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?We Didn?t Have 17 Shoes to Go to a Gym?: Miami Heat Legend Rips Apart College Basketball?s Recent Change With a Shaquille O?Neal Example

ByRanjitha Ramesh

Jun 9, 2023 | 2:10 PM EDT

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Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball is a well-known platform for young athletes to hone their abilities. It has a summer circuit of prestigious competitions and exhibitions that draw college scouts and recruiters. This gives gifted athletes much-needed exposure and opportunities for skill development and associations with coaches and teammates. However, despite this, AAU basketball has drawn criticism for potentially favoring individual talent over team-oriented skills.

Most recently, a Miami Heat legend had much to say about the recent changes in college basketball. He even dragged Shaquille O’Neal into the whole ordeal.

Miami Heat legend hates the recent changes in college basketball

The powerful trio of Shaquille O’Neal, Spice McAdams, and Nischelle Turner convened for a recent episode of Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast to talk about the eagerly anticipated NBA Finals. Gary Payton then joined the crew shortly and offered his priceless insight into the elusive ‘Heat Culture.’

The cast jumped right into the intriguing realm of the NBA Finals as soon as the episode began with them discussing who’d take the championship trophy home. Spice Adams then asked Gary Payton about the empty courts these days. Spice mentioned how while he was growing up, he faced difficulties getting into certain courts because of how crowded they would get. He was of the opinion that video games and mobile phones might be the reason for them not playing on the court.

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This question had clearly frustrated Gary Payton. He went off against the recent changes in college basketball, naming it to be the reason for empty courts.

Gary Payton is of the opinion that while mobile phones and PlayStation gaming consoles did play a role in the basketball courts being empty these days, the primary culprit is AAU.

By putting together teams of five or six talented players, the AAU system has upended the way basketball has traditionally been played. As a result, the emphasis has changed to building superpower teams. In these teams, the coaches may not have their target fixed on instructing or training the players. Instead, by demonstrating their team’s talent, they hope to gain admission to elite colleges.

He then reminisced upon the days when Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton used to play.

He said, “With me and Shaq we usually go outside and try to get run because run was there. We used to have to go jump over gates and put nets on Basketball rims to play. We didn’t have 17 shoes to go to a gym and everybody sitting there waiting for us. And we got that Prime Time like that. We had to be on that concrete messing up our good shoes getting in. Before uh the lights come on and all that cr*p.”

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Gary Payton believes that the younger generation of today has a different mindset and struggles with opportunity spotting. They’re fed with a silver spoon and don’t learn how to earn it for themselves. The playgrounds are now deserted because of this. When he goes to the playgrounds in his area, it is disappointing to realize that nobody is playing the game like before.

Watch This Story: Charles Barkley dismantles Shaquille O?Neal on live television.

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Despite the numerous criticisms that AAU has been facing, it still continues to be a major platform for acquiring new talent. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!