself..."when did I learn to play?"

Even though I played in college, I don't feel that I really understood the game and how to really play until my junior year in college thanks to a great coach. But I still knew how to set a screen, move without the ball, and how to shoot it a little when I was in high school. And that was with only freshman and sophomore ball in high school. So the question becomes why are these kids not learning and retaining the skills that are requisite to play and be successful at the game of basketball?

Is AAU to blame? Too many games? Is it other activities or interests (jobs, other sports, Xbox, etc)? Is it lack of quality coaches and teachers in the lower levels? I don't know. All I know is that as more and more kids are playing summer ball and less and less are going to camps or staying at home to practice, basketball players are getting worse. Is it any wonder that 2 recently recognizable names in the upper levels of basketball have publically talked about giving up AAU ball because of lack of fundamentals and too many games? (Brandon Roy and Stephen Curry)

It's time that we as coaches and parents start de-emphasizing the summer circuits and start encouraging our kids to work on their games individually or with a small group of friends. Let's save the summer tours for the top 1-2 kids on our teams/conferences and get the rest of the kids in the gyms so that they can help contribute to the success of their teams.

Players will not work on weaknesses during games. They will mostly play to their strengths.

Here's a great story I tell many young talented players:
A few years ago I sat with 2 very talented players after some pickup ball once camp was completed. One was Tyrone Ellis, All-American from Southern Nazarene who was in between successful seasons playing overseas and in the NBDL. The other was our redshirt sophomore power forward at Oklahoma Christian Jarred Merrill.
Tyrone had struggled individually the entire night, getting stripped by lesser players, not hitting shots...definitely not the player we had become accustomed to seeing dominate even the best players. But he let Jarred in on the secret to his struggles: He was working on his game. HE WAS WORKING ON HIS GAME DURING PICKUP BALL!!!!
During a time when most people are trying to brag and show each other up, he was purposefully doing things he was not good at in order to improve his game. He told me, "I know I can take these guys any time I want to. But I don't have anything to prove to those guys. I'm getting paid to play. I don't care what those guys think because they're not paying my check. My coach told me I needed to work on my between the legs dribble against pressure and to get into my shot; so that's what I'm doing."
WOW! What a novel idea!!! I don't know if this one conversation had the effect on Merrill as it did on me, although I reminded him of this often during the next couple of seasons, but he did improve a lot. Jarred went on to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding his last 2 years at OC and was named National Player of the Year. He's also playing overseas now after several NBA camps the past few years. What a great story!!!!!