George Ward believes he has some of the best boys basketball players in the state on his Detroit Martin Luther King high school team. He just wishes more people would pay attention to them.
After King (9-2) defeated Division 2 power Detroit Frederick Douglass (8-2) on Friday night, 55-46, where both teams struggled offensively but with King excelling defensively, Ward lamented about the attention, or lack thereof, two of his top players have received.
King's 6-foot-5 junior guard Omar Zeigler had 20 points and helped limit Douglass 4-star junior standout Pierre Brooks to just 11 points on the other side of the court. King sophomore guard Chansey Willis led all scorers with 22 points, including going on a 9-0 run on his own in the third quarter to help King pull away for good.
“At the end of the day, you know, AAU basketball, Nike and everybody else has really done, I don’t know, they’ve done a disservice to our kids,” Ward said. "You look at my point guard, he’s a 10th grader. Fundamentally, he’s probably the best point guard in the city of Detroit. Got crazy tonight because of the atmosphere because of the pressure he put on himself.
"Omar Zeigler, one of the best players in the state of Michigan, he's a junior. Nobody talks about them, I guess, because of their AAU affiliation, or lack thereof. But I tell you what, if anybody does evaluations instead of April through July and come in December through March and really see what team basketball is -- and really see a team that wants to make winning plays -- I can guarantee you, our kids would be looked at (by college recruiters) a little bit more."
Ward even insinuated a true winning culture does not thrive on the AAU circuit because it is too individualized.
"It's easy for a kid to go get 40 points against somebody who had Taco Bell an hour earlier and doesn't give a damn about winning," Ward said. "Our kids put everything into winning."
King has won its fair share of low-scoring defensive battles against ranked teams under Ward. The longtime coach believes the emphasis on defense is not given the proper attention it deserves in the AAU landscape and he is disappointed scouts and sponsors gravitate toward the AAU circuits anyway.
"We're doing our kids a disservice and … all of our kids get evaluated during the AAU time when there's really no defense being played, overall," Ward said. "You've got coaches on the sideline -- I mean I love our guys that volunteer their time to help young kids. But at the end of the day, to coach against (and) to play against a team that's got a game plan, that watches tape, you've got to make winning plays. You've got to take a charge. I think that's the time when you have to evaluate kids."
Ward argues that players are evaluated too much on scoring and overall impact on both sides of the ball really needs to be considered.
“(Zeigler’s) energy and his willingness to make running plays ... We talk about kids that can score,” King coach George Ward said. “We don’t talk about kids that make winning plays anymore. It’s unbelievable that this kid isn’t talked about more. But, so what? He’s on my team and I’m glad he’s here.”
Detroit basketball coach says AAU does ‘disservice’ to recruitment process
After King (9-2) defeated Division 2 power Detroit Frederick Douglass (8-2) on Friday night, 55-46, where both teams struggled offensively but with King excelling defensively, Ward lamented about the attention, or lack thereof, two of his top players have received.
King's 6-foot-5 junior guard Omar Zeigler had 20 points and helped limit Douglass 4-star junior standout Pierre Brooks to just 11 points on the other side of the court. King sophomore guard Chansey Willis led all scorers with 22 points, including going on a 9-0 run on his own in the third quarter to help King pull away for good.
“At the end of the day, you know, AAU basketball, Nike and everybody else has really done, I don’t know, they’ve done a disservice to our kids,” Ward said. "You look at my point guard, he’s a 10th grader. Fundamentally, he’s probably the best point guard in the city of Detroit. Got crazy tonight because of the atmosphere because of the pressure he put on himself.
"Omar Zeigler, one of the best players in the state of Michigan, he's a junior. Nobody talks about them, I guess, because of their AAU affiliation, or lack thereof. But I tell you what, if anybody does evaluations instead of April through July and come in December through March and really see what team basketball is -- and really see a team that wants to make winning plays -- I can guarantee you, our kids would be looked at (by college recruiters) a little bit more."
Ward even insinuated a true winning culture does not thrive on the AAU circuit because it is too individualized.
"It's easy for a kid to go get 40 points against somebody who had Taco Bell an hour earlier and doesn't give a damn about winning," Ward said. "Our kids put everything into winning."
King has won its fair share of low-scoring defensive battles against ranked teams under Ward. The longtime coach believes the emphasis on defense is not given the proper attention it deserves in the AAU landscape and he is disappointed scouts and sponsors gravitate toward the AAU circuits anyway.
"We're doing our kids a disservice and … all of our kids get evaluated during the AAU time when there's really no defense being played, overall," Ward said. "You've got coaches on the sideline -- I mean I love our guys that volunteer their time to help young kids. But at the end of the day, to coach against (and) to play against a team that's got a game plan, that watches tape, you've got to make winning plays. You've got to take a charge. I think that's the time when you have to evaluate kids."
Ward argues that players are evaluated too much on scoring and overall impact on both sides of the ball really needs to be considered.
“(Zeigler’s) energy and his willingness to make running plays ... We talk about kids that can score,” King coach George Ward said. “We don’t talk about kids that make winning plays anymore. It’s unbelievable that this kid isn’t talked about more. But, so what? He’s on my team and I’m glad he’s here.”
Detroit basketball coach says AAU does ‘disservice’ to recruitment process
AAU is all flash and sneaker connections
