For the casual fan, the games are under the radar, the results not counting for much. But the summer basketball circuit is a place where the stars of tomorrow are frequently discovered -- not only by fans and coaches, but by agents, marketers and other entrepreneurs looking for a way to cash in.
The summer's glitziest events are held this month, and it was at these games only a few years ago that O.J. Mayo, a phenom from Huntington, W.Va., was discovered and touted as one of the sport's next big things.
After one season at USC, Mayo became the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft last month. But he has also become a cautionary tale, an example of what can go wrong on the path from youth basketball prodigy to stardom as a professional.
Mayo faces an investigation into allegations he accepted illegal benefits from an agent's representative whom he met on the summer circuit, and his situation is reverberating in gymnasiums and arenas across the country.
Watch who you talk to, players are warned. Be careful about what you might accept. Beware of newcomers who approach only after your career begins to blossom. Remember O.J.
"If you let one person into your circle, they can mess everything up," said John Wall, a junior point guard from Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Christian Academy who is considered one of the top players in his class.
Wall was participating in the recent Pangos All-American Camp held at USC's Galen Center, where Mayo last season starred and Rodney Guillory was a regular at games and practices.
Guillory, a local events promoter, has been accused by a former associate of accepting nearly $250,000 from a sports agency and funneling a portion of it, in cash and other benefits, to Mayo before and during his one season with the Trojans, in violation of college rules.
Middlemen between agents and athletes are called "runners," and Mayo has acknowledged meeting Guillory at a summer camp when he was in the eighth grade.
"You just have to be on the lookout for people like that," said Darius Morris, a junior point guard from Los Angeles Windward School who says he has scholarship offers from USC, Michigan, Washington State and Arizona. "It's kind of hard to tell who's real and who's fake out here."
Guillory has not publicly commented on the allegations. Mayo says he did not accept money or gifts, and that Guillory is a friend and trusted advisor.
And that's what often complicates matters, those familiar with the summer scene say. Runners typically occupy a position of trust -- a relative, friend, teammate or coach may try to steer the player in a particular direction for their own financial gain.
"A runner is not a specific thing," said an agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to publicly divulge his association with such individuals. "More than half the time, they're getting in play because they have claim to be there for another reason. 'I'm an AAU coach. I'm a financial advisor. I'm a marketing guy. I'm a concierge company.' They're not coming in as, 'I'm a runner.' "
As it is, summer basketball is largely unregulated. There is no rule preventing a runner, or an agent for that matter, from buying a ticket to a tournament or walking into a gym and chatting up parents, coaches, even players. It becomes a problem, though, if money, gifts or other favors that college rules prohibit as "extra benefits" change hands.
Brian Clifton, founder of the North Carolina-based team featuring Wall and two other players who had flown across the country to attend the Pangos Camp, says his policy is to be "leery of everybody." He says he monitors his players between games and has advised them not to give out phone numbers.
"Whether we know guys or not, it only takes a second for somebody to be compromised . . . " Clifton said. "I would be absolutely mortified if someone got next to John and put him in the type of situation that O.J. was in."
Among those who attended the Pangos camp was Duane Cooper, a former USC player listed as "West Coast director of grass roots basketball" for Excel Sports Management.
Cooper's responsibilities, according to the Excel website, entail "scouting, evaluating and contacting new perspective [sic] clients" for an agency that represents such NBA players as Paul Pierce, Jason Kidd and Lamar Odom.
Cooper said he attended the camp's final day to watch the all-star games and to support several friends who were coaches affiliated with the event, not to identify potential clients for his agency. When he discovers a prospect, Cooper said, he typically speaks first with the player's parent.
"I have two sons of my own, and I wouldn't want someone to go talk to my sons without first coming to me," Cooper said. "I would like to give them that respect."
When it comes to pickup lines used by runners to entice players, tactics vary.
