The change of seasons: Let the AAU battles begin
When it comes to weather, fall is definitely my favorite season. It's hard to beat that crisp autumn air, and colorful foliage. When it comes to basketball, however, spring is where it's at. With last week's conclusion of the high school season and the beginning of AAU practices, we're in that brief transition period – the calm before the storm, if you will ,with a little March Madness to occupy our time. I, for one, am pumped!
The last couple of weeks were rough if I'm being honest. After a string of 12-hour days working at the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls, I came down with a nasty cold that lingered without mercy through the entire State Tournament. I love the big dance but it can be exhausting, doubly so if you are down on energy and up on Kleenex usage.
We try and see as many games as we can at the event, talk to as many college coaches as we can, and capture the essence of the tournament as well as we can. When it was all over last Sunday I was spent. Thankfully my colleagues Tony Ragulen and Ally McGinnis did most of the heavy lifting this year. After two days of catching up on lost sleep, I emerged from the fog on Tuesday and did the only logical thing I could do: Attend an AAU practice! I was at the Minnesota Fury workouts in Chanhassen Tuesday and North Tartan 's sessions Friday at Wayzata and Saturday in Maple Grove.
The first few weeks of AAU season are magical for me – seeing all of the fresh faces, observing which players have landed on new teams for the coming season, noticing as if for the first time just how different AAU basketball is from the high school variety. The talent level we saw at both clubs was outstanding.
Yes, the high school State Tournament is a ton of fun. The massive student sections, booming school bands, the smalltown pride. It's terrific. When people think about high school basketball, this is what they remember. In reality, though, precious few players and schools ever get to experience it. Of the 400-plus schools that play girls basketball, how many ever advance more than a round or two in the post-season? Not many.
While the athletes of Hopkins and Lakeville North and Sauk Centre and Benilde-St. Margaret's and Providence Academy return to Williams Arena year after year, for most players State Tournament participation means buying a ticket to watch. Don't get me wrong, the tournament is fun in the stands. That's where I prefer to sit. AAU, on the other hand, offers something for every player.
Here are the things I like most about the spring and summer season:
- Officiating – Yes, I like the officiating in AAU. They let the kids play for the most part. Sure, it gets a little like football at times, but that's part of the process of figuring out who has grit and who doesn't. Besides, college coaches do not come to the gym to watch prospects shoot free throws. They want to see who can handle the heavy going.
- Fewer formalities – Who cares if players have their jerseys tucked properly in their shorts? What difference does it make if a player follows the substitution protocol to the letter of the law? Such formalities are part of the high school game all winter. Come spring it's easy come, easy go and that keeps things moving along nicely.
- Level of play – Unless we're talking about the Lake Conference, the talent disparity from the top of high school rosters to the bottom is quite significant. Even elite high school programs have kids that don't play basketball year-round. As we saw last week, especially in the smaller classes, one or two college prospects is enough to carry a high school team. In AAU, the top teams are loaded and the B and C level squads are relatively even in terms of talent and playing ability.
- Commitment – Players who give up their summers and sacrifice their bodies weekend after weekend are committed to the pursuit of excellence. They spend countless hours in the gym, working with trainers, toiling on their own, practicing with their squads. Families spend untold amounts of money and time and travel to help their kids be the best they can be on and off the court. There are no passengers in AAU.
- Proximity to the action – There's nothing like a raucous AAU gym on a Saturday afternoon with multiple adjacent courts all going at the same time. It can get crowded, both for the spectators and the participants with fans sitting literally on the out-of-bounds line. Boisterous spectators can convey their every thought within hearing range of officials and vice versa. OK, maybe that's not a plus but it's part of what makes the atmosphere fun.
The bottom line is this: AAU is designed to weed out the pretenders. If you want to play at the highest level, if you want to be the best you can be, if you want to see and be seen, then AAU is where it's at. That's where we'll be, parked in the front row for 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day and loving every minute of it. Yes, I may nod off in my folding chair every so often – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. is definitely my drowsy time – but we'll be wide awake for the vast majority of the day.
Prep Girls Hoops exists to find the hidden gems of AAU and illuminate their abilities for coaches and spectators alike. We're fired up to watch all of it, including the Class of 2029 who will be under inspection en route to the first ranking of the class – the Freshmen 50 – this fall. It all starts this Saturday with The Opener, a one-day event at Jefferson High School in Bloomington. See you in the gym!
2025 AAU TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
- March 29 – The Opener
- April 5 – AAU Shootout #1
- April 5 – MN Heat Battle for Mom
- April 12-13 – Midwest Kickoff Classic
- April 12-13 – MN Suns Spring Showcase
- April 12-13 – MN Comets Spring Shootout (St. Cloud)
- April 19 – AAU Shootout #2
- April 25-27 – Spring Showdown
- May 2-4 – AAU State Prelims
- May 9-11 – AAU State Championships
- May 16-18 – May Madness
- May 16-18 – Live at the Lakes (NCAA live period)
- May 17-18 – Opportunity Spring Splash
- May 30-June 1 – MN Stars Summer Kickoff Classic
- May 31-June 1 – MN Heat Battle on the Hardwood
- June 7-8 – Suns Summer Xplosion
- June 20-22 – MN AAU Summer Jam
- June 27-29 – Mill City Invitational
- June 27-28 – Great Plains Alliance (St. Cloud)
- July 11-13 – The Meltdown (NCAA live period)
If you see any errors in the schedule, or need to add events we've missed, please email me: gmachoops@gmail.com. More detailed information and links to the various events are posted at aauevents.com.
POST-SEASON AWARDS
The early days of AAU offer up one more opportunity to reflect on the high school season just completed. While others hand out awards at the conclusion of the regular campaign or during the State Tournament, we prefer to let the biggest week of the season play out before making our decisions. This week we'll be selecting our Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Breakout Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Next week we'll also name a Most Valuable Player and All-Star teams for each of the four high school classes. Stay tuned.
