Remember who has the final decision

Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis writes for Hoop Gurlz… he writes exceptionally well.  Very insightful.  Would I consider him a writer?  Probably not.  No disrespect intended.  Mark’s a basketball coach.  In my mind’s eye I still see him on the sideline, or out on the road recruiting…. minus the camera.

So many times in the recruiting process parents try to re-live their sports lives (or lack there of) through their child’s… HUGE MISTAKE.  Mark’s insight is accurate and helpful.  Mark says, “I’m not a parent…”  I disagree.  Biology may not have played a part in Mark’s “parenting,” but he “parented” many during his 20+ year coaching career.

I’m a parent.  We have a daughter.  Both my wife and I went off to college.  I blew out my ankle twice.  If I didn’t pick the school because I wanted to be there no matter what happened on the basketball court – I would have been miserable.  My wife did transfer because she was miserable.  We had both sides of the story.  Mark is spot on.

I hope Mark is around and I remember his words in 2018 when our daughter is making her decision.

In… Remember who has the final decision, Mark shares a great perspective into the process of recruiting for parents.  Who actually has the final decision is really important.

Parenting is tough. That fact is evidenced every day by rebellious kids and surrendering parents who just throw up their arms in exasperation. The approaches to guiding, teaching, preparing and supporting are varied and as daunting a challenge as any adult will face.

Now add to that the twists, turns and decisions that come with the recruiting of a prospective student-athlete and you’ve got a volatile mix that can tip the fragile relationship between a teenager and her parents.

I must confess, I’m not a parent. In fact my single greatest contribution to society may well be that I’ve added no offspring of mine to the population. However, I have had a ringside seat to a multitude of recruiting decisions through the years that have revealed some startling child-parent dynamics.

A lot of athletes go through the recruiting process with their parents at their side and come up with the right decision that makes sense for her future in the classroom, on the court and personally. The tug of war begins when the agenda of mom and dad start to override that of their daughter.

Continue Reading…

What’s wrong with college basketball?

THIS IS REALLY GOOD.  You’ll see, even though it is “anonymous”, it’s still not 100% accurate… but it’s pretty good.  Coaches will still be self-serving and self protective even when being anonymous.  It’s as close as I’ve seen to the “truth” though.

By Dana O’Neil  ESPN.com

The image of college basketball has taken a beating in recent years, with rumors, murmurs and innuendo about cheating spreading like wildfire. Cynics believe no one is trying to follow the NCAA rulebook and that the game has fallen victim to the begging hands of agents, runners and hangers-on looking to collect on the next NBA star.

Is it that bad? What are the real problems? And is the NCAA doing enough to fix those problems?

To get the answers, ESPN.com went to the sources. During the EYBL Peach Jam last week, we interviewed 20 high-profile head coaches, representing each of the six power conferences. With the promise of full anonymity, we asked them to tell the truth about their sport.

And they did.

What is your least favorite part of summer recruiting?

No one likes the constant travel, the bad basketball and the emphasis on individual skills instead of team play.

Coaches travel everywhere to watch high school kids in July, but can’t keep an eye on their own.

But of the coaches surveyed, many — eight of the 20 — cited the time away from campus and their own players as the biggest problem with the summertime.

“I have my team over for a barbecue before I leave in July,” one coach said. “Little do they know it’s a farewell, not a welcome barbecue.”

“You walk into a living room and promise a mother that you’ll be there for her son,” said another. “And as soon as they get on campus, you’re gone.”

“They’re all on campus and I’m on the road,” added another. “If they do something stupid, I’m going to get fired — but I can’t be there to see what they’re doing.”

Some other popular grievances:

“What don’t I like? All of it. I don’t think there should be summer recruiting, period. They want to clean it up? Get rid of it.”

“I’ll tell you another problem — 70 percent of the kids we’re sitting here watching should be in summer school. They shouldn’t be here.”

“What don’t I like about summer? Everything. The babysitting, the ass-kissing. Does that cover it?”

Continue Reading…

Play Through the Foul

Most of you know, remember  or have a story about Vera Jones… the Flying V!  A caring a funny lady that you don’t easily forget.  My stories and memories all stem from both our time on the road with the New York Liberty.

Vera Jones

We need to support Vera in her attempt to continue to “Play Through the Foul,” (as her book suggests).  This really isn’t about Vera’s attempt to garner her own talk show… though after spending several years with Vera while she broadcast New York Liberty games, I have to vouch for her gift.  She is a talented broadcaster, a funny, funny lady and a great person.  A talk show featuring Vera would, no doubt, be both inspirational and entertaining.

No, this is about Vera only child Andrew.  Andrew is 12 and a short time ago he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Andrew underwent many hours of surgery and came out of it alive, but having lost 3/4 of his sight.  She and Andrew were immediately handed the greatest “foul” of thier lives.

As Vera’s book says…”Play Through the Foul,” she has taught her young son… “it’s not how much you can see, but who you are meant to be.”  Well go ahead V… do your thing!

If that means Vera is meant to host her own TV talk show… Great!  We can help her by voting for her audition tape here.

VERA JONES AUDITION.

… and lending her our thoughts and prayers for Andrew’s complete recovery.

Follow the above link, watch V’s audition and vote to help her realize her dream.  Good Luck Vera!

2009-10 D1 Men’s Basketball Attendance

Interesting… The Sporting News (Digital Edition) released today all the Men’s Division I basketball attendance figures for the 2009 – 10 season.  There is both the Top 100 individual schools as well as the conference by conference breakdown.

The page is linked below.

Division I Men’s 2009-10 Attendance

WNBA Salaries: How Do They Stack up?

from:

Brigitte Yuille, provided by

As the madness of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons come to an end, the Women’s National Basketball Association prepares for a winning season – but with a little less fanfare. The WNBA, which is 13 years young, has steadily gained popularity over the years, but if you think the women are making close to as much as the men, think again. The disparity is alarming, but things are changing.

In Pictures: Top 5 Most Hair-Raising Contracts in sports.

Rookies in the WNBA get paid a minimum $35,190. Shocked? Well consider this, the maximum WNBA salary for veteran players in 2010 is $101,000. Quite shy of the massive paydays and endorsement deals of their male counterparts. In fact, the average NBA player makes over $5 million.

Here’s a look at some of the top paydays of the most recognizable WNBA players.

• Marion Jones
  As an accomplished athlete, Marion Jones is sure to draw interest in the WNBA. The Olympic sprinter has joined the Tulsa Shock in Oklahoma as its newest point guard. Jones, once considered the fastest woman, in the world had admitted to using steroids for the 2000 Olympics. She had to return all five Olympic medals and spent six months behind bars for the incident and involvement in a check-fraud scam. Jones has signed a one-year contract with the Tulsa team receiving the league’s minimum of $35,000. (Increased popularity leads to increased salaries, but will the WNBA become a fan favorite? Learn more in The “Next Big Thing” In Pro Sports.)
• Lisa Leslie
  WNBA veteran Lisa Leslie had been considered the most marketable and most dominant player in the league. She retired at the end of the 2009 WNBA season to be a mom and pursue other interests. The trailblazer for female basketball players has been in the league since its opening season and was the leader of points and rebounds for the L.A. Sparks in California. According to the AP in 2006, Leslie was making the maximum salary in the NBA at $91,000.

  The four-time Olympic gold medalist took advantage of her notoriety and dabbled in other careers. She signed a contract with Wilhelmina modeling agency, has worked as an actress and has been in pursuit of a broadcast career. (Learn more about the financial implications of the Olympics. Read Olympic Economics: Boom Or Doom?)

• Candace Parker
  Candace Parker was the number one overall pick in 2008 which landed her playing alongside Lisa Leslie for the L.A. Sparks. She stands to earn more than any female player in the WNBA history and make as much if not more than any male basketball player. Her current endorsements with Adidas and Gatorade are estimated to be worth approximately $3 million. Although such contracts are the norm for NBA superstars, they are less frequent in the womens’ league.
• Sheryl Swoopes
  Often called the “female Michael Jordan,” veteran WNBA player Sheryl Swoops made slightly less than the $99,500 salary cap right before she left the Seattle Storm in Washington. However, rosters were cut last year to free up money in order for the teams to stay within their salary caps and create parity among the players. This Olympic gold medalist was awarded an endorsement deal with Nike, who created the “Air Swoopes” shoe.

  According to the Seattle Times, the Seattle Storm’s coach needed to stay within a cap of $803,000 resulting in the valuable athlete being released from her contract.

The Future of the WNBA
The Great Recession has challenged the WNBA by disrupting audience attendance, revenue and owners’ financial interest. The WNBA is attempting to maintain its viability by discovering new sources of income, such as its eight-year TV arrangement with ABC/ESPN.

Meanwhile, WNBA players continue to head overseas to collect larger paychecks in places such as Poland, Israel and Turkey during their off-season.

Still feeling uninformed? Check out last week’s business news highlights in Water Cooler Finance: Zombies File Taxes, Dead Bills Rise Again.

Original story - Top WNBA Salaries: How Do They Stack Up?