Rich kids run basketball now

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Heir Ball: How the Cost of Youth Sports Is Changing the N.B.A.

Pro sports have long seemed like the closest thing we have to a true meritocracy. But maybe not anymore.

www.newyorker.com

There is a lot to agree with here. Like there was one kid on one of my son's teams that would never be on the squad if it wasn't for the fact that his family is heavy in the banking world. His talent was height. I've held off on some stuff simply out of cost for my kid. As he gets ready to enter middle school, the high school varsity head coach wants my kid to play on the Under Armour circuit with Indiana Game. In contrast, I used to walk to various spots and hoop as a kid. I do that for my kid when time allows, just to play on the blacktop because if you are good, your game will travel and you'll be good anywhere, with anyone. There is a psychosis to it all. You can fundraise to minimize cost but for the most part, it's coming out of my pocket.

The biggest elephant though is genetics. I'm six feet even. My son will be between 5'9 to my height give or take. Eventually, you run up against people that are five inches taller than you and can do the same stuff as yourself. There's where rubber truly meets the road. That's why I'm pragmatic about this. I know how this story should end. Sadly, a lot of other parents do not.

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

If your parents didn’t play at a high level you’re not making it

Not all players parents made the NBA or WNBA but many of them played some level of college basketball or internationally

Knueppel’s moms is the All-Time leading scorer at Wisconsin-Green Bay and his pops and his brothers were high level 3-on-3 players

That's not the conclusion you should take from that.

What this does signal, is that many of the traits and genetics of his parents got passed onto their kids....and that because of their exceptionalism within the sport, they're much easier to fine tune training for their kids to maximize skill.


There are cats out here who engaged in full on eugenics ( Lavar Ball and John Brown) to ensure their kids would get the maximum amount of desirable traits to make their path in sports that much easier.

 

[King Poetic]

Questions for New Yorkers and Chicago heads

Do u see a ton of hood basketball prospects anymore straight from the playground or even those kids are no more

 

[RedBull]

Questions for New Yorkers and Chicago heads

Do u see a ton of hood basketball prospects anymore straight from the playground or even those kids are no more

In NYC, from MY perspective I see a lot of kids who don’t get fair chances due to favoritism and lack of exposure due to relationships. These circuits aren’t about developing raw talent, it’s about WINNING with the best players who have favor. Years ago if you was nice you got burn, even if you were a wild street kid. Now, you can be nice but they’re kids you're nicer than have supreme favor due to relationships or MONEY.

 

[HandyWithTheSteel]

NFL fans: Wow John Bosa had 2 sons become elite NFL players, what a great story

NBA fans: Let’s all pretend that NBA players having sons in the NBA is a major problem in an attempt to prop up the ‘90s.

 

[Big Boss]

 

[010101]

internationally they pay the talent

soon as they peep a child with talent they will put that child on contract jobs for your parents housing education taken care of

you could be in the slums the scouts will find you if you really have it

the states are all about capitalism & exploitation so the formula is flipped

make the talent pay squeeze as much as you can out of the talent & pay as little as you can

..........

*

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Partially true. That said, you, as a parent, can do everything that a trainer does, provided you train and learn yourself so that you can teach your child. As I've said before, my son goes to a trainer for $20 an hour. That's dirt cheap. You got some trainers that are out here charging $50 an hour for some shyt a few YouTube searches will find you. Really basic shyt. The work doesn't end with the trainer, you still have to work at home and other avenues whenever possible.

 

[jwinfield]

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

This will just cause stuff to splinter. You aren't going to be able to monopolize this. Sure, some teams will chase this but for most, it'll be business as usual. My son had two games today. Cost for the team for the session is $575 for like 16 games. They may want to do it and will get some stuff done but they will be trying to take on things like Nike's EBYL Circuit, New Balance or Under Armour Circuit but they will fail. The shoe companies got a lot of this in a choke hold.

 

[Big Mountain Hélà]

 

[Houston911]

Insane

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

I went to high school with Eugene Wilson at Merrillville. His dad did that. This isn't uncommon.

 

[Rekkapryde]

In NYC, from MY perspective I see a lot of kids who don’t get fair chances due to favoritism and lack of exposure due to relationships. These circuits aren’t about developing raw talent, it’s about WINNING with the best players who have favor. Years ago if you was nice you got burn, even if you were a wild street kid. Now, you can be nice but they’re kids you're nicer than have supreme favor due to relationships or MONEY.

definitely can see that.

but if you're nice, these private schools will pluck you from the hood EARLY in a heartbeat.

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

In NYC, from MY perspective I see a lot of kids who don’t get fair chances due to favoritism and lack of exposure due to relationships. These circuits aren’t about developing raw talent, it’s about WINNING with the best players who have favor. Years ago if you was nice you got burn, even if you were a wild street kid. Now, you can be nice but they’re kids you're nicer than have supreme favor due to relationships or MONEY.

Admittedly, I over-accommodate. Fortunately, I'm the boss at work that I can change my schedule from an 8-5 to a 7-4. I've taken off four Friday's in a row so my kid can play open runs with his travel team and any prospective kids wanting to play with his team.

Availability also gets these kids through these doors. It's a game to be played brehs. I'm very aware and cognizant of it. Thankfully, my son is talented enough to bypass the politics everywhere he is. I'm not vocal as every parent knows I sit at half court and record the games and I'm at every practice so no one can run game on me about what is what about the status of the team.

Thankfully, the pecking order of the squad is pretty solidified but I watch parents of lesser talented kids jockey and position themselves to play. I've watched a kid get virtually banned from playing on the hoops squad ever because his dad is too much of a ticking time bomb. Everywhere he's ever been, including the ymca, where they don't even keep score, he's been kicked out of. On the fourth grade team with my son, cursed at the coach the first day of the new season, turns out, coach of the the team is siblings with the high school principal.

Relationships: Who you know and not what you know, wins the race brehs.