(02-11-2022 07:47 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(02-10-2022 12:40 PM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  

(02-10-2022 10:36 AM)emu steve Wrote:  Here is what I've been saying about the 2022 MI h.s. boys basketball class.

Lest I made a mistake, I did a search for "MI" looking for any reference to Michigan I could find, the state, UofM, MSU, etc. Rivals has their top 150 and NOT ONE is a Michigan High School player. Amazing.

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2022

The reason for the lack of MI HS kids in this list is that many of them transfer to prep schools (like IMG) that are outside the state. Prep schools have changed everything just like travel sports have really hurt youth sports (especially Little League).

Nickle you may have put your finger on the root cause issue here. It is a shame.

Young kids have different maturation rates. Emoni Bates grew fast and subsequently he established physical coordination at a far earlier age than many of his counterparts, at 15 he was a genuine phenom. After watching him play for Memphis, I'm thinking those other guys caught up while just growing up. We probably should just let kids be kids.

Supposedly Bates has grown another 1.5 inches since the Summer, the late growth spurt has caused back pain issues.