If the kid is nice by the time they’re 11-12 years old somebody from somewhere will try to scoop em up..
If you’re playing public school ball there will be travel ball coaches around ..The refs know nikkas who are tapped in with public ball/prep .
If your kid is in the 8th grade and you have not been approached by em your kid isn’t nice.
Girls volleyball runs the same exact way
This is my stance as well.
Ultimately what's happening to youth basketball and youth sports in general was an inevitability. Ugly and predatory? Absolutely, but inevitable. And tbf, it was always predatory... it's just that college institutions and licensed sports agents were funneling it all for themselves whereas now the gates are open to everyone at all levels.
We hear all the time how fukked the economy is, so once you tell families hey your kid don't even gotta make it to the NBA, he (or she) just has to be a very good to great college athlete and they could pocket $100k/year at uni (or 1 million+/year if they're really popular)... and yea, that's going to have a domino effect on high school, AAU, youth ball, any and everything.
Hell, Gilbert Arenas told his son don't marry or knock up a girl that ain't at least 5'10 or some ish

bc 6'5 will be the new 6'1 as far as the point guard position goes.