Southwest Christian Academy

[arkhoops94]

It is going to be interesting seeing how well SCA does this year... they have a tough schedule. They will be playing in multiple tournaments in Memphis, Dallas, and Houston. Also will play Oak Hill Academy and Huntington Prep (school where Andrew Wiggins and Moses Kingsley attended). Jerry Perry and Tyrik Dixon should be the two guards and then they will have a big man named Ibrahim Ali (6' down low, not sure about the other positions. Should be fun and interesting to see how well they do against elite competition.

[cdelaney]

It is going to be interesting seeing how well SCA does this year... they have a tough schedule. They will be playing in multiple tournaments in Memphis, Dallas, and Houston. Also will play Oak Hill Academy and Huntington Prep (school where Andrew Wiggins and Moses Kingsley attended). Jerry Perry and Tyrik Dixon should be the two guards and then they will have a big man named Ibrahim Ali (6' down low, not sure about the other positions. Should be fun and interesting to see how well they do against elite competition.

Not interested at all. Horrible idea,hope it goes away. Nothing against the kids but there should not be prep schools for kids with high school eligibility left.

[Sportsnutt]

It is going to be interesting seeing how well SCA does this year... they have a tough schedule. They will be playing in multiple tournaments in Memphis, Dallas, and Houston. Also will play Oak Hill Academy and Huntington Prep (school where Andrew Wiggins and Moses Kingsley attended). Jerry Perry and Tyrik Dixon should be the two guards and then they will have a big man named Ibrahim Ali (6' down low, not sure about the other positions. Should be fun and interesting to see how well they do against elite competition.

Not interested at all. Horrible idea,hope it goes away. Nothing against the kids but there should not be prep schools for kids with high school eligibility left.

I agree - Nothing against the kids but you are only in high school one time.  Enjoy the experience with your family and friends.  There is a time for this and it is called college and summer travel ball.  Those opportunities will come whether you are are an elite prep school or at Rooster Poot High School.  The recruiters will find you.

[neds]

Wow!  Big win for them yesterday (LR Battle of the Border tournament) over Dallas Prime Prep. SWA has developed a program very quickly. Impressive

[OlGuyWicker]

It is not a high school team that a community will rally around.  It is an AAU team.  No connection to the community.  What is sad is they are now recruiting local talent away from local high schools. 

[BigBobB]

They do have a high school varsity team that competes in their own state Christian conference. Most of the players who grew up at SW weren't asked to join the "prep" team. I understand why but it's a little cruddy that the guys\gals that have played there for many years now take a back seat to the  "prep" players. I say leave the exhibition play for summer. Thses guys may be getting ready for college athletically but I don't see them getting there academically. Just my opinion.

[cdelaney]

They do have a high school varsity team that competes in their own state Christian conference. Most of the players who grew up at SW weren't asked to join the "prep" team. I understand why but it's a little cruddy that the guys\gals that have played there for many years now take a back seat to the  "prep" players. I say leave the exhibition play for summer. Thses guys may be getting ready for college athletically but I don't see them getting there academically. Just my opinion.

So it's even worse than I thought. Basically no connection to the regular kids at the school. Just what we need- AAU year round to create more divas while having no real high school experience.

[PASS]

It is not a high school team that a community will rally around.  It is an AAU team.  No connection to the community.  What is sad is they are now recruiting local talent away from local high schools.

You people are delusional if you think there is a high school team in Pulaski County that a community can rally around and support that has only kids playing from their community. These kids transfer & move schools on a whim. A lot don't go to the schools they are zoned for.
As for taking away from the "high school experience", what a bunch of bull. These kids are still going to high school. Just because they are not playing for the local school doesn't mean they don't get the high school experience.
As far as summer ball creating divas, also a bunch of crap. Parents & coaches turn these kids into divas for not holding them accountable for their actions. If anything summer ball makes the vast majority of these kids work harder because they realize I might be a great player in high school, but nationally I am just average.
For the record, I do not have a child that goes to Southwest Christian, nor would I let them go there. However, just because it is not what I feel is best for me & my children doesn't mean that it is a bad decision on their part.
This whole thread is ridiculous. Move on people.

[TheMercenary]

As far as summer ball creating divas, also a bunch of crap. Parents & coaches turn these kids into divas for not holding them accountable for their actions. If anything summer ball makes the vast majority of these kids work harder because they realize I might be a great player in high school, but nationally I am just average.

Speaking of working hard in the summer- the girls I start coaching in April are out of shape compared to what's expected in our summer program.  That is no joke! 

I tell them, the reason the HS program doesn't make them work this hard is too many of the kids would quit!  The kids that are dedicated and want to get somewhere playing basketball understand this and put the work in.

[GlassMan]

Just a bunch of pissy parents, most of these parents don't participate in summer AAU Ball and have no clue. Most college recruiting comes out of a AAU summer ball now, if the kids are dedicated they deserve the opportunity to play with, and against the best. It makes no difference where they put the ball down on the hardwood.

[Moonshiner]

Just a bunch of pissy parents, most of these parents don't participate in summer AAU Ball and have no clue. Most college recruiting comes out of a AAU summer ball now, if the kids are dedicated they deserve the opportunity to play with, and against the best. It makes no difference where they put the ball down on the hardwood.

As long they are getting a quality education this is true.  Recruiting is rampant.  I guess the difference is these high schools have a governing body. 

[GlassMan]

I agree about the education, no doubt about that. However most parents are upset because little Billy and little Sally aren't getting drug along by the talent, plus the scores can be pretty brutal.

[cdelaney]

Wow, a lot of pretty emotional responses from folks who say they have no connection with SCA.
I have no problem with AAU basketball- I have had my own kids as well as friends/associates who have had kids in AAU, who have pretty much all improved their skills in AAU, and also been given a chance to work harder on their game and in an environment where everyone else wants to improve their game, so not what they often see at their schools. So I think AAU has its place and is here to stay. Certainly the college coaches feel that way, and they are way better judges of that than me or most other parents. College coaches will also confirm, however, the "diva" phenomenom, and yes that goes to parents/families but is also fostered greatly at the higher levels of AAU.
I do not think there should be a basketball prep academy substituting for an actual high school with a basketball team. The fact that this school has an actual team of regular students + the prep team just confirms that it is only  there as a basketball prep. These kids do not need to be barnstorming the country trying to get on ESPN etc. They need to be going to class, doing homework, going to dances or other school functions- a normal high school experience. They will get the exposure they need for college recruiters in their high school seasons and then in their summers in AAU if they are good enough.
The comment about kids moving around to other high schools is true but may be affected by the changes in the Pulaski County Desegregation settlement that will not allow for as much inter- or intra-disctrict transfers for Magnet school or M-M transfers, but we will see. Even with that in place, however, there is great community support within a given high school's community. Have you ever been to a Parkview or NLR game? These kids will miss out on that. Finally, most of these kids will not eventually play at even the high D-1 level, much less pro basketball. To turn their lives over to Basketball 24/7/365 at age 16 is not worth it. At some point they will probably realize that maybe sticking with their local high school team would have been a better option.

As a side note, if you want to make an argument against someone else's opinions, my suggestion is to not start with "pissy parents" "delusional" "bunch of crap" or "bunch of bull" etc. Kinda makes it difficult to really get to the actual points you are trying to make. Just my opinion.

[Cabotred]

It is not a high school team that a community will rally around.  It is an AAU team.  No connection to the community.  What is sad is they are now recruiting local talent away from local high schools.

You people are delusional if you think there is a high school team in Pulaski County that a community can rally around and support that has only kids playing from their community. These kids transfer & move schools on a whim. A lot don't go to the schools they are zoned for.
As for taking away from the "high school experience", what a bunch of bull. These kids are still going to high school. Just because they are not playing for the local school doesn't mean they don't get the high school experience.
As far as summer ball creating divas, also a bunch of crap. Parents & coaches turn these kids into divas for not holding them accountable for their actions. If anything summer ball makes the vast majority of these kids work harder because they realize I might be a great player in high school, but nationally I am just average.
For the record, I do not have a child that goes to Southwest Christian, nor would I let them go there. However, just because it is not what I feel is best for me & my children doesn't mean that it is a bad decision on their part.
This whole thread is ridiculous. Move on people.

I would classify Jacksonville as the only community team in Pulaski co.  Of course if you head north into Lonoke county,  Cabot has a community team.  Nobody transfers up here to play basketball or football.

[JTthegreat16]

I had the privilege of watching SCA play in person....all this stuff can be debated about whether it's a good high school experience, it's unfair to the kids, blah blah blah.

One thing is for sure though; they're probably the best team in the state. So whatever you wanna say negative about their program, you at least gotta give them what they deserve, and that's recognition and respect. They're good.

[Moonshiner]

I had the privilege of watching SCA play in person....all this stuff can be debated about whether it's a good high school experience, it's unfair to the kids, blah blah blah.

One thing is for sure though; they're probably the best team in the state. So whatever you wanna say negative about their program, you at least gotta give them what they deserve, and that's recognition and respect. They're good.

I think that's the argument.  Nobody wants to be compared to them.  It's a group of some of the best players in the state, maybe some From other states.   Of course they are the best team, so are the AAU wings throughout the summer.  Hired guns vs You play what lives in your district.  Can't be compared.

[neds]

Agree Moonshiner
We'll never know if they are the best team because they can't play a team that is AAA in Arkansas.

[cdelaney]

I had the privilege of watching SCA play in person....all this stuff can be debated about whether it's a good high school experience, it's unfair to the kids, blah blah blah.

One thing is for sure though; they're probably the best team in the state. So whatever you wanna say negative about their program, you at least gotta give them what they deserve, and that's recognition and respect. They're good.

I think that's the argument.  Nobody wants to be compared to them.  It's a group of some of the best players in the state, maybe some From other states.   Of course they are the best team, so are the AAU wings throughout the summer.  Hired guns vs You play what lives in your district.  Can't be compared.

I think they deserve the respect and recognition of all summer league teams, nothing more. And I doubt if they are close to being the best "high school" team in the state.

[OlGuyWicker]

Did they just add a kid that started out playing this season at Maumelle?  I hope this does not become a trend of stealing players from local High Schools.