The recent failure of the football SuperLeague in Europe has not turned everyone off and a similar project is going soon see the light of day at the high school level in the United States. Spurred on by six of the country’s top talent providers, the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) The Paragon Marketing Group has just been set up in partnership. It may be the start of a new era that will turn the landscape of High School Basketball upside down.
Everything is already planned commercially and the new competition could start no later than the next school year, for the 2021-22 season. Rashid Ghazi, member of the Paragon group, is expected to be the commissioner of the NIBC. He returned to the origin of the NIBC with Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi to ESPN :
“With a large number of games canceled due to COVID last season, the NIBC schools wanted to continue to compete and they came to approach us to organize meetings on their initiative. It was then necessary to canvass the brands and ensure the distribution on ESPN. After that, the teams realized the commercial power that their high schools had and the opportunity that it would represent to create a common brand. Over the past few months, we have been working together to form a new Conference. We believe that the tradition and history of these six schools combined with Paragon’s expertise provides a winning formula that will make NIBC unique in the world of high school sport. “
The NIBC, the nation’s first elite high school basketball league, begins its inaugural season this fall!
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— NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) May 24, 2021
The Conference should initially consist of eight teams, six of which are already known: Oak Hill (Virginie), Montverde (Floride), IMG Academy (Floride), La Lumiere School (Indiana), Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas) et Wasatch Academy (Utah). Oak Hill is the most prestigious nursery in the country and has seen legends like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo. Montverde has also built a prestigious reputation in recent years by training in particular RJ Barrett or Cade Cunningham, number 1 in the 2021 mock drafts. Two spots have yet to find takers and the Sierra Canyon School of which Bronny James is a member could also join this SuperLeague junior. It is difficult to see how this project could do without such media attraction which can already fill some stadiums.
Because we are talking about hype to attract as many business or media partners as possible. Amazon Prime, Nike or ESPN would already be on the move to partner with this new player in American basketball. Now even high school showdowns will have to deal with the elitism emanating from modern basketball. Like the NBA, this competition will follow the model of a regular season of 10 games followed by playoffs despite the very limited number of teams within it. This competition would be a boon for the NCAA and NBA scouts, allowing their options to be refined as soon as possible for university teams or for the NBA Draft. The “professionalization” of High School structures could definitely put the chip in the ear of Adam Silver to change the rule of One-and-Done in NCAA. In 2017 and 2019, hallway noise was already echoing the Commish’s desire to allow high school students to register for the Draft. In any case, this new competition is already making High School coaches happy. Luke Barnwell, of Sunrise Christian, spoke about ESPN.
“The status of this competition would make the teams more competitive. The postseason is going to raise everyone’s performance level even further. There is no choice but to be ready. “
But for teams and players, other ins and outs are to be highlighted. First of all, for the teams not being part of the adventure, it’s a real cold shower. The biggest talents risk fleeing to the new NIBC stables and the increasingly closed character, even at amateur level, can be discussed. For players, this competition is not necessarily a boon either. Most of the young prospects risk being uprooted earlier and earlier from their native region with all the pressure that this entails given the commercial and sporting stakes involved in the NIBC. Not to mention the fact that their image will be exploited for commercial purposes, without being able to derive any profit, like what happens in NCAA. Questions also emerge for the university championship, including the possibility of following the model of the youngsters of the NIBC and the uncles of the NBA. And the danger of this model would be potentially worrying, since some talent would go under the radar of the Great League. One can wonder how Ja Morant or Stephen Curry would have emerged for example, very far from the Elite 8 with their respective universities. One can also wonder what would be the future of this championship which could fall into disuse if the Draft were reopened to young graduates.
Professionalization and capitalization around sport is now occurring earlier and earlier and the COVID crisis only benefits the proliferation of closed leagues, whatever the sport, whatever the level. Rarely exhibited in the past, High School players could become the new trade attractions for brands. With what young people can get out of it, both positive and negative.
Sources texte : ESPN, Eleven-Warriors
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