Kenneth Caldwell takes to twitter to respond to the media

For better or worse, one of the things that is exceptional about Twitter is that it allows us regular folk into the inner workings of the minds of everyone from our best friend to celebrities.

Sometimes, it is great. I don't think we would ever have known that Kim English was a fan of early 20th century British poetry if it wasn't for twitter. Other times, it works the other way. Am I the only one that thinks Rashard Mendenhall and this random hockey agent regret their recent twitter activity?

Enter Kenneth Caldwell, the man at the center of the scandal at Central Florida exposed by Pat Forde and Pete Thamel. He has taken to twitter to air out his grievances with the media:








Twitter meltdowns are twitter meltdowns, so I don't really have much to say about Caldwell's comments on the media. I do, however, want to know what Caldwell is referring to when he says its time for the truth to come out.

For me, the more interesting comments that Caldwell made were in support of AAU basketball. I'm not going to post all of the tweets here (there are a good 20 or so), but some of the highlights were:

People who coach AAU is because they have a child on the team or they have a really good team or they flat out love the game

AAU is the most thankless business in the world. Coaches don't get paid. Spend there entire summer with kids that arent there's

AAU is all about winning.... The thing is how to teach kids on how to behave when loosing.

NCAA has nothing to do with AAU but it wants to play God when there is a discrepancy and charge for it.. #clearinghouse WOW

AAU basketball has a tremendously bad reputation. Grassroots basketball is often cited as the reason for the downfall in hoops in this country. The assumption is that the focus is entirely on playing games and all about individual showmanship and the showcasing of one's skill at the cost of team play and fundamentals.

And while that is, in part, true, the reason is legitimate.

AAU basketball is a means to an end for a lot of kids. Its a way to gain exposure. The point isn't to win games and lose games, its about earning a scholarship. Its about playing your way into the college ranks.

At the highest level of AAU basketball, there is plenty of dirt. Coaches get paid by shoe companies to steer players to certain events and specific schools. Agents and runners are far too prevalent. Players, and the members of a player's inner circle, are on the take.

But that is only a small minority.

The overwhelming majority of kids playing AAU basketball are in it for the love of the game and for the opportunity to prove themselves against the best players in the country, and to do it in front of coaches from all levels of hoops. I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the college basketball players in this country -- D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA, JuCo -- played AAU basketball. Many of those kids probably would not have gotten a chance to play college ball if it weren't for AAU. At the very least, that much is true for this writer.

The same goes for the AAU coaches.

Some are dirty, I'm not here to argue that. But a huge number of AAU coaches are doing it because they love being around kids and they love being around the game. Its not a means to an end for most. In fact, I'd bet that most AAU coaches operate at a loss when you factor in the money they spend on gas, food, and hotels on road trips.

The highest level of AAU basketball can be an ugly place.

But that is only the highest level.

For most, AAU basketball is about nothing more than improving and trying to get noticed.