Poll Results:

It seems you feel that AAU ball for juniors is as big as it gets. In the most recent poll results, "AAU Game" was chosen as the best single way to evaluate a player, as this option received 24 of the 41 votes. A not-so-close second place was "High School Game," which took in 11 votes, which was followed up by "Camp Game" and "AAU Practice," with two votes a piece. Behind those two, in a tie for fifth place, were "High School Practice" and "All-Star Game." Those both picked up a single vote, while "All-star Practice," "Camp Practice," and "Other" came up empty. The voting shows that you favor player evaluations being done during games instead of practices. As for the other poll, in which I asked when the best time for a player to commit is, the option of "Summer after Junior Season" was the winner, with 12 of the 30 votes. Next up was "Early Signing Period," with eight votes, after which was, surprisingly, "Summer After Freshman Season," which picked up three votes. In a three-way tie for fourth place with two votes each, were "During Junior Season," "During Senior Season," and "Regular Signing Period." Finishing behind these three was "Other," with a single vote. "During Sophomore Season" was the only choice not to receive a vote. The selection of "Other" is interesting, as it would appear that the person was thinking either during freshman year or prior to high school even starting was the appropriate choice. Please comment on this article to express your viewpoint, especially if you are the one who chose "Other" or one of the three who picked "Summer After Freshman Year." To sum it up, assuming AAU games are the best way to conduct an evaluation and the summer after your junior year is the best time to commit, then those players in the class of 2009 had better give it their all on the grassroots circuit this summer.