MU NEEDS to recruit this 5th grade Chicago kid!

[SonofPianoMan]

but he is the son on Maurice's godfather... the best fifth grader, EVER???

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/is-chicagoan-the-best-5th-grade-basketball-player-ever.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ChicagoBreakingNews+(Chicago+Breaking+News)

[MUFC9295]

He's 5-1 and related to Acker.  Is this another guard/project on Buzz's radar?

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/is-chicagoan-the-best-5th-grade-basketball-player-ever.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChicagoBreakingNews+%28Chicago+Breaking+News%29

[Pakuni]

I'd like to think this is some sort of Sidd Finch-like April Fool's gag ... but I'm afraid it's probably not.

[Tugg Speedman]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/is-chicagoan-the-best-5th-grade-basketball-player-ever.html

Video of the Kid (he has moves that would impress Curly Neal) http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/?watchId=cbcbacca-b6f7-4552-90d4-0e9083c00884

Is Chicagoan the best 5th grade basketball player ever?

he basketball world is watching Jaylin Fleming.

"I've never actually seen a kid like this," Knicks head athletic trainer Roger Hinds said.

"As far as his age, he's the best that I've seen," said Refiloe Lethunya, a former Division I player, coach and NBA scout.

College and high school coaches are circling, inviting him to games and camps. He has established himself on the all-important AAU circuit. And he has already worked out with the Knicks and with the Bulls' Derrick Rose.

Fleming is regarded by some as the most talented 10-year-old basketball player in the country.

The 5-foot-1 fifth-grader is more restrained: "I'm a humble kid who's trying to achieve a goal."



The push to get kids involved in sports at an early age is nothing new. Nor is the practice of high schools and colleges pursuing young athletes. (In February, DePaul offered a scholarship to a Rosemont eighth-grader.)

But this activity usually begins no earlier than at the sixth-grade level, when scouts start ranking players. Fifth grade is off the radar. So for a kid still in elementary school to get this type of attention is remarkable.

Not everybody says it's a good thing.

"When you start discussing contracts, recruitment and commitment, you're mapping out a life when it should be a time for exploration," said Dave Czesniuk of Northeastern University's Sport and Society center. "Hopefully, this doesn't limit his experiencing everything a 10-year-old should be experiencing."

"It's crazy," St. Joseph High School coach Gene Pingatore said. "The fact that Jaylin's getting all this publicity so early means that the sharks are out there, whether it's colleges trying to set this kid up for future recruitment or agents.

"The good thing is that he has a family that's going to protect him. But think about the kids who don't have a solid family background. They're susceptible to a lot of stuff -- offers, money under the table, you can't imagine the stuff that goes on."

Jaylin's father said he knew his son was special the moment he was born.

"All the doctors and nurses noticed (his hands)," John Fleming said. "They were incredibly huge, and I was praying and asking God, what would Jaylin be, what would he do with those hands?"

The answer came seven years later. Jaylin tagged along while his dad and older brother shot hoops with future Marquette point guard Maurice Acker, John Fleming's godson. When his dad left the gym, Jaylin copied Acker's drills.

"When I walked back in, Maurice told me what Jaylin was doing with the ball and I could hear God saying this is what he's supposed to do," John Fleming said. "He gave me the understanding to see that Jaylin was born to play this game."

Jaylin and his younger brother, Jerico, attend Beasley Academic Center at 53rd and South State, a magnet school where Rose once played.

"He's better than me -- that's what's crazy about it," said Rose, who coached Jaylin at his camp last summer. "His talent is one of a kind. Kids his age rarely do the stuff he does....He does moves that a grown-up does."

Two to three times a week, John Fleming coaches his son at a south suburban fitness center. Jaylin also trains with his Beasley team and with Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin and assistant Delbert Howell.

"He really understands me," Jaylin said of his dad. "I know that he's trying to push me to be the best player that I want to be."

Some people would say it's too much work, travel and practice, admitted Jaylin's mom, Kafi. "But this is Jaylin's calling. We can tell when he needs to chill out."

Jaylin is an A and B student who fits in two hours of homework each night, goes to Bible study on Thursdays and loves video games and playing football with his little brother. "I never feel pressure to play," Jaylin said. "I want to play basketball. I just stay humble and keep working hard."

High school and college coaches have begun courting him. "They invite us to games and they call on a weekly basis and let us know that they're interested in him," John Fleming said. "They ask about his grades. They understand that it's 'no books, no ball.' And I'm not going to let him play if he's not doing what he's supposed to be doing in the classroom."

Such direct recruiting is against NCAA and IHSA regulations, and no coaches admitted they call the Fleming home directly. But the race to find and woo younger players has become more intense.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber said he'd rather not scout kids that young. "But I just don't think I have a choice," he said. "If you want to recruit the right way and do it the way it's supposed to be done, this is our only choice. And if you take it away, all you're doing is benefiting the guys who probably don't do it the right way."

Because there are no official national rankings until kids reach sixth grade -- for the last six years, HoopScoopOnline.com has been the only service scouting children that young -- Jaylin is not yet ranked as best in the nation, but he'll no doubt top the chart this summer.

He's well known to coaches at Chicago-area basketball powerhouses St. Joseph, St. Patrick, Simeon, Morgan Park, Brooks College Prep and Hillcrest. He and his dad regularly attend games, and Jaylin goes to camps run by local high school coaches.

"You can tell by his passion for the game how much he loves the game of basketball," Irvin said. "Jaylin has a look in his eyes that he won't be denied. His time is now -- he's good right now."

"Some people say middle school is too young to rank all these kids," HoopScoop publisher Clark Francis said. "But it can do a lot of good for some kids -- it motivates them, makes them more responsible, gives them something to aspire to. Do these kids have the role models and parental support? That's the question."

As much as his on-court skills impress coaches, Jaylin's personality also does. Pingatore said he met Jaylin in third grade, after a team manager spotted the Flemings working out and invited them to a game.

"He was wearing a suit and bow tie," Pingatore said. "He was the cutest thing you'd ever seen! Talk about first impressions. He's a sharp, sharp kid, very mature."

"He's a phenomenal ballhandler and a very, very good shooter. He's very unselfish, he sees the floor, he does all the things you want from a point guard. He reminds me so much of Isiah (Thomas)," added Pingatore, who coached Thomas in high school. "The charisma, the aura, the smile on his face."

But while much of the basketball world raves about the hard-working 10-year-old, others aren't so excited.

"He represents much of what is wrong with our athletic system," said one NBA assistant who asked not to be identified. "He already has so many hands in the batter it is almost sickening. ... If he gets big and strong, stays healthy and is actually coachable ... he may succeed. (But) the track record for child prodigies is not an uplifting one."

Former Bulls guard Lindsey Hunter, whose son played last summer with Jaylin, agreed that Jaylin's a "phenomenal, talented kid," but said he won't let his own 9-year-old travel with out-of-state teams. "I have coaches calling me for my kid to play, and I'm like, no! He's a kid. ... I'm not going to put that type of pressure on him. I want him to experience childhood."

John Fleming disagrees with those who say Jaylin is on the wrong path. "One of our family quotes is, "Why not me?" Fleming said. "Why can't you do it? Who puts the limitations on you? He's encouraged and taught and allowed to dream like that, as long as his aspirations are to serve the greater good. I teach him that basketball is about inspiring other people."

Former NBA player Marcus Liberty is close to the family and says they'll keep hangers-on at a distance. "John knows a lot of people will be coming to Jaylin and promising him the world," Liberty said. "He grew up with me and saw how people were coming at me, and he knows how to protect his son from that."

The family wants Jaylin to attend a high school and college with strong student-athlete policies. "I want to put my son in someone's hands who's a father figure on and off the court," John Fleming said, "to provide the discipline and structure he needs to develop as a student and an athlete, and as a human being, ready to be in society."

Scouting young players

How can experts be sure Fleming will develop into a strong player?

How can the experts be so confident that a 10-year-old such as Jaylin Fleming is going to develop into a strong basketball player at 17 or 18?

"Those middle school rankings are nice, they're a starting point, but take them with a grain of salt," said Clark Francis, editor/publisher of HoopScoop/HoopScoopOnline. "You might get injured, stop growing, discover girls or drugs."

"You can tell by his passion for the game, how much he loves the game of basketball," Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin said. "You can see that he has the desire for it. Jaylin has a look in his eyes that he won't be denied."

Will he play Division I basketball? "Definitely, barring injury, because of his will to win and skill level," said Kevin Graves, a 16-year AAU coach. "But the NBA is hard to gauge because of injury, what will his size and speed be, and the influx of international players."

"If this kid's good in fifth grade -- that's good for him, that's a lot of positive reinforcement," Francis said. "Hopefully the parents are good role models and they get it."

"Sixth grade is the lowest I go because I see sixth-graders at the national junior phenom camps, and I just don't see a lot of fifth-graders. Sixth grade is where we think we can start to get an accurate handle of where players are. It might be right, it might be wrong."

Chris Hine contributed to this report.

-- Anne Stein

BIO BOX:
Name: Jaylin Fleming
Age: 10
School: Beasley Academic Center
Favorite player: Chris Paul
Favorite subject in school: Math
Favorite TV show: ESPN's "SportsCenter"
Favorite movie: "Coach Carter"
Favorite food: Sausage and cheese pizza

[Ari Gold]

He's the best player in basketball for his age and from Chicago so we have to have a shot at this kid. He's going to have to get taller though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaorn5gqT7I&feature=player_embedded#

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-30/sports/ct-spt-0331-boy-basketball-star--20100330_1_high-schools-and-colleges-gene-pingatore-kid

I think I should have put this in teal

[MUEng92]

My eyes hurt from rolling so much while reading that article.

[willie warrior]

STUPID!!!!

Why would we recruit a 5th grader?

[rocky_warrior]

Ok, changed topic title so we avoid having it posted 30 or so more times... 

[StillAWarrior]

I found it interesting that at the beginning of the video, it states, "...he's regarded by some as the best basketball player his age in the U.S."

As someone who has spent a lot of time around fifth grade basketball over the last several years, I think that statement probably applies to nearly every player on the court in pretty much every game.  It seems like every damn one of them is regarded by "some" as the best player in the U.S -- at least some in the stands.  Drives me crazy.

[MU1984]

He's the best player in basketball for his age and from Chicago so we have to have a shot at this kid. He's going to have to get taller though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kaorn5gqT7I&feature=player_embedded#

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-30/sports/ct-spt-0331-boy-basketball-star--20100330_1_high-schools-and-colleges-gene-pingatore-kid

Is it just me or does it look like he is wearing Ackers practice jersey in the first and last parts of the video?


EDIT:  Quote Fail

[GGGG]

This reminds me...

My college roommate called me last week and was raving about this kid from Wauwatosa that MU had to start recruiting "RIGHT NOW!!!"  A 6'5" kid...real smooth...father played at UW-Whitewater.  I asked if he went to Tosa East or Tosa West.  He said "Neither...that's the best part...he's only in seventh grade!!!"

I just started laughing.

[jficke13]

some people start getting recruited in middle school. I'm pretty sure we were recruiting Damon Key when he was in 6th/7th/8th grade.

[GGGG]

I cannot think of a bigger waste of time than actively recruiting middle school kids.

[CDK]

How about the three minutes I just spent watching a 10 year old dribble around orange cones...

[Avenue Commons]

It's disgusting that this is even being discussed.

Ask former DePaul guard Cliff Kingsales how the whole "child prodigy" thing works out. Cliffy was regarded as the best 8th grader ever.

Or ask any of the Marburys not named Stephon. Actually, there's an argument that Stephon's career was a relative failure.

[reinko]

The same Marbury who was a:
-McDonalds All American
-Led his team to the Elite 8 in college
-Lottery Pick
-2 time All-Star
-Over $100 million in career earnings

Was a failure?  True the guy was a bit weird, but in no way a dud

[Tugg Speedman]

We need to recruit a kid that will not show up on campus for 8 years?  That would be Buzz's 10 year.  Sure he will still be here?  Crean last 9, Al 13.

What about the next 8 classes?  If we suck until we get this kid (assuming we do), you ok with it?

[Pakuni]

It's disgusting that this is even being discussed.

Ask former DePaul guard Cliff Kingsales how the whole "child prodigy" thing works out. Cliffy was regarded as the best 8th grader ever.

Or ask any of the Marburys not named Stephon. Actually, there's an argument that Stephon's career was a relative failure.

The guy was a mutliple all-star and an Olympian who made over $150 million in salary in his career.
That brings whole new meaning to the term "relative failure."
Relative to who? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates?

[Dawson Rental]

The guy was a mutliple all-star and an Olympian who made over $150 million in salary in his career.
That brings whole new meaning to the term "relative failure."
Relative to who? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates?

Relative to anyone who put an honest effort into their work their last two or three years on the job.

[Dawson Rental]

I cannot think of a bigger waste of time than actively recruiting middle school kids.

For many of us, perhaps not, but for a Division I basketball coach, yes, a complete waste of time.  Only meaningful thing that a coach can do now is work on building up the program, so that the kid (IF he still is head and shoulders above his peers) would be interested in learning about your program in four years or so.

Oh, and has anyone figured out that Buzz would be putting seven years worth of recruiting into a likely one and done player?