In a slight change to its grass-roots program, Nike will no longer invite players from the junior class to its Regional Skills Academies, which this year means no players from the 2010 class will be included.
This year the Regional Skills Academies will be held in Atlanta on April 25 and 26; Santa Ana, Calif., on May 2 and 3; Indianapolis on May 9 and 10; Philadelphia on May 16 and 17; and Dallas on May 30-31.
"I just think we needed a different look," said Mary Thompson, Nike Girls Elite Youth Basketball manager. "A lot of us know about those top players so the younger kids will be able to use those skills at a younger age."
In prior years, the event has had a mix similar to the national academy in terms of the graduating classes. The event included juniors; sophomores; freshmen; and, in the Santa Ana event last May, a rare eighth-grader (Jordan Adams).
The change will open the door for younger players not on a Nike-sponsored club program to get the opportunity to earn their way into the National Skills Academy.
The movement in player development to younger kids is not limited solely to Nike -- USA Basketball is now fielding a youth team for kids 16 years old and younger for FIBA competition. The obvious theory here for both is that you can identify the best players for your program and teach them over a longer period of time.
"There [will be] more kids that are not on the radar or maybe who aren't as established nationally," Thompson said.
The Nike National Skills Academy on the Nike World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, Ore., is one of the few events outside USA Basketball that allows the nation's true elite to learn and compete together. In its sixth year, the event spans four days -- usually June 30-July 3 -- prior to the start of the NCAA certified viewing period.
The national event consists of 18 to 22 invitees, depending on the year and the availability of those players invited. Most of the participants are fresh off their junior or sophomore years in high school, but on rare occasions stars from the freshman class will be invited, like Elena Delle Donne (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei).
Two years ago, Nike expanded the program by holding regional versions of the Skills Academy. Initially these were held in four cities, but last year the Skills Academies were held in five different cities across the country. These regional events were shorter and featured twice as many players.
Sneaker affiliations aside, the events offer both skill development and exposure. Ganon Baker's supercharged instruction is a great buffer for young kids to see what is in store for them if they want to pursue elite-level skills. ESPN HoopGurlz will cover all five regional skills academies, and several other scouting services will show up at various events as well.
"That's what regionals is all about," Thompson said, "giving kids the opportunity to get better and showcase their skills against the best."
The ESPN HoopGurlz 2008 Best of Summer Top Performers featured Tennessee signee Taber Spani (Lee's Summit, Mo./Metro Academy); she skyrocketed to national acclaim after performing at the Texas Regional Skills Academy. With Baker, the director and chief instructor of the Nike Skills Academies, egging her on during the impromptu one-on-one championship, Spani nailed six straight baskets to bring the house down and put her on the map nationally. Spani went on to participate in the National Skills Academy, played her summer ball with the Cy-Fair Shock club program (she had no club team as of mid-May) and was recently selected to the 2009 McDonald's All-American Team.
Those familiar with the previous Nike regional events will notice that the events span just two days this year instead of three. However, in terms of total court hours, the events remain largely unchanged. The Friday night session of prior years has been dropped and replaced with a longer day on Sunday, ending around 3 p.m. instead of noon.
The change had to do with logistics because many kids missed school to travel from out of state to be at the event, and some of them didn't make it until Saturday.
This year there is another logistical issue -- the Texas event overlaps with the USA Basketball U16 team trials in Colorado Springs. According to Thompson, Nike will try to invite those participants who cannot make the Texas event to one of the earlier academies.
