coachmccormick
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Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/05 11:12
Read the article and drop comments here. Interested in opinions:
http://www.5starhoops.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5500&ATCLID=702328
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DrewVT6
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Re:Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/11 19:57
CoachM- I appreciate your article on changing the Youth Development system in the US.
The model used in Europe obviously follows the standing tradition set by "football". I think most European football teams would love to have the population size and sheer number of athletes to choose from that US sports do, but they have learned how to compete in a very competitive global market. In fact the big boys in Europe aren't the only ones poaching players from South America anymore. Everyone, even the Russian leagues have Brazilian and Argentinian players now.
Up until the past 15 years, basketball did not truly have this global level of competition. USA basketball especially had not seen this type of competition. I think in order for USA basketball to implement an Academy based system, they would have almost too many obstacles to overcome (billions in the NCAA coffers alone). No NBA sponsored Academy team or even NCAA sponsored "Center of Excellence" will operate without some sort of ROI at the end of the tunnel. It would take a business plan showing owners, especially of small market teams that if they invest in a player from a younger age, they will have dibs on that player once they turn pro.
Although they cover a smaller footprint in the US than the NBA does, Major League Soccer (MLS) will start a "Regional Rights" campaign in 2007 that allows local teams who develop players to get first right of refusal on that player's professional contract. It would also require some sort of compensation to acquire that players rights by a different team. MLS has it set up so that players can still retain NCAA eligibility (similar to the way Baseball and Hockey players do) but have their professional rights "owned".
This appeases the status quo people from the NCAA who take in billions in TV money and it helps out teams willing to invest a little in their futures without being held back by a salary cap and draft position.
It would take someone like David Stern working with USA Basketball to work out this sort of deal for basketball because of the concerns of money lost by all the owners involved. It would probably also take someone like Myles Brand blessing it and working with the NBA to set up regulations for the system. It could also use the PR sell as a way of getting more inner city kids off the streets. It would take an ownership group of say Sacremento buying into the ideas enough that they wanted to campaign for it. And it would take NBA owners giving USA basketball more legislative power than the puppet regime it currently is.
If you're interested in more of the MLS references, let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.
-DrewBrown
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coachmccormick
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Re:Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/11 22:29
Thanks for your comments. I do not necessarily write what I think will happen; I tend to write to offer ideas. As I wrote in my latest blog on this site, my intention is to get people thinking and to give more power to the people, in a sense, as opposed to leaving the direction of basketball development in the hands of a relative few, like Sonny, George and co.
I'm vaguely familiar with the MLS plans and think the MLS is going in the right direction. If you have more info that is relevant, by all means please share.
In my book, I argue that it would have to be a joint effort by the NBA and USA Basketball. I suppose I am in the tiny minority of people who do not believe all players should go to college and have no problem with players skipping college to join a true development league before entering the pros. I don't see why everyone thinks a player benefits from attending classes he has zero interest in. It demeans the educational process, imo, and wastes the players' time. Why is Davon Jefferson, who had a .8GPA at a prep school notorious for getting ineligible players eligible going to college?
I agree that, in the current system, NBA teams have little to no incentive to develop youth players. I ahve argued that te NBA needs to invest to elevate the level of play to improve the product, not because they need to in order to continue making profits.
I do, however, believe it is sad that there is so many billions of dollars in basketball in the United States, yet there are clearly better ways to do youth basketball and elite player development. I know that the sheer number of players and interests makes change nearly impossible, but I do not believe that means everyone should throw their arms in the air and say "it is what it is" and ignore the issue. It appears there is a movement to change the way things are done and that a vast majority of people believe this change is necessary. The question is creating change based on what is good for basketball and the players, not what is best for economic interests, billionaire owners or shoe companies. Unfortunately, few people from outside the current insiders are involved in the process, so the power players retain the power unchecked and make cosmetic changes (hiring Coach K as an answer to USA Basketball's struggles) without truly addressing the real issues.
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DrewVT6
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Re:Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/12 14:43
CoachM-
One thing I've learned as a soccer fan in this country is that it's always about the Benjamins. No one in a major professional sport simply does it for the love. If you want to get the businessmen involved in a sport, you need to be able to show a return on their investment (ROI) in your plan. Once you take the big money out of a sport, you lose the interest of young athletes (see: Bengals WR Chad Johnson and his decision to play football instead of soccer) Even though you might be doing it for the love of the game, you need to find reasons why others should buy into your plan. Competitive advantage is one good reason for owners, higher ROI is another for college coaches and NBA GM's, keeping kids off the streets is a way to get more public interest.
I think you can't bypass in any sort of development plan the reality that the NCAA is one of the most highly vested partners in basketball in the United States. In reality the NCAA and the NBA command 95% of the basketball market in the US. It would be 99% except that the ABA has resurfaced in the past few years, the AND1 circuit has started to develop and USA Basketball is trying to get noticed, too.
Because you're dealing with a business and the possibility of shifting billions of dollars you need to make any new youth plan show advantages to the big players involved in the plan. I personally have little problem with bypassing the highly hypocratic NCAA system. In reality it won't happen.
The kick I get out of watching the soccer situation in this country, is that it's still at an infant stage. The planning, the business, almost every aspect of it is so unestablished that just about any idea can be pushed into reality. The soccer heads in the United States always complain that our players have come through too much structure and not enough "pickup" soccer. We don't have the individual skills to combine with the team skills that structured Academies offer. They really want to get closer to basketball where more kids just go play on their own without a coach screaming at them for making the trick play instead of the fundamentally sound simple play. However, take it to far and you get into and AND1 circus show situation.
I'll look for good links to how the new MLS stuff will work. I may not be able to uncover all "official" info, but I might be able to get some good reliable second hand sources.
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coachmccormick
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Re:Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/12 15:00
Hi:
More than the MLS stuff, I am very intrigued by the full text for Project 2010 written by Carlos Queiroz. I am very, very interested in that.
I quote Rinus Michels and his book Team Building about Ajaz and the Dutch National Team and his belief about street soccer.
As a soccer fan, check out my other blog today as I have a post about Americans apathy toward soccer: http://highfivehoopschool.blogspot.com
I do believe with those who suggest the USA has never developed a world class soccer player because there is too much structure. And, I think the same is starting to be seen in basketball, as well, but it is not as noticeable, as basketball still gets the best athletes in the USA, while soccer is lower on the list.
I understand the business realities and that economics fuel player development; I think I wrote an article by that title somewhere (I write too much and can't keep track). However, from a globalization standpoint, losing in the World Championships hurts the NBA because now other countries ask why they have to pay rights for NBA games when they can get EuroLeague games, and watch stars from the World Championships like Juan Carlos Navarro, for a much lower price, live, at a decent hour. Many Europeans firmly believe the NBA is strictly entertainment, and the best basketball is played in Europe. So, if David Stern wants to take over the world, he needs to improve the style of play and basic fundamentals, and clean up the officiating to regain the trust of sophisticated basketball fans worldwide.
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coachmccormick
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Re:Infrastructure of Elite Player Development - 2006/12/12 15:20
economics of player development:
http://www.thecrossovermovement.com/component/option,com_jd-wp/Itemid,61/p,17/
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