A lot has been made about how the game has "gotten smaller".. It has been awhile since the plodding bigs went to the block, jockeyed for position down low or at the block, get the ball passed to them to make a move to the bucket. Bigs now have to be so much more active on the perimeter as they are chasing outside the key on defense and setting high screens where they are having to move much more to get into rebound position.. Bigs are now looked at much more in hitting that mid range jumper as part of the offense. It is a different game for them than 30-40 years ago.
Consequently, it is hard to get a good evaluation on bigs, after the top guys have been evaluated.. Back-to-the-basket guys are NOT going to characteristically do well in AAU, statistically. The game is a speed game and there is so much emphasis on the guards and wings.. Jumpshots from deep will have more than their fair share of long rebounds so your bigs may not even get a lot of rebounds, either offensively or defensively, if they are camped inside.. If you can run the floor like a Kevin Durant or Draymond Green, well then you can have good stats for a big but a guy like Theo John is going to need a more structured system to gain stats than what AAUs have, most of the time. Those types need more scouting in the regular season HS games.. If Jericho Sims is that type of dynamic athlete, he has a chance to get good stats anywhere. I say this so no one is discouraged with John's numbers in AAU. Then, it also depends on what the teams have as far as guard play and what type of player the primary ballhandler is for the team. A guy like Oturu may be athletic but if his AAU team has guards and wings that handle the ball most of the time, getting into a rhythm is tough.. I put very little stock in AAU stats for bigs. The Europeans and foreign players first brought that 'skill outside the key' mentality for their bigs and that has changed the game drastically as they filtered to the NBA. The Warriors are kind of a culmination of things though history tends to go in waves as far as trends so who knows, maybe they will trend back to the block and key area someday.. Stat lines of 1.5 points a game and 2 rebounds are not a bother to me one bit for AAU ball when it comes to bigs staying down low... Not the type of game that will ever bring a ton of impressive stats for a big unless there is disciplined and purposed play in the post.
Consequently, it is hard to get a good evaluation on bigs, after the top guys have been evaluated.. Back-to-the-basket guys are NOT going to characteristically do well in AAU, statistically. The game is a speed game and there is so much emphasis on the guards and wings.. Jumpshots from deep will have more than their fair share of long rebounds so your bigs may not even get a lot of rebounds, either offensively or defensively, if they are camped inside.. If you can run the floor like a Kevin Durant or Draymond Green, well then you can have good stats for a big but a guy like Theo John is going to need a more structured system to gain stats than what AAUs have, most of the time. Those types need more scouting in the regular season HS games.. If Jericho Sims is that type of dynamic athlete, he has a chance to get good stats anywhere. I say this so no one is discouraged with John's numbers in AAU. Then, it also depends on what the teams have as far as guard play and what type of player the primary ballhandler is for the team. A guy like Oturu may be athletic but if his AAU team has guards and wings that handle the ball most of the time, getting into a rhythm is tough.. I put very little stock in AAU stats for bigs. The Europeans and foreign players first brought that 'skill outside the key' mentality for their bigs and that has changed the game drastically as they filtered to the NBA. The Warriors are kind of a culmination of things though history tends to go in waves as far as trends so who knows, maybe they will trend back to the block and key area someday.. Stat lines of 1.5 points a game and 2 rebounds are not a bother to me one bit for AAU ball when it comes to bigs staying down low... Not the type of game that will ever bring a ton of impressive stats for a big unless there is disciplined and purposed play in the post.
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