LBoogie's The Real 411

The past week has been a little crazy..I was on in Atlanta covering Fall Evaluation weekend for ESPN Hoopgurlz and then I made my way to the Bronx for Game 1 of the ALDS on Wednesday.

My tip sheet from Atlanta was posted on Hoopgurlz on Thursday, I was able to write about a few of the talented players I observed at 3 events.  I have evaluations on about 60 more players for the their profile pages.

October evaluation weekend is sort of an enigma to me, in previous years the focus of the events was more on individual players not teams. Of course this is the last time college coaches can see players before the November signing period. In the recent past the only game in town(THE DMV) for college prospects was the MABBCA showcase . It was truly an invitational event and only the top players in the region were asked to participate. Two games were run on side-by-side courts on the same clock with a timeout every 5 minutes  for substitutions and no score was kept. This is the way to run an evaluation showcase, it is about the players and college coaches watching them, nothing more nothing less. Alas, this event changed management and lost its luster but when it was in its prime MABBCA was the prototype for an evaluation event.

Right now the general vibe amongst the basketball pundits is that Fall Evaluation weekend needs to go away and it is really more of a hassle than anything else…I know of a few Major D-I programs that didn’t send anybody from their staff out to events. I am not 100% against this evaluation period but I do think the focus needs to be different:

• Unsigned Seniors should compete in Senior Only events,  this way the coaches that are still looking and the players that are uncommitted can be in the same building, handling the business of earning a scholarship.

• More skills events for underclassmen, it is nice way to watch young players and how they learn and react in a non-team situation.

I am not a fan of team events in the Fall because there is way too much emphasis on winning and not showcasing players. Many teams haven’t been together since the end of July, they are adding new players and new coaches, most players are not in game shape. If  coaches are just trying to test out the  vibe of their new team that is one thing but if they just out there trying win, then it is usually a waste of everybody’s time. Mixing classes on the court brings up its own set of issues, for instance I  saw on team with a very talented underclass post player but her two seniors guards never passed her the ball and took turns jacking shots.  The senior guards didn’t show well because in front of college coaches they proved they had no idea how to play with a post player, and ESSENTIAL skill for a college guard and the coach made no attempt to correct it.

Another annoying issue that reared its ugly head was rosters…yes rosters, a simple document that has the player’s name, height and school/or home state.  Sounds easy right, think again, I encountered some rosters that were completely useless; wrong jersey numbers, misspelled names, missing players and the worst infraction.. incorrect class.  Coaches are responsible, whether they fill out the roster or assign it to another person, this is real business and in the corporate world lack  of attention to detail will get you a pink slip.  As a scout I rarely have time to chase after a coach when the game is done to find out who #10 is on the roster.  So instead of spending 30 minutes before and after your game fussing out your players, spend that time getting your rosters straight!

HOT

Gannon Baker Basketball and Roundball Journal…for holding a skills sessions and giving players an chance to apply those skills in games.

DMV natives 2011 Lashe Walker Roanoke, VA and 2014 Mikayla Venson Arlington, VA for having tip sheet worthy performances.

All the nice folks I met in Atlanta, coaches and players.

The Whole Foods in ATL for serving collard greens and sweet potatoes

The New  Yankee Stadium, say what you want about the Steinbrenner but the place is amazing

A-Rod, who finally got that RISP playoff monkey of his back

My 87 year old  grandfather Roscoe Brown, Jr for taking his favorite grandchild to the game!

The New York Yankees…cause they are The New York Yankees

Terminal 5 in JFK..the Jet Blue Terminal is very funky and the security gate is right in the terminal

NOT SO HOT

The traffic in Atlanta..it may be worse than the Beltway

The Whole Foods near Emory for not serving breakfast…blower

Mothers allowing their daughters to wear lacefronts on the court..especially when they come off during the game

The Boston Red  Sox..for the first time in my life I want them to win(so we can get at them again) but damn put up some kind of fight against the Angels

My sinuses…I guess 4 plane trips in a week is enough to set them off

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