fish view

socalogo.gif (8739 bytes)
SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Age-Specific, Open-Level & Prep School
Competition: A Fish With A View--(May 31, 2000)

There have been a series of posts on our Men's Message Forum discussing (sometimes civilly, sometimes not) whether a player's age is in some way relevant to the question of the level of competition at various tournaments. The discussion has revolved around whether prep school players should compete against players who are still in high school, and whether players who spend an extra year or two prior to entering college at the prep level are gaining an unfair advantage over younger players at the high school level, particularly in terms of recruiting. The thread has used the example of Solomon Brown (6'-1" Jr. PG) who currently attends St. Thomas More Prep in Connecticut as the lightning rod for this discussion.

Setting aside any back-biting or mean-spirited posts which usually accompany such player-specific messages (and believe us, we wish people would realize that even if a player is 18, or older, they still have feelings too), the real topic of debate concerns the differences between "age-group" competition (e.g., tournaments where everyone must be a particular age in a division to compete) and the "open" age-level events at which many of the nation's highest-profile players compete for college scholarships. Some ask whether it is "fair" to allow a 19 or 20 year old player to compete against 16 or 17 year olds (or younger)? Others claim that players who are "reclassified" are given an "unfair" advantage when it comes to recruiting. Still others ask whether the concept of "fair" is even relevant to the discussion particularly since we are talking about college recruiting, where the ultimate goal is to recruit players who are the best. Finally, still others say that it's a good thing for a younger player to compete against older and more mature players, and that an extra year in high school can mean the difference between making it to college and becoming successful and productive, or a life in the streets.

One thing is certain: Everyone seems to have an opinion on the subject.

One person with a particular point of view is Dave Benezra, coach of the Los Angeles Rockfish club, the team which just won the Mats' Madness Tournament Gold Division Championship, and for whom Solomon Brown is the starting point guard. Dave thought it would be helpful to offer his views on the subject, particularly since he has more than a bit of experience and firsthand knowledge about recruiting, prep schools and in particular, Solomon Brown.

Dave sent us an e-mail, and while we've edited some parts out which were clearly not for public consumption, much of what he had to say is reprinted below:

Saw several posts in regard to Solomon Brown's age.

For the record, he is 18.

And for the record, who cares!

For those who are interested there's a reason the Rockfish don't enter high school players in age-group tournaments---it only helps their egos to win a trophy, not their game.

We like having our freshmen and sophomores play against 18, 19, and even 20 year old guys. And if we could do it, we would run them in a league against 22, 23, and older guys.

They will improve their ability to compete, especially on the mental side. They will see what older, elite players are like and see what they will have to compete against if they want to compete at the highest level of collegiate basketball.

People who want everything in life to be fair always fail to realize that even if all kids that played basketball against each other were 6'5 exactly, the same race and religion and economic status, with the same number of parents in the house notwithstanding, that there is no such things as fair. The playing field is not level. Never has been, never will be. Too many variables.

All those parents (primarily) who are trying to make their children feel better (the old self esteem concern) are adding to the inbalance of that field for their kid, because they are giving them an out to not perform as well, to not compete as hard, and to mentally make it "okay, not your fault, he's much older, you are one of the best in your age group, your school, your league, whatever," etc., etc

Solomon's age is a non-issue.

He gained 15 pounds this past year at prep school. At St. Thomas More it looks like he may wind up with a 4.0. He is more mature. For him it was a great move. It's not for everybody. And since he couldn't afford to pay for a college education, if repeating a grade is going to help him get a scholarship to college versus the alternative of winding up running the streets, achieving nothing but trouble, is that a bad thing?

So, if you want to post this for the board, feel free. If Solomon wasn't a basketball player he would still have benefited from prep school because he is a person first who happens to be a student and a basketball player. Adults seem to lose track of that since all of these prep school phenoms are threats to their kids. They're not, because "their" kids are usually bubble or non-scholarship players at the D1 level anyways, but they perceive it that way because of their own insecurities about their child's ability.

Thank you for affording me the opportunity to address the issue.

Sincerely,

DIB