High School Basketball Talent in Michigan

It gone?

It isn't what it used to be when Flint would produce 8-10 D1 players a year on its own.

Too many video games, not enough real games.

I think AAU gets a bad rap. It is deserved because of the influences. But I don't think it is the evil it is made out to be from a basketball development standpoint.
Where were kids playing in the Magic Johnson era? Pick up ball?
These kids don't need a high school coach following them around all off-season structuring their play.

Flint used to have a unique system where city or school gyms were kept open every day until late in the evening. The gyms closed and the number of great players dropped off soon afterward.

WBill wrote:Flint used to have a unique system where city or school gyms were kept open every day until late in the evening. The gyms closed and the number of great players dropped off soon afterward.

This would be an interesting story - decline of Michigan basketball due to end of open gyms.

Couch's article had a lot of good points but I think this could have more to do than anything. The greatness of Michigan basketball came from the streets.

I am curious if Couch misrepresents population loss as a new phenomenon.  I could be wrong, but Michigan's population took a pretty serious hit - maybe even a bigger hit than than the recent decade - from the mid 1970s through the mid-1980s. Yet there was still good talent in the subsequent years as kids reached college age.  I think it is symptomatic of something else, and might even be cyclical.  WBill seems to be on to something with the gyms.

while population shift plays a role, I do suspect that there are a lot of other sociological factors that impact the alleged decline in the quality of high school basketball in the state. A struggling family structure, kids less likely to accept the discipline associated with developing skills and more options with regard to activities (some good, some bad) to be involved in all play a role, I would say.

Don't forget the euro factor....

50% drop off is 30% pop decline and I'll bet 20% euros.

A better stat would be college all Americans

Blanch32 wrote:Don't forget the euro factor....

50% drop off is 30% pop decline and I'll bet 20% euros.

A better stat would be college all Americans

Why are you betting in euros?

Robert J Sakimano wrote:while population shift plays a role, I do suspect that there are a lot of other sociological factors that impact the alleged decline in the quality of high school basketball in the state. A struggling family structure, kids less likely to accept the discipline associated with developing skills and more options with regard to activities (some good, some bad) to be involved in all play a role, I would say.

Every single thing in there is scum's fault. God I hate them so much.

Travis of the Cosmos wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:while population shift plays a role, I do suspect that there are a lot of other sociological factors that impact the alleged decline in the quality of high school basketball in the state. A struggling family structure, kids less likely to accept the discipline associated with developing skills and more options with regard to activities (some good, some bad) to be involved in all play a role, I would say.

Every single thing in there is scum's fault. God I hate them so much.

don't forget the officiating. I will never forgive them for what they've done to me and my family.

Population shifts have played an obvious role, with many black families who moved here to work for the auto industry leaving to move back down south in the 2000s. However, there is still a lot of talent produced. The #1 overall player in 2016 Josh Jackson is from Detroit, and he's the sickest prep basketball player I've seen in a long time.

The biggest difference seems to be Saginaw and Flint. In the 1990s, those were the most fertile areas for basketball in the entire country. Since they both hit the fan economically, it's now pretty much dry.

Did the Jackson kid declare for scum?

InTenSity wrote:Did the Jackson kid declare for scum?

Josh Jackson or a kid from Jackson? If is the former, the answer is no (I think).

Michigan talent bawoosh - it gone

Apparently all is well in Ohio.

Also, apparently the MgoBlog nutcases assumed the article was some kind of giant excuse for Izzo not being able to do his job.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-basketball-recruiting/2015/05/53946/inside-ohio-basketballs-demographic-trends