Annapolis High School boys basketball coach John Brady will be among the 16 coaches involved in the new Merrill Lynch Summer League that will debut in Annapolis on June 9. The league will include top-tier teams from across the state.
Ed Meyers, a long-time basketball coach and mentor in the Washington metropolitan area, has been around some of the country's top basketball players at the professional, college and high school ranks. He has seen first-hand what it takes to advance to the next level, but at the same time, has seen rising stars plummet.
So Meyers has devised a vision to help high school players improve on the court and in life. It's the reasoning behind a new summer high school boys basketball league that will debut June 9 in Annapolis.
"Every kid thinks he's going to play in the NBA," said Meyers, who has been an assistant coach at Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth and George Washington.
"The truth is that about one percent of them may actually get the chance. The whole purpose for this league is to show the kids that there's more to it. There's life lessons involved and that's what we want to teach."
The new
Merrill Lynch Summer League will feature 16 teams from different high schools from around the state. Annapolis, Broadneck and Severna Park will have competing squads along with other
Anne Arundel County private schools such as Archbishop Spalding, St. Mary's, Severn and Annapolis Area Christian.
Washington D.C. powerhouses Coolidge and Roosevelt will be involved along with Baltimore teams City College and Archbishop Curley. Friendly, out of Prince George's County, and Thomas Stone, which
won the Class 4A East Region tournament last winter, will each have a team.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (121 South Villa Avenue, Annapolis, Md.) will host four one-hour games every Monday through Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m. until July 15. The playoffs start the next day with a championship game slated for July 22. For a master schedule of upcoming games, click
here.
The facility is air-conditioned and has bleachers for fans on one side of the court. Admission will be free.
"We're very excited and we're expecting a big turnout because some of the most elite players in the state will be here," said Henry Downs, the athletic director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County.
Downs, an Annapolis native, said league organizers are also looking into the possible addition of a junior-vasity league.
"More than anything, it's a great opportunity for the kids academically," said Meyers, who helps run two other summer league camps in the state and has been working on the ML League since September. "The kids will get some exposure from college coaches and will learn some life lessons along the way."
Aside from the competitive basketball, each player will also take part in mandatory SAT prep courses, an etiquette and public speaking class and several other off-the-court instruction sessions. Participants will attend four academic sessions during league play and each session will include an objective/purpose and evaluation.
Meyers said that the league is fully certified and sanctioned under NCAA regulations, which would allow the presence of college coaches and recruiters.
"This is definitely a move forward and it's going to be a competitive league," said John Brady, the legendary Annapolis coach, who will oversee the Panthers' contingent.
"There are going to be some high-level players on hand, which will attract a lot of college coaches."
The MPSSAA passed a new rule last month allowing high school coaches to work out and coach their respective teams in summer leagues. In past years, county coaches were not allowed to coach teams that competed in summer leagues such as the popular Anne Arundel County Summer Basketball League at Lake Waterford Park. Assistant coaches or parents volunteers would assume the role as head coach while coaches like Brady and others looked on from the stands.
"I think the state has been trying to change that for years because it doesn't make any sense," said Brady, the winningest high school coach in Baltimore metro area history.
There is some criteria to the rule change. Teams associated with high schools must compete in a sanctioned league and it can hold only as many practices as games. In the ML League, each team is scheduled 10 regular-season games -- essentially three games every two weeks.
Brady said that one of the positives is that each roster for the summer league may consist of up to 15 players but there's no cap for how many players can participate in practice.
"We had tryouts three weeks ago and the kids that didn't make it were invited back for practices all summer," Brady said. "It's a great idea because some of the younger guys can come in and learn the system. One thing I made clear was that just because you made the summer team, doesn't mean you automatically make the winter team and vice versa."
Brady does not want the emergence of the ML League to hinder the Lake Waterford Park League, a sentiment echoed by other area high school coaches. He said that he still hopes to house another team for that league, possible comprised of junior-varsity and freshman players.
Meyers, a Bowie resident, believes Anne Arundel County is the right place for a competitive summer league and hopes to expand in the years to come.
"I've got high expectations -- we will be a force in the area," he said. "In two, three years, it will be a top league because we can pull from Baltimore, D.C. and beyond."
For more infomation, feel free to email
Ed Meyers (Game Plan Sports, Inc.) or
Henry Downs (Annapolis Boys & Girls Club).