Academic Basketball Club
A grassroots program borne of inspiration and desire to fill a need by and for the caring
Remember To Have Fun
Acquiris Quodcumque Rapis
Proper Preparation not only Prevents Poor Performance, it puts us in a position to succeed. That is our goal!
Our Teams are in a focused training program to become professionals, albeit in something other than basketball. Their route will take them through one of the many fine colleges or universities renowned for their high standards of academic excellence and the proven success of their basketball program.
Our basketball players are focused on the end-goal of becoming professionals, at which time basketball will still be played for passion after all their work is done for the day. Like everything they do, they take it seriously and perform with both full effort and enthusiasm. That approach has gotten them to where they are today and is what will drive and motivate them on their own personal roads towards success.
Over the past 17 years, players involved with the programs have gone on to play (or are on their way to playing) at Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Colby, Bates, Hamilton, Tufts, Wesleyan, Trinity, Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence, Union, Hobart, Ithaca, RPI, Vassar, Bard, Clarkson, St Lawrence, Skidmore, MIT, WPI, Babson, Clark, Springfield, Emerson, Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Haverford, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Muhlenberg, Washington College, Washington & Lee, NYU, Brandeis, Chicago, Emory, Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Washington University, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Caltech, Occidental, Puget Sound, Colorado College, Macalester, St Olaf’s, Grinnell, Lawrence, Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, Allegheny, Ohio Wesleyan, Sewanee, Rhodes, Birmingham Southern, Earlham, Hartwick, Gordon, Geneseo, Stevens, John Jay, Hunter, Susquehanna, Chatham, Emmanuel, Suffolk, Curry, RIC, Keuka, Franklin Pierce, American, Rice, Depaul, Fairfield, Furman, Vanderbilt, Elon, Holy Cross, Colgate, Binghamton, UMBC, Monmouth, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, FDU, Maryland, UConn and Duke (2).
In addition to the basketball players, several members are at schools in these same conferences and haven chosen to play a different sport. However they got there, the exclamation mark is on their success in having gotten into the schools of their respective choices.
OUR STORY
Our Teams are in a focused training program to become professionals, albeit in something other than basketball. Their route will take them through one of the many fine colleges or universities renowned for their high standards of academic excellence and the success of their basketball program.
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HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS
This is our success story so far. Seventeen years of hard work, creative thinking, evolution, progression and learning from our mistakes have taught us to capitalize on opportunities when they appear or as we create them.
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IT’S MORE THAN BASKETBALL
The proven reality: through our successful programs, several players achieved admission to schools they would not otherwise have gotten into without the exposure, skills and maturity they achieved with us
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COACHES
It starts with coaching, including basketball on the court but certainly not limited to just that.
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THE 2020 SEASON
We do not hold tryouts. Instead, the coaches watch every prospective player during the winter high school season and invitations are given to the players selected for the Academic Basketball Club.
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THE SCOREBOARD WE WATCH
Winning in life means more than points in a game. ABC players come to us from many different high schools, and, usually just one player from each high school per season. When they play against each other during the high school season, we like to go watch them play. While ABC players may not be the best players on their respective hs teams, their academic credentials are just a part of their talent and ABC players are usually the leaders on their high school teams.
At a recent game pitting two neighboring rival schools – one urban, one affluent suburban – the referees summoned the captain from each team to join at mid-court for the pre-game meeting. As the two captains, ABC teammates, greeted each other with a huge smile and a hug, two different sets of parents, one from each respective school, simultaneously had the same comment within earshot: “Why would those two boys be so happy so see each other – they have a game to play. And how do they even know each other?” Well, WE could not be more proud. Yes, ABC is unlike any other aau programs and we are happy to be leaders. ABC is all about the players and much more than basketball. That’s the way we do it, proudly. When our players get together: at the captain’s meeting before a high school game; as they spend four years at a top academic college as teammates; or, come together annually as opponents at a college in the same conference; we relish the moments they can greet each other with a smile and a hug. That’s how we measure success and we are thrilled with the way the scoreboard reads.
We would like to make a statement on the matter of rules, compliance and the actions of others that have caused many to take issue with AAU basketball in the macro, which is why we are eschewing identification with AAU and referring to the genre as Grassroots, and with a team or coach in the micro: Not only do we know the rules (both the letter and spirit) we wholeheartedly pledge/endeavor/mandate ourselves to follow them without fail every day that ends in a “y.” We maintain a higher standard for ourselves than others expect of us. In all matters, we live by the Golden Rule in addition to Rules #1 and 2.
LATEST NEWS
ADVICE:
All Juniors should — must, please — take the SAT or ACT three times before the end of your Junior year.
Practice Schedule:
17u Rubin Team –
Beginning the first Sunday in March and then weekly tentatively on Wednesdays from 7-10p at at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville NY at the Campbell Sports Center at 12 Wilgarth Road 10708 running through the end of May and eschewing practice during the AP Test week. This schedule will change; final mid-February each year.
17u Krumins Team –
Beginning the 2nd week in March as players are allowed to participate once their hs team has completed their CIAC season: 2 nights a week at U of Bridgeport through the end of May.
The Tournament Schedule is the biggest change we have had in years with the formation of The Academic Basketball Circuit powered by Zero Gravity. The plan is for 8 teams, all academic in fact, meeting three Saturdays in May (so they can take Sundays off for homework). The remainder of the schedule will be from the beginning of April through the end of May, concluding the season on Memorial Day weekend in time for players to prepare for the SAT, ACT and final exams. More information on The Academic Basketball Circuit.
Forms for Camps are available for download and click-through links
©2009-2018. All rights reserved.
Contact: Harvey Rubin at 203.329.0707 or email at AcademicBasketball.com
Academic Basketball Club, Inc. is a registered 501c3 corporation; Academic Basketball is a registered trademark, all rights reserved.