At least that's how the report came across that aired during the semifinals of the NCAA men's hoops tournament. The so-called experts said that college coaches are now dealing with AAU coaches and that AAU ball is way more important than high school ball.
While there may be some truth to that, there is still no substitute for the enthusiasm and energy that comes from a high-school student-fan section when it has a winning team to support.
No AAU program can duplicate the noise that was made when Ronad Steward of Zion-Benton hit the halfcourt shot to beat Evanston in the semifinals of the IHSA playoffs.
That's why high school ball is important.
