NBA
bench-warmers making the league minimum are an exclusive club. Plays earning
anything above that are even more elite. That means there just are not very
many of them. It is not a practical life plan, yet tens of thousands high
school and junior high kids pursue their elusive hoop dreams through the Amateur
Athletic Union (AAU). Eclipsing prep rankings in importance, the AAU has become
a recruitment machine, but it does not necessarily serve the best interests of
the kids or the game. Mike Nicoll takes viewers inside the AAU system in At All Costs (trailer here), which releases
today on VOD.
During
the summer, Parker Jackson-Cartwright is on the road non-stop playing in AAU
tournaments. College coaches rarely bother scouting high school games anymore,
so if he wants to get noticed, the AAU is his only option. Critics argue it
turns players into hotdogs, showing off their skills at the expense of the
team. Defenders basically say that’s life.
Etop
Udo-Ema is the founder and CEO of the Compton Magic, which sounds like a
bizarrely lofty title for an amateur kids team. Yet, Udo-Ema has indeed built
an empire, including four distinct squads that are always on the road. He can
offer his players something that they can’t get with every AAU team: corporate
sponsorship courtesy of Adidas. In this business, the power of shoe company
clout cannot be overstated. Udo-Ema talks a good game and he seems to follow through
with his players and alumni more than many AAU coaches, but he always sounds
like he is selling the Compton Magic brand, because he is.
Watching
Jackson-Cartwright and his future agent father play the AAU game will send many
viewers into culture shock. It is literally a full time pursuit for them. Yet,
it remains highly speculative. If someone suggested to AAU parents their time,
effort, and expenses would be better invested in tutoring that would prepare their
kids for an advanced STEM degree at a leading university, they might be scoffed
at for being square, but the payoff would be far more certain, without any risk
of injury. Unfortunately, that latter point will indeed become an issue for the
Jackson-Cartwrights.
