When I hit most of my three-point shots, I feel much more successful that when I only hit one out of seven shots. These are the ingredients Coach Haskins tries to instill in us as well - to be successful, you have to try your hardest and do your best. For me, I was lucky enough to be recruited for the University of Minnesota. To be the only American Indian ever to play as a Golden Gopher in its over 100-year history, is not only an honor, but also brings a lot of responsibility with it. The intensive scouting of young inner city basketball players can have profound social consequences, especially if they are not trained in life skills that will serve them after basketball.
Scouts scour the playgrounds of America looking for preteen talent.
When they find it, they report to their clients, high-school coaches. The coaches then recruit these players with various incentives, from scholarships, especially private schools, to guaranteed starting positions and the attention of college scouts. At Princeton University, scholars discussed the issues of racial identity and racial politics, and the need to do away with stereotypes as well as create a new identity for blacks. John Hoberman, a white scholar of sports at the University of Texas at Austin, surveys the mounting triumphs by black athletes and despairs. As a result of the constant letters and phone calls to young stars, Hoberman believes that many young blacks buy into the idea that they are built for sports, and nothing else.