AAU, high-level hoops clubs forced to adjust
Pandemic has coaches scrambling to keep players upbeat
This is generally one of Leo Papile’s favorite times of the year.
The BABC founder and coach would enjoy the wintry warmth of Key Biscayne before heading north to kick off the start of the AAU basketball season. A series of games dubbed the BABC Select Tour pitted Papile’s renowned program against a selection of allstars from all parts of Massachusetts as well as New Hampshire.
The coronavirus not only put an end to the Select Tour, but has threatened to curtail much of the 2020 AAU basketball season. For Papile, who started his program 44 years ago, getting back on the basketball court is the furthest thing from his mind.
“My statement is that no one should even be thinking about sports right now,” Papile said. “We are in the middle of a medical pandemic, economic turmoil and the world is not going to be the same as we once knew it.”
Papile’s program features many of the top ninth and 10th graders in the area. He fully understands that they want to get on the court, but knows this is not the time and place. Hank DeGroat is a volunteer in the program as a wellness coach and one of his primary duties is to deliver workout routines via electronic means.
“Hank is a no-nonsense guy, he is a Gulf War veteran, he’s competed in the Pikes Peak Marathon,” Papile said. “He’s set up a daily exercise routine that all of them can do on their own. We want to have kids with character, we don’t want them feeling sorry about themselves during the tough times. Worrying about their recruiting seems shallow and selfish under these times.”
Metro Boston coach Mo Vasquez is racking up a solid phone bill constantly checking in on his players since he has no physical access to his players due in large part to social distancing.
“With the gyms being shut down, I’m constantly calling them to make sure that they are doing the right things as far as school, being safe and working on their own games,” Vasquez said. “Hopefully the NCAA will do something once this passes which will allow the kids to be seen.”
Vin Pastore runs the highly successful Mass. Rivals program, one that has sent more than 100 players to play college basketball. He was looking forward to the upcoming AAU season in hopes of showcasing some of his top talent.
“All we can really do right now is tell our kids to do whatever they can in private,” Pastore said. “Work on your dribbling, do extra situps and pullups until we find out when we can get back on the court.
“Maybe it’s time for a return to some of the old fashioned things we did when we were younger. I live in Reading and noticed someone hung up an old (milk) crate in their driveway to shoot around.”
Middlesex Magic coach Michael Crotty Jr. is using modern day technology to spread the gospel of his players, since they likely won’t get an opportunity to impress college coaches during the two live periods in April.
“I’ve been communicating with them largely through group texts,” said Crotty, who was a standout guard at Williams. “I’ve told them to send me all their Hudl tapes from the high school season and I’ll start sending them out to all the coaches of the schools they are interested in.”