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Around SBN: Jeremy Lin Sets Assist High In Easy Win Over Sacramento

Did you know that Findlay Prep, "high school" team of Texas signees Avery Bradley and Tristan Thompson, is not much more than an AAU team masquerading as a high school team? Did you know that Findlay Prep is not actually a high school? Me neither. I'm not sure there's any reason to doubt the players that come out of that program (they do actually go to a nearby high school), but there are plenty of reasons to question the propriety of an institution such as Findlay Prep.

almost 3 years ago Pigeons_tiny billyzane 8 comments 0 recs  | 

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TV Special

There was a really interesting TV special (don’t remember which channel) a while back that discussed these big time basketball programs. There was one coach who had taken his time accross the country to change the high school they were associated with as some point because they were not getting along with their host high school. Seems pretty crazy.

by Texas Wahoo on Apr 10, 2009 1:08 PM CDT reply actions  

Just another charter school

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.

by Caradoc on Apr 10, 2009 2:39 PM CDT reply actions  

I dunno

What, exactly, is the problem? Is it that these kinds of things exist at all, or that we’re in collective denial about the hyper-monetization of “non-professional” sports? I’m not sure there aren’t good arguments for giving up the farce that these top-end athletes are anything other than pros-in-training. And since we can be sure the hyper-monetization isn’t going away, maybe the problem isn’t that these kinds of things exist, but that the kids aren’t getting compensated for the revenue they create.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Apr 10, 2009 3:57 PM CDT reply actions  

I agree, PB.

I think the other facet here is that in European basketball, the top young players train at academies throughout their teens, with no limits on how much basketball they can play. Why should the top basketball players be limited in how much they can play? If they are still getting an education, and let’s be clear here, that’s probably relatively low on their list of priorities, then what’s the problem? It benefits the NCAA and in turn will benefit the NBA. I think schools like Findlay Prep are the beginnings of a trend that will continue to increase and a trend that doesn’t hurt the players, but in fact helps them prepare for their professional future. If anything, there should be more options like Findlay because it provides a stable environment, good coaching, and the best competition. So what are the negatives, again?

by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Apr 10, 2009 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions  

For me, it's denial of another type...

It’s not the money part or the ‘athlete’ part. And I realize that it’s a bit naive but, as the parent of two teens, I guess I still cling to the ideal that kids should be kids and parents should be parents. It’s not kids as ‘athletes’ and parents as ‘managers’. The fact that these kids are being exploited today doesn’t make me want to institutionalize it tomorrow.

Raising a child is the parent’s responsibility. I don’t know the Findlay parents but if my son was blessed with the skills to play professional basketball, I’d still want him living under my roof, by my rules and by my example. He would grow up with his brothers and sisters, sleep in his own bed, and learn what it’s like to attend school with (and relate to) ordinary folks playing on a team with a mix of players of ordinary ability and other interests/talents. And his team might even lose more than they win. You get the point, I just think the wrong things are being emphasized at the wrong point in these kid’s development. A young man needs to learn and appreciate who he is, he needs to know life and how to succeed in life outside of his role as ‘athlete’.

Of course, I know nothing of Findlay Prep that wasn’t in the article I just hope that parents who choose the Findlay Prep’s of the world will do so in the right manner and for the right reasons.

by utexas87 on Apr 10, 2009 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions  

I appreciate that

And am genuinely glad you care about those values.

In a perfect world, the conversation would begin and end right there. Unfortunately, as you seem to understand, things are more complex than that.

Don’t want to open too big a can of worms here and now, but it’s a conversation worth having at some point.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Apr 11, 2009 12:56 AM CDT up reply actions  

This would be a great debate/discussion

for the no-football-to-talk-about period ahead of us.

"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese

P.S. 45-35

by SwimTexas on Apr 18, 2009 8:40 AM CDT up reply actions  

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