[bouncem24949Participant]

Jalen Rose recently brought this practice to my attention. If you aren’t familar here is the article, http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/boysbasketball/index.ssf/2013/07/staying_back_to_get_ahead_high_school_basketball_players_are_staying_back_in_middle_school_to_get_an.html. Basically players and their parents have been staying back in middle school to get an advantage over their opponents. Some players that stay back end up reclassifying , like Andrew Wiggins and Darkari Johnson. My question is how long has this practice been going on? The article said it is rather new, but im sure someone on this site knows more about this practice. Also do you think states will make a rule against 19 year olds playing in high school basketball, as a result of this practice?

[Sewok15Participant]

This has been going on for a while and it isn’t just elite athletes. One of my good friends was held back by his dad because he was one of the younger kids in his grade but more because he was a good baseball player. He never even made it to the minor leagues. That was almost 15 years ago and I would imagine he wasn’t the first person to do it.

[Sewok15Participant]

This has been going on for a while and it isn’t just elite athletes. One of my good friends was held back by his dad because he was one of the younger kids in his grade but more because he was a good baseball player. He never even made it to the minor leagues. That was almost 15 years ago and I would imagine he wasn’t the first person to do it.

[JoeWolf1]

It’s dumb, by the time the put on an NCAA uniform the field is leveled and “old for his class” isn’t beneficial when being considered as an NBA draft pick. For elite guys, it’s not gonna matter, but it just seems like a dumb short term strategy that may work against a kid when it matters most.

[jjbutler73Participant]

The players are older and more mature than their “peers”, therefore coaches give them more attention. They develop quicker than others due to extra coaching , if they actually work at it.

[jjbutler73Participant]

The players are older and more mature than their “peers”, therefore coaches give them more attention. They develop quicker than others due to extra coaching , if they actually work at it.

[JoeWolf1]

It’s dumb, by the time the put on an NCAA uniform the field is leveled and “old for his class” isn’t beneficial when being considered as an NBA draft pick. For elite guys, it’s not gonna matter, but it just seems like a dumb short term strategy that may work against a kid when it matters most.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Private schools automatically give their kids an extra year of eligibility.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Private schools automatically give their kids an extra year of eligibility.

[ThepessimestParticipant]

In Arizona this has been going on for a minute. As a coach I think the practice is selfish (it is their right) and places priorities in the wrong place. If you are good enough you are good enough. A year does not make a non college level player a college level player. And in my experience a lot of the kids who do it aren’t “great” or they peak early anyways in terms of being physically ready. There are some kids who do it and it doesn’t even matter. They have offers by their soph year so really did holding them back really cause that? No.

We even had kids who would “sit out a year” from high school (almost like a redshirt year) and then come back more mature. This has since been outlawed by the school board but I know of 2 kids who did this. And here is the funny part; neither have a place to play after high school so again; if you good enough you good enough. If you have to manipulate the system for your kid to get a look then he typically isn’t good enough anyways.

There are legit reasons to be held back. Grades and maturity are “real” reasons why a kid should be held back. Or in some cases a kid is young for his class and so holding him back really doesn’t do anything. But when you are 19 when you graduate? That is too much!

You should dominate if you are 19 during your senior year. SMH

[ThepessimestParticipant]

In Arizona this has been going on for a minute. As a coach I think the practice is selfish (it is their right) and places priorities in the wrong place. If you are good enough you are good enough. A year does not make a non college level player a college level player. And in my experience a lot of the kids who do it aren’t “great” or they peak early anyways in terms of being physically ready. There are some kids who do it and it doesn’t even matter. They have offers by their soph year so really did holding them back really cause that? No.

We even had kids who would “sit out a year” from high school (almost like a redshirt year) and then come back more mature. This has since been outlawed by the school board but I know of 2 kids who did this. And here is the funny part; neither have a place to play after high school so again; if you good enough you good enough. If you have to manipulate the system for your kid to get a look then he typically isn’t good enough anyways.

There are legit reasons to be held back. Grades and maturity are “real” reasons why a kid should be held back. Or in some cases a kid is young for his class and so holding him back really doesn’t do anything. But when you are 19 when you graduate? That is too much!

You should dominate if you are 19 during your senior year. SMH

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

In terms of gaining an edge I believe you’d get more from playing up rather than down to the competition. It doesn’t work for every kid but it doesn’t help any kid to play against lesser competition.

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

In terms of gaining an edge I believe you’d get more from playing up rather than down to the competition. It doesn’t work for every kid but it doesn’t help any kid to play against lesser competition.

[jjbutler73Participant]

It is about being the best player and getting extra attention from coaches. You can always reclassify again later, like Wiggins and others this year.

[jjbutler73Participant]

It is about being the best player and getting extra attention from coaches. You can always reclassify again later, like Wiggins and others this year.

[MBRHParticipant]

It’s not dumb, like the other guy said, if a kid is perceived to be better at a younger age he gets more attention and develop more. Studies show that many successful athletes have earlier birthdays. Repeating a grade has the same effect.

[MBRHParticipant]

It’s not dumb, like the other guy said, if a kid is perceived to be better at a younger age he gets more attention and develop more. Studies show that many successful athletes have earlier birthdays. Repeating a grade has the same effect.

[phila9012Participant]

This will eventually happen a lot in a lot of sports. A college scholarship is worth between 50 and 100 thousand dollars and if you can hold your kid back a grade and have him or her have a better chance of getting a scholarship it is worth it. Like my cousin is a water polo player and she got a partial scholarship to play division 1 in college, so if she would have stayed back and been a year older coming out she might have been able to get a full scholarship.

I don’t think it will affect the NBA but it probably already is a major factor or will be a major factor for every sport and every borderline division 1 athlete. If you arent going to be a professional in your sport when you graduate this wont affect you at all other than getting you free tuition so for most graduating college a year late for getting a full scholarship is worth it.

[phila9012Participant]

This will eventually happen a lot in a lot of sports. A college scholarship is worth between 50 and 100 thousand dollars and if you can hold your kid back a grade and have him or her have a better chance of getting a scholarship it is worth it. Like my cousin is a water polo player and she got a partial scholarship to play division 1 in college, so if she would have stayed back and been a year older coming out she might have been able to get a full scholarship.

I don’t think it will affect the NBA but it probably already is a major factor or will be a major factor for every sport and every borderline division 1 athlete. If you arent going to be a professional in your sport when you graduate this wont affect you at all other than getting you free tuition so for most graduating college a year late for getting a full scholarship is worth it.

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