Jason Sunde retweetledi
“We don’t need to pay to travel to Vegas for my son to get his butt kicked.”
That’s what one of my former “Pistol Pete” coaches said to me years ago.
The previous summer, his son had played on a U16 circuit team for one of the big shoe companies. So when I asked why his son wasn’t playing that circuit again, that was his answer.
His point was simple:
You can find plenty of developmental opportunities close to home.
You don’t always have to spend thousands of dollars traveling across the country all summer for your kid to get better, get challenged, or learn where they stand.
And to be clear, this isn’t an anti-AAU rant.
In the right situation, especially at the high school level, AAU or club teams can be a useful tool. It can help players compete against better athletes, get exposure, and work toward specific goals.
In fact, I’m pretty sure his son still played for a club team that summer.
But it’s not the only path.
And it’s definitely not magic.
What made his comment stick with me was who it came from.
This wasn’t just some random parent complaining about travel basketball.
This guy could really play!
He was about 25 years older than me, played at a school over an hour away, and people in our area still talked about him like he was the local version of Pistol Pete.
He led the state in scoring. He did unbelievable things with the ball. He even outscored future NBA player and Chicago Bull Bobby Hansen for that state scoring title.
When I was 18 and playing against him at the local rec center, even with his injuries and two bad ankles, I remember him putting me on spin cycle. And at that age, defense was my thing!
A lot of people said that if it weren’t for those bad ankles, he would’ve played professionally. He competed against guys like Terry Porter in college.
So when a guy like that says you don’t need to chase every tournament across the country to develop, I listen.
The takeaway?
Club basketball can be valuable.
But development doesn’t come from the plane ticket, the hotel stay, the logo on the jersey, or the tournament location.
It comes from the right challenges, the right coaching, the right habits, and consistent work.
And a lot of times, you can find those things a lot closer to home than people think.
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