Is AAU basketball a good thing?

I'm a little biased when it comes to this issue, but I do think this is a legitimate question that high school basketball fans should discuss. Is AAU basketball a good thing to have?

As you might know, I am an assistant coach on a local 15U AAU team, and if I didn't think it was worthwhile and beneficial, I wouldn't be doing it.

AAU provides another avenue for players to go up against competition from across the state, and even the country. A lot of recruiting takes place on the AAU circuit as well. Coaches from all over converge on Orlando (or Little Rock, Ark., this year for my age group) to watch top talent every July.

Watching prospects go up against top talent from across the country makes the star-grades a lot more accurate than watching them play top talent from other parts of the county. That it is why you don't hear many college coaches complaining about AAU basketball. The complaining comes from the high schools.

The biggest complaint I have heard from high school coaches is the lack of defense that is played in AAU.

Here's what I have to say about that:

These players come to AAU teams from high schools where they are supposed to be learning the fundamentals - including defense. From talking to other AAU coaches, and from my own experience, I can tell you that the players that come to AAU teams don't always have the best defensive technique or knowledge.

I also point out that not every high school team has bad defense. In fact, I've seen several teams with excellent defense. Do those players just skip out on AAU? No. Laying the fault on AAU for bad defense is nothing more than an excuse.

High school coaches cannot rely on AAU coaches teaching all of the fundamentals at the high school age because there simply isn't enough time. AAU teams don't practice every day. Some teams can't even get gyms to practice in on a normal basis. Why? Because the local schools and municipalities don't help provide them with facilities. In stead, they are charged outrageous prices to rent the gyms.

If there was more support from the high school, school systems and local towns, AAU coaches would become more capable of teaching the fundamentals.

Now lies the issue of recruiting. There have been unfounded allegations made about local schools for recruiting players during the AAU season.

OK. A high school coach ILLEGALLY recruits a player using AAU, and now AAU is the bad guy? I don't think so. I think the bad guy would be the coach who recruited the player.

Bottom line, AAU has more upside than down. It benefits the players, it keeps players off of the streets and doing something positive, and it provides college prospects with an avenue to get recruited outside of high school.

I'm interested to know your opinions on this topic.