The teams listed above are all for superstars. If your kid is a superstar then definitely seek them out. But it’s still worth playing AAU/travel at a lower level if your kid wants to improve and play for his middle and high school teams. I would also recommend checking out PPA Premier, PSB (Pro Skills Basketball), and MADE if your kid is not a top tier player.

lol. Kids are definitely catching lobs in middle school @ 12 & 13. If you don’t know by now, dont get your child dunked on

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The expectation is for 6th graders to almost be able to
Dunk!!!?? What?

I was thinking 7th grade but yes, by end of 8th grade about 50% of high level teams listed above will be dunking which is why I said “almost dunking”

And those 8th graders are also 18 years old.

Anonymous wrote:The expectation is for 6th graders to almost be able to
Dunk!!!?? What?

I was thinking 7th grade but yes, by end of 8th grade about 50% of high level teams listed above will be dunking which is why I said “almost dunking”

I've seen plenty of boys teams playing during DD's tournaments and I've never seen boys that young dunking. PP is right that a guard on a high level team will need to be ably to hit 3s at a decent clip and have a great handle, but they arent dunking.

Anonymous wrote:The expectation is for 6th graders to almost be able to
Dunk!!!?? What?

I’ve never seen a 6th grader dunk. My kid’s first ever made dunk was in layup lines before his first high school summer league game the summer before 9th grade, and he made his school’s freshman team. One freshman made varsity — his first basket in his first game was a windmill dunk. That kid was 6’7” and like 200 pounds as a freshman. He was probably dunking in 7th grade.

The expectation is for 6th graders to almost be able to
Dunk!!!?? What?

Large majority of middle school teams practice in PG and play same tournaments. Mix of VA Beach, Richmond, NC, PA, and NJ. To PP’s point, if your kid isn’t already on one of the stellar teams, it will be tough (but not impossible). Top teams can be found on their IG accounts followed by year of high school grad. (Example TTO2029). They will announce tryouts for Spring and Fall sessions (usually Feb tryouts for spring).

Teams include:
Team Takover
Team Durant
DC Premier
Team Melo
New World

Many of these teams have A and B teams. Shoot for B team if your kid is not a super star by now (either almost dunking or can shoot out the gym with matching handles).

6th grade or 7th?

They are all money grabs at age 12.

If you are asking, your kid isn't that talented.

There are several threads about AAU basketball in Virginia, but can share insight about AAU basketball teams in Maryland or NWDC or PGC? Which teams are the real deal in terms of training, and which are money grabs?