Kelin,

I agree with your general sentiment about the AAU style of play. I look at it as highly organized pick-up ball. Relative talent, attitude and style of play can be discerned, but it is important to know who the opposition is. But you don't see a lot of weak-side help defense being played and I haven't seen a charge taken in any of these videos. I don't think teams run defenses designed to take away the other team's best player. So, to me, these are show-case types of games, not hotly contested battles where a player might be asked to sacrifice stats for wins or play outside their comfort zone.

I want to thank Inside the Hall for posting these videos. They have really helped me understand much more about the players we are recruiting. Its fun to watch them play.

Dave....all of what you said leads me to believe if player rankings are based on these type of games, they hold almost no water what so ever.....

What happened to the days of the BC camps, 5 star camps, and shooting camps....

Quite honestly I would not let that tape out, if I were Teague. He only passed when his shot was not there. The tape was 2:14 long, couldn't find one defensive stop? I am not saying he's no good, I would have to see a lot more.

who was # 1 in black in these clips? The guy looked like an extremely athletic 6-6.

Deshaun Thomas

Makes sense. I could tell the kid was a stud watching him jog up and down the court a few times.

OK I have finally watched this clip a couple of times....can someone answer these questions.....

How much different is an AAU game from an All star game....?
How many 1-4 low sets can you run?
How many clear outs can you run?
I REALLY hate class basketball, but AAU ball is running a close second....
What can a coach get from these games seriously? Other than to be seen by the kid they want....

If I were the commish of AAU and wanted to help the kids. I would limit the #of games a kid can play in and at some point roughly in Early June, nothing but Team AAU events....right Bloomington South. Look at the results.....

Teague is flat out a player. It would be a shame to let him go anywhere else. My concern is with the APR. If he stays only a year or two, how does that affect APR. We can't take too many hits on that thing, and we will be dealing with that for a few years to come.

Teague is 100% ONE and DONE....I would take KI over teague also, as he is a better long term fit and I think a better 'IU' fit...

If I have to make a call based simply on video clips, I take Kyrie. KI seems more polished and team-oriented than MT on tape. Of course, tape is not the whole story and most of these AAU games seem to be pretty ragged...that style could benefit one over the other. Both of these guys would be nice!

I can vouch for teague having the ability to be a lockdown defender. His length is a plus and his strength and quickness helped. He plays at a high school that does a lot of full court man to man pressure and pressing.

If there is one flaw in his game, Alex pointed it out.....I would also take my chances on him shooting the perimeter shot consistantly. If he gets a consistant mid range game, he will be unstoppable. It is HARD to stay in front of him and Pritchard, Elston, Roth would benefit from his penetration on kick outs or lay ups for bigs......

Has teague reached the EJ status as the guy we MUST have, or would Teague or Irving be a fair trade off? I believe Irving will stay longer than Teague.....

I read that Teague has pushed his college decision back until July... is there any word on how soon Irving is likely to make his decision? It seems as though if one of these players commits, then the other is likely to go somewhere else. Am I right on this assumption?

Irving won't decide until taking his official visits in the fall. He'll have his list of five finalists after AAU is over.

he crossed over a white boy (WOW, not)... NO Scoring skill what soever!

souknow...there has to be a better way to say what you want without the racist undertone. I have never read this kind of comment on this site. get it together..

He's very quick and that crossover is great. I can't say much positive about the players trying to guard him. I'd like to see him go against better competition. I don't doubt his skill, but he wasn't tested in the game on this video. Didn't he play against BHSS this year? If so, can somebody report how that went for him?

He's playing against Indiana Elite and mainly Matt Carlino in this video.

Well, well. I looked at the video again, and I can't say I saw anything to change my take on the defense. With that added information, video does go a long way in documenting why Teague is a highly rated prospect. But it also shows that Matt Carlino has got some work to do. Alex, what was your take on the match-up? I know that Matt was coming off injuries and battling jet lag in this tourney, but he didn't look to be in the same league as Teague.

Hard to be critical of Matt. He's still not in top shape physically and will need a couple of more tournaments until he's back in the swing of things 100%.

That said, Teague is a difficult matchup for just about anybody. He's difficult to stay in front of and I saw him get around Darwin Davis, who is a lot quicker than Carlino, fairly easily when Bloomington South and Pike played last January.

Right now, the best way to defend Teague is probably to sag off and make him prove he can hit the outside shot. Once he gets into the lane, he has a knack for finishing or getting fouled. As you said, it's not hard to see why Teague is an elite prospect.

I saw several drives where he dished the ball to the open guy Craig. Plus, if you are that talented at getting past your defender, you should attack the rim! He is very quick and athletic, and we can always use guys that can create their own shot. Plus, I have to think he can move well on defense too with with quickness.

Thanks Alex, Teague has all the skills but from the video it seems like he has a problem sharing the ball. Is that just me?

I think he shares it well for the most part. I basically edited clips of him trying to score the basketball and sprinkled a few nice passes as well.

As Chronic said, his crossover is amazing.

That crossover will break more ankles than osteoporosis. If only his character were as strong as his ball handling....