High school recruiting, especially in the summer, has to this point consisted of a hodgepodge of camps and tournaments, but Nike took a step towards streamlining in this summer with its Elite Youth Basketball League.
The EYBL is a first-ever league featuring 42 high-level, U17 grassroots teams playing for a championship. It culminates in July at the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, Ga.
The concept is simple. The teams, divided into four divisions, will play a predetermined schedule during three weekends this spring — in Hampton (Friday through Sunday), Houston (May 14-16) and Los Angeles (May 29-31). After the third event, the top five teams in each of the four divisions will automatically advance to the Peach Jam bracket, with four at-large teams added to round out the 24-team championship tournament. Teams that receive an automatic bid are guaranteed spots for 2011.
The ongoing nature of the tournament (qualification for the Peach Jam and the Peach Jam itself) gives it more value, because a championship will be won over a few months instead of a few days. And since winning is required for advancement, players *should* put personal success aside for the team’s success.
The only thing that is puzzling to me is the lack of a Midwestern location (Chicago? St. Louis?). I looked at the Los Angeles event that happened in May and there was a team from Wisconsin there. It seems like Chicago would be an ideal spot for all the talent in the Great Lakes region.
