George Dohrmann wrote a recent book titled Play Their Hearts Out. I'm reading it now and it is a good read, only in hardcover, so it runs $25. Most of us remember Dohrmann as the journalist who worked with Jan Ganglehoff to blow the whistle on the culture of academic integrity under the Haskins regime while he worked for the Pioneer Press.
His book is the result of following powerhouse AAU coach Joe Keller for 8 years with open access. Keller found Tyson Chandler and lost him to a Nike program led by Pat Barrett as a high schooler. Barrett made serious money off Chandler's development.
Dohrmann finds Keller a few years later with a new plan. Start a super team of 10 year olds with hopes of keeping them together and cashing in like Pat Barrett. Keller finds the "next Tyson Chandler" in Demetrius Walker who is tabbed as the best 10 year old player in the nation and builds a team around him. Walker is now a redshirt sophomore at New Mexico. Justin Cobbs was brought in for a short while on the team.
It's a wicked story and might shed some light on why Coach Smith struggled with Devoe Joseph. The book discusses how hard it is for college coaches to handle AAU stars who get cash, clothes, shoes, and even girls they meet on the road flown in as high schoolers. I inferred that the book suggests that the power of the AAU coach in some instances is impossible for a college coach to match even when the player in enrolled at the school. I can't help but think of the Devoe Joseph/Ro Russell dynamic while reading the book. There's also a bit of irony in that Keller and Barrett don't coach players much on fundamentals or during games, but focus on recruiting instead and devising plays that highlight the athletic ability of their stars in hopes that it attracts new, more talented players to their teams.
Great book, and an eye opener. I would be interested in hearing how people plugged in to the local AAU scene here can compare and contrast our situation to that in the book.
His book is the result of following powerhouse AAU coach Joe Keller for 8 years with open access. Keller found Tyson Chandler and lost him to a Nike program led by Pat Barrett as a high schooler. Barrett made serious money off Chandler's development.
Dohrmann finds Keller a few years later with a new plan. Start a super team of 10 year olds with hopes of keeping them together and cashing in like Pat Barrett. Keller finds the "next Tyson Chandler" in Demetrius Walker who is tabbed as the best 10 year old player in the nation and builds a team around him. Walker is now a redshirt sophomore at New Mexico. Justin Cobbs was brought in for a short while on the team.
It's a wicked story and might shed some light on why Coach Smith struggled with Devoe Joseph. The book discusses how hard it is for college coaches to handle AAU stars who get cash, clothes, shoes, and even girls they meet on the road flown in as high schoolers. I inferred that the book suggests that the power of the AAU coach in some instances is impossible for a college coach to match even when the player in enrolled at the school. I can't help but think of the Devoe Joseph/Ro Russell dynamic while reading the book. There's also a bit of irony in that Keller and Barrett don't coach players much on fundamentals or during games, but focus on recruiting instead and devising plays that highlight the athletic ability of their stars in hopes that it attracts new, more talented players to their teams.
Great book, and an eye opener. I would be interested in hearing how people plugged in to the local AAU scene here can compare and contrast our situation to that in the book.
