Just curious as to what teams will be in Lexington next weekend playing in the AAU State tournament? If you know of the teams please list the team name, grade they are playing in and if possible a roster, With all the talent the state of KY has to offer right now it seem's as next weekend could make for some very exciting basketball at KBA

Travelers 16U will be playing up in the 17u division while the 17U Travelers are in Dallas in the second session of the EYBL.

I wish, for once, they would play state in their own age group (16U). And I believe only a couple of their kids are even actually 16U (grade wise).

With the talent level of the teams playing in the 16u tournament being as loaded as it is I dont see why Travelers are playing up, would love seeing them vs other KY power house teams within their own grade level.. To be fair I've not seen the 16u Travelers team play so my question is are they just that far above the other teams in the age group (which I find hard to believe is possible) or is there a reason for not trying to make a statement in their home state by becoming state champions in their age group?

With the talent level of the teams playing in the 16u tournament being as loaded as it is I dont see why Travelers are playing up, would love seeing them vs other KY power house teams within their own grade level.. To be fair I've not seen the 16u Travelers team play so my question is are they just that far above the other teams in the age group (which I find hard to believe is possible) or is there a reason for not trying to make a statement in their home state by becoming state champions in their age group?

 

Two trains of thought here. Is the AAU season about tournament wins or about making the player ready and preparing them for the next level? Most of these boys play kids that are all older during the HS season and, at times, playing their own age group isn't going to push these boys as hoped.

 

I'm not talking about any team in particular because there are times I too wish we could see who is the best at any certain age group but thats for my own interest.

Playing up is always funny to me. When the team loses, there's a built in excuse "we were playing up".

Playing up is always funny to me. When the team loses, there's a built in excuse "we were playing up".

 

And don't forget the built in bragging rights when you win..

And don't forget the built in bragging rights when you win..

 

LOL. True!

As I stated, most of the kids on their roster are eligible to play 15U. I'm only aware of two exceptions. So, they would actually be "playing up" by playing 16U. They have some really nice players, no question. But I do think they'd be challenged playing 16U given the talent in that class.

Hoop Dreams will have our 15u, 16u and both 17u groups in attendance this weekend.

Is the tournament this weekend by grade or age?

Is the tournament this weekend by grade or age?

 

Both. 15u(9th) 16u(10th) 17u(11th)

Both. 15u(9th) 16u(10th) 17u(11th)

 

 

With the talent level of the teams playing in the 16u tournament being as loaded as it is I dont see why Travelers are playing up, would love seeing them vs other KY power house teams within their own grade level.. To be fair I've not seen the 16u Travelers team play so my question is are they just that far above the other teams in the age group (which I find hard to believe is possible) or is there a reason for not trying to make a statement in their home state by becoming state champions in their age group?

 

First question is why do you find it hard to believe? And secondly the Travelers are looking to play the toughest competition possible to prepare them for their Nike Tournaments... To my knowledge, they have no plans on playing in AAU Nationals, therefore there is no benefit to playing at the 16U level. They have already proven they can beat what many consider the top team in the State, so what else is there to prove in that age group? I think they will be fine in the 17U division and I believe a matchup between them and a couple of the top 17U teams in the State is eminent!

In Tennessee, we frequently played up an age group because we believed it would help us by playing better competition.

 

The Tennessee AAU structure is a bit different, however. There are three substates (East, Middle, West) and the qualifying teams from each of those three move on to the state tournament. Unlike Kentucky, the Tennessee state tournaments are split up. For example, the 6th and 10th grade tournaments are in Nashville, the 8th grade tournament is in Knoxville, and all other age groups are in Memphis. They are usually played on different weekends.

 

So in Tennessee, it's possible to play in your own age division and then also play up an age division. We frequently would compete in both the 16u and 17u state tournaments, but they can't do that in Kentucky because they are held at the same time. We didn't have to choose in Tennessee and could play both most years.

 

I'm out of the loop now because I'm doing my doctorate, so I can't speak for their decision-making. I would guess they felt playing 17s would better prepare them for the remainder of their schedule. However, it seems like the 16u division in KY is really strong this year which is good for everybody in the state.

 

The 8th grade class in Tennessee, as a whole, is stronger than the 9th grade class right now. So sometimes the competition in your age group is better than the one above it. However, I don't think they're playing up to avoid anybody or run from competition. Although it might be just as good at 16 as it is at 17 this year in KY.