Editor’s note: Originally published February 2015. Updated for clarity. NCAA evaluation periods change yearly, so confirm specific dates at ncaa.org each spring.
The first EVALUATION window for Division 1 coaches usually lands in mid-April for boys and early-to-mid April for girls (confirm the current year at ncaa.org). Division 2, NAIA, JUCO, and Division 3 schools usually have less strict rules and can be on the road more. I want this article to answer the biggest questions and myths about AAU (Spring & Summer) basketball in a format that is easy to read.
***SIDE NOTE: I’m not the biggest fan of AAU basketball but I’m also a realist. I earned my stripes through the AAU circuit in the early 2000’s traveling all around the country with an elite Nike team. AAU is the way of the land and will be for the foreseeable future. College coaches only have a certain window to evaluate players vs the best talent. AAU is THAT time, fair or unfair, for evaluation.
1. My son/daughter is playing on the BEST team and we are going to the BEST tournaments!!! It’s going to be a great spring and summer!
- Answer: Who said you had the BEST team and are going to the BEST tourneys? A parent or coach of the team? Parents and kids need to decipher through the garbage and find out as much information as possible on teams in your state/region before making a 100% commitment. It is like making a sizable investment with your money.
A. Ask former players about their experiences on that team.
B. Ask former players how much that coach/team truly helped with recruitment.
C. Ask coaches for a complete schedule weeks/months in advance and do your own research on those events.
D. Seek trusted people in the basketball world who have been through AAU life and will give honest direction.
E. Playing on the BEST team does not guarantee college coaches at your games. Your team also needs the BEST tournaments. That team is not always easy to find, BUT if you do enough research you will separate the studs from the duds.
2. We are going to play in this BIG tournament and ALL the coaches in the country are going to be there!!
- Answer: There are VERY limited evaluation periods during spring and summer. Every tournament decision has to be planned. You might see 10-20 tournaments around the country on the same weekend, BUT only a handful will have a heavy Division 1/Division 2 presence.
3. We are playing in a big city (New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston) so I just KNOW coaches will be there.
- Answer: Cities often host multiple tournaments at the same time. Do your homework and make sure your team is in the one with the highest competition and strongest coach attendance.
4. College coaches are loaded and budgets are huge, so every D1 school must have someone at every tournament every weekend!
- Answer: Outside the true powerhouse programs, most Division 1 schools must choose tournaments carefully. They do not have free will to hop around the country every weekend. Most staffs plan schedules in advance based on trusted scouting info.
THIS is why if you are NOT a top-100 player in the country, you had BETTER be in the best tournaments possible where coaches are already present, AND you had BETTER have trusted people networking for you and telling coaches the truth about your game.
5. We WON the ______ tournament!! We are awesome and I’m getting a scholarship NO DOUBT!
- Answer: Look around your games. Are college coaches there? Have your parents look too. If you see very few or none, the tournament was not meaningful for exposure and coaches knew the competition level did not justify THEIR time.
Also remember many events have multiple brackets. If your age group has Gold, Silver, White, Bronze, you want the TOP bracket for maximum exposure. Time is money for coaches. They choose where they can watch the most potential college players at once.
6. My AAU coach or high school coach said ____ University contacted them about ME. WOW, I can’t wait to hear more.
- Answer: LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF/FAMILY. If a coach says a school asked about you, get details ASAP. YOU as player and parent need to contact that school quickly. I hear this all the time: a player HEARS from a school, then weeks go by with nothing. Was it real? Are you getting the full truth? This is YOUR basketball life. Invest in YOURSELF and do the work.
7. I’m not worried about AAU because high school basketball is where it’s at and I’ll earn my scholarship that way.
- Answer: Hard truth: AAU is where the strongest broad evaluations usually happen. High school viewings often confirm what coaches already learned. If you want COLLEGE basketball, they want to see you against the closest thing to COLLEGE talent.
8. Final Q/A — fear of leaving your current team:
Q: I have played with this team for years and everyone will hate me if I leave to better myself.
- Answer: It is all about what YOU want out of basketball. Sometimes the hardest decisions do not get made because people are scared of the unknown. I played for multiple top AAU teams in the early 2000s. Was that risky? Yes. Scary? Yes. Uncomfortable? Yes. Would I do it again? 110% I would.
I hope this helped clear the air for spring/summer team decisions. Choosing a team is hard, and once you choose, sorting REAL from FAKE is even harder.
Are there players who played college basketball without AAU? Yes, but those are rare cases and not the norm.
If you truly want to make it in BASKETBALL, it is about taking risks, being uncomfortable at times, and being different. There is a REASON why less than 2% of high school kids in this country play Division 1 basketball!!