Will this become an alternative to the AAU circuit...........

[PV-PRIDE]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/2009-06-09-youth-basketball-ihoops_N.htm

New NBA- and NCAA-backed project to bring order to youth basketball

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, NBA executives Adam Silver and Stu Jackson and attorney and TV analyst Len Elmore are among the newly named board members for an ambitious, NBA- and NCAA-backed youth basketball initiative scheduled to launch later this year.
Details of the venture — including its name, iHoops — were announced before Tuesday's Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Orlando.

The NBA and NCAA are funneling close to $15 million apiece over the next five years into the new enterprise, designed to bring order to the oft-criticized youth basketball scene. Among other things, it will offer skill evaluation and coaching clinics and certify coaches, game officials and events. It's hoped the iHoops website will become a networking center for players, parents and league and event organizers.

Krzyzewski called the venture "a positive response to the need for basketball's key stakeholders to take a more unified approach to youth basketball."

Shoe manufacturers Nike and adidas, which have figured prominently in the growth of the summer youth game, have signed on as founding sponsors.

Also on the board are NCAA senior vice president Greg Shaheen, who oversees the Division I men's basketball tournament, and Kathy Behrens, NBA executive vice president of social responsibility and player programs.

 

[Da_Sperm]

It won't be an alternative, more like a competitor. What many people don't realize is less than 1% of the AAU teams/organizations have top D1 recruits. Its unfortunate that the 1% really is the FACE of AAU basketball each year. That 1% is what Mike K., the NCAA, Nike, Adidas, and the NBA is after.

No matter how much the NBA and NCAA pour into youth basketball, it will NEVER amount to the time and money these dads/uncles pour into the sport to help these kids stay off the streets and get them into college. The real gratification comes when the network is used to help a kid get a scholarship to Mississippi Valley State, who otherwise would have simply missed out.

 

[PV-PRIDE]

It won't be an alternative, more like a competitor. What many people don't realize is less than 1% of the AAU teams/organizations have top D1 recruits. Its unfortunate that the 1% really is the FACE of AAU basketball each year. That 1% is what Mike K., the NCAA, Nike, Adidas, and the NBA is after.

No matter how much the NBA and NCAA pour into youth basketball, it will NEVER amount to the time and money these dads/uncles pour into the sport to help these kids stay off the streets and get them into college. The real gratification comes when the network is used to help a kid get a scholarship to Mississippi Valley State, who otherwise would have simply missed out.

Great point!