Interesting development in recruiting re: John Wall

[coolhandgopher]

I've never seen Wall play, but in draft boards I've seen, he has been the consensus #1 pick for the 2010 draft and I think it's generally considered he'll be the top freshman in the nation next year. I would say that of the three big names on the list, each would vault into national title talk while the losers in this sweepstakes would face a gaping hole at the point guard position. The comments in this article from Wall's AAU coach illustrate another reason why the influence AAU has on college basketball is ridiculous.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox/2009/04/09/NATIONAL_CHAMPS_MAKING_LATE_RUN_AT_WALL

 

[MRJ]

Yeah, this is like a bad joke. Who can be more sleazy? It seems whoever can answer this question will also ultimately answer the question as to where John Wall will end up next year.

 

[Section201]

yuck

Yeah, this is like a bad joke. Who can be more sleazy? It seems whoever can answer this question will also ultimately answer the question as to where John Wall will end up next year.

I have go go wash my hands and my mouse. Yuck.

 

[Donovan]

I'm not a North Carolina fan, but I now kind of want him to go there to stick it to this coach.

 

[The Truth]

It's easy to condemn the AAU system en masse. Yes, there are people who take advantage of some of these kids, use them to get jobs or as a chip to cash in for a future payday if a player turns into a professional but for the all bad (and I've been lucky/cursed to see both) there are many coaches and support people who do this for the love of kids, for the love of the game and are generally trying to make a difference in young people's lives.

What no one wants to really talk about though are the real culprits: The NCAA, the NBA, the recruiting sites and the Shoe Companies. They're the ones directly responsible for turning AAU basketball into a glorified meat market and creating the atmosphere for those that seek to exploit kids as commodities.

As to John Wall:

I'm finding all this very funny. A couple of months ago he was a "bad kid", "a headcase with a posse" and now that Saint Roy gives him a phone call UNC fans are already penciling him in the starting lineup next season with platitudes like "Roy will be a father figure to him" or "too big a talent to pass up". And if he chooses Kentucky or Duke? They cheated and he's back to being a headcase with a posse and not good enough to wear that saintly powder blue.