A 501c3 NonProfit Academic Organization
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AAU basketball serves many excellent
purposes. It teaches young men how to compete at the
highest levels playing basketball, a sport we all love.
Let's examine very closely what University of Memphis
coach John Calipari shared in Memphis at the 13U AAU
Nationals in 2008. "Coach Cal" as he is known,
shared that there are 312 Division I basketball schools
each offering approximately 14 scholarships. Simple
math adds up to approximately 4,300 young men who will
earn the right to play Division I basketball on a full
scholarship. Compare that to the MILLIONS of young
men who play high school basketball nationally along
with the 100,000 plus that play AAU and the percentages
are NOT in a young man's favor just out of sheer numbers
to earn a Division I scholarship.
For the young man who has talent to play Division I
basketball PLUS the family structure where academics
are always first, his ticket is punched. YET, what
about the young man who has the talent to play at the
highest levels but struggles academically? Or the young
man who may just not be quite good enough to play Division
I ball? What becomes of him is too often a sad tale
that is told again and again across America.
These young men's basketball lives after high school
are over, so now what do they do? The answers usually
end up being unprepared to do anything else. No ball,
no school, and limited chances for a successful future;
but it doesn't have to be that way EVER!
Team Toledo was conceived with the idea that EVERY
young man who participates in this rigorous structured
academic basketball program, will be guaranteed to
get into college be it at the highest Division I level
to Division III. The outcome is that four to five years
later, these young men will have earned a college degree.
This allows them to become a first class citizen, professional,
someday husband and father, and, hopefully, mentors
in their communities too.
Team Toledo will be predominantly Northwest Ohio young
men with the main draw from the Toledo, Ohio market.
For years all of the talented young men from this area
have had to play AAU ball in Columbus, Cleveland, and
Cincinnati, putting BOTH financial and family stress
from all of the traveling and associated costs.
Team Toledo WILL compete for AAU National Championships
because of BOTH the talent level and the type
of basketball that will be taught and played by
our young men from a program versus a team. All
Team Toledo age groups will run and play the same
system.
Former NBA & NCAA stars
Jim
Jackson (Toledo
Macomber) and Todd
Mitchell (Toledo
St. Francis) will work with our young men on a
regular AND individual basis too! Team
Toledo will be sponsored by Adidas & Under
Armour for all sneakers and apparel. Please
Click
Here to see exactly how the young men
will be monitored year round for an exact plan
and strategy to ensure academic success from day
one of earning a spot with Team Toledo.
The present and future of Team Toledo and what it stands
for will be rooted in academic, social, and athletic
development. No longer will our boys rely on basketball
talent alone to build a sustainable ethic as it pertains
to AAU and what success SHOULD be all about for our
young men. The Team Toledo ethic will be that of academic
excellence as well as developing basketball skills
and team building. At this time, our country is in
need of change. Our boys need to see beyond their neighborhoods.
With Barack Obama's rise to the U.S. Presidency, a
monumental feat many adults never imagined in their
lifetimes, is a reason to demand more from our young
men, coaches, board members, and mentors. Team Toledo
and every young man who is a member of this program
will believe that they too can ascend to the greatest
of heights in America as long as they are willing to
work hard for it.
