"I couldn’t disagree more" "FACTS": Hoops fans divided over player development coach's claims of high school ball being better than AAU

Amateur Athletic Union programs have helped develop some of basketball's biggest stars. However, Marcus Walker, a player development coach for Grind House Basketball, tweeted Monday that some players who excel in AAU competition struggle to shine as much on their high school varsity teams.

Walker's post sparked debate among fans. Some agreed, noting that many players who thrive in AAU settings often struggle in other environments, including high school basketball. Others argued that AAU programs are valuable proving grounds, producing many current high school stars.

"I couldn’t disagree more .. clearly you are fortunate and have quality high school coaches…not so much for 90% of the public school system," one said.

"I disagree with this.. High school basketball isn’t what it used to be .. a lot of high school basketball coaches aren’t great… And what’s funny is a lot of the best high school basketball coaches that I know, also coach AAU…" another wrote.

There were also a lot of people agreeing with him, though.

"Facts. All those games played and still have low basketball IQ. I think some of these organizations are fleecing the ppl😂😂😂," one commented.

"D’Aaron Fox said the same thing a few years ago on the Colin Cowherd Show. He said a lot of guys in the league can hoop but most of ‘em don’t know how to actually play basketball!!!" one wrote.

"AAU killed the proper form," another added.

One of the people who agreed with this sentiment is former NBA star Jamal Crawford.

"💯💯💯," Crawford reacted.

Hoops fans react to take on AAU programs (Source: Instagram/grindhousebasketball)

AAU programs produced NBA stars, but some of these stars have criticized it too

AAU programs produced NBA stars like Chris Paul and LeBron James. However, they were also noted for their time as high school stars, not just AAU players.

One of these stars is Kobe Bryant, who famously went from high school directly to the NBA. However, while he grew up as an AAU player, he was not fond of it.

"AAU basketball," Bryant said in 2015 (via ESPN). "Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid."

However, there are still plenty of benefits as these programs keep athletes busy and out of trouble, especially in the summer when there is no school. It also serves as offseason practice for many high school players.