Anonymous wrote:Oh, and the best privates tend to be WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, I think) schools, esp. Paul IV, Gonzaga, DeMatha, and St John’s.

Yes, Paul IV is one of the top 5 programs in the nation.

My son is a school I won’t named and one of the more mainstream, highly respected privates in the DMV. His school has no longer been recruiting basketball players. The school has gone from one of the top programs in the area for basketball and some other sports, to losing seasons
Players even apply, but don’t get in. Schools change philosophies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if I have a kid that is a star player in 8th grade, a private high school coach would never come to me to recruit them? I need to approach the coach and express interest in their school…then ask for aid if I can’t afford it?

More than likely.

It’s not like the coach will call the parents or send them an email. More likely that the coach will be introduced to the kid by his own coach after a game (“Larlo, this is Coach Tom from St Whatsits”). Then coach will say “Great game Larlo. You should come check out one of our games and meet the guys.” Or coach may say to parent “I saw Larlo play. He should come for a visit and meet the team. We have a great program, and he’d bee a good fit.” First scenario happened to my kid when when he was already in high school and coaches wanted him to transfer, and second happened to the mom of a team mate in 8th grade after a game.

Anonymous wrote:So if I have a kid that is a star player in 8th grade, a private high school coach would never come to me to recruit them? I need to approach the coach and express interest in their school…then ask for aid if I can’t afford it?

More than likely.

Anonymous wrote:Athletic scholarships are not allowed in any of the DMV private leagues. Only Merit/need based and/or academic aid can be offered just like every other student has available to them same rules apply across the board.

Lol. It's so cute that you think that.

There are legitimate decisions to be made if you have a kid who is showing potential but at a school where they are bringing in talent over them, so they are stuck playing on lower teams at a young age(freshmen, jv), or just not playing much on varsity. Recruiting is still fairly basic imo.. They look at who is currently the most athletic, the tallest, who can shoot, who can dribble/pass and sometimes.. who comes from an athletic family or parent. Some players have loads of potential in these areas and are skipped over for more well know players..There are scholarships or roles for many of these players at many different levels.. but to get tape out and also simply improve.. they have to play.. whether thats at a top basketball school or a smaller school playing against those top schools. Lots of times it may come down to balancing academics and sport opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:The private school basketball scene is such a racket for some players in this area. So many leave their local publics for private and the promise of a better tomorrow but gradually see their minutes get eroded by transfers --- that is if they see playing time.

Seeing athletes attending 3 and 4 different high schools is not rare.

This area is insane for basketball. Multiple schools are in the top 20 in the nation.

The private school basketball scene is such a racket for some players in this area. So many leave their local publics for private and the promise of a better tomorrow but gradually see their minutes get eroded by transfers --- that is if they see playing time.

Anonymous wrote:This summer we were visiting my sister in Houston and my son who last year played on his FCPS freshman team went with my nephew to his summer varsity team practice. My son dominated that practice…at the level or maybe better than their varsity team star. And he has been much better than my nephew for years. My son didn’t make the JV team at his FCPS school. My nephew is not starting, but getting substantial minutes for his varsity team that is having a winning season.

You might be surprised by the difference between good teams in Texas and good teams in this area.

There are great schools in Texas of course, but yeah - the DMV is a tough place for a kid who just wants to play HS ball. My kid’s dream was just to play in HS because he loved the game, but after devoting most of his waking hours to practicing for years, he ended up on the varsity bench behind 3 high major D1 commits (two over 6’9”), 2 mid major commits and 2 bench players who went lower level D1.

This summer we were visiting my sister in Houston and my son who last year played on his FCPS freshman team went with my nephew to his summer varsity team practice. My son dominated that practice…at the level or maybe better than their varsity team star. And he has been much better than my nephew for years. My son didn’t make the JV team at his FCPS school. My nephew is not starting, but getting substantial minutes for his varsity team that is having a winning season.

You might be surprised by the difference between good teams in Texas and good teams in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid from South Lakes High School is getting minutes on Michigan States basketball team as a freshman. If you are a good player on a good team in the area you will get scouted.

That kid is 6’9”, both his parents played high major D1, his mom is a professional sportscaster, he has 3 siblings who played D1 basketball, he had connections, and he can flat out play. And that kid went to South Lakes because both his parents went there, his mom was already coaching there, and he lived next to the school.

There is a 6’10” kid at Blake right now with a similar profile, that started at Dematha but transferred back to his local school.

Thanks for bringing in the MUCH needed context

Anonymous wrote:A kid from South Lakes High School is getting minutes on Michigan States basketball team as a freshman. If you are a good player on a good team in the area you will get scouted.

That kid is 6’9”, both his parents played high major D1, his mom is a professional sportscaster, he has 3 siblings who played D1 basketball, he had connections, and he can flat out play. And that kid went to South Lakes because both his parents went there, his mom was already coaching there, and he lived next to the school.

There is a 6’10” kid at Blake right now with a similar profile, that started at Dematha but transferred back to his local school.

A kid from South Lakes High School is getting minutes on Michigan States basketball team as a freshman. If you are a good player on a good team in the area you will get scouted.

If you think your son is good enough to get a scholarship, he needs to be on Team Takeover or Team Durant and if he’s not good enough to make the top team in his age group, you will need to do a lot of the legwork yourself getting him into private school.

If he is able to make one of those teams and he plays well, you can tell his coach or an administrator of the organization what u want and they probably can make it happen. Private school Coaches come to those organization looking for players.

And the kid has to be a good student too. If he’s not so good a student, you can do a sports academy similar to Gillion or St James.