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EXCLUSIVE Q&A Interview with Chad Groth

By: Jeff Meadows

Today's Q & A session is with a good friend of mine that has been blazing the trails for the past 3-4 years with quality high school tournaments and showcases on the west coast as well as putting out very important, exclusive news and info regarding top west coast high prospects, his name: Chad Groth and getting kids MAXIMUM EXPOSURE is his game. Well my friends pull up a chair and cool down to Hoopsreport's EXCLUSIVE segment of Q & A with Mr. EXPOSURE Chad Groth.

JM/Q: What's good Chizzle?

CG/A: All is good, can't wait for the "Elite 8 in the Desert" which kicks off Saturday morning and to be honest with you, I haven't been able to sleep due to all of the excitement and anticipation of seeing some of the top TEAMS & PROSPECTS on the WEST COAST. My CO-DIRECTOR and I have been extremely busy with completing the tournament schedule along with getting a couple of new sponsors into the fold like MUSCLE MILK and ADIDAS.

JM/Q: Man, I see you grindin it out on a minutely bases my brother and my question to you is "Where do you find the time to do anything else"?

CG/A: Never think or thought about that, I just keep it movin and keep the peace! It has been NON STOP with my JUCO SHOWCASE which Vegas then from there I had to be in L.A. Then from L.A. to Phoenix, then from Phoenix back to Vegas and from Vegas to Little Rock, AR and from AR back home to Phoenix. Now I'm at home resting, getting ready for the "Elite 8 in the Desert" and after that, it's off to L.A. And the Bay Area for Memorial Day Weekend where I'll be making stops at both Memorial Day Tournaments one in L.A. & one in the Bay all in the same day and when you have a scouting service that serves over 100 college programs GRINDING IS A MUST. On an HOURLY BASES, coaches contact me whether by phone, email or text, seeking info on recruits from the classes of 2012-2017 and trust me, quite a few coaches have been looking out for players as young as 2020 graduating class.

JM/Q: Chad we've been good friends since "98" when I had my Adidas aau/travel team and you were doin your thing on a much larger scale, why don't you give the people an overview of your strong back ground in basketball?

CG/A: I started off as a ball-boy for the University of Minnesota while in HS and from there I enrolled in college and took a few courses and shortly after that I learned how to break down game film. I then got the opportunity to work for the late/great BILL MUSSELMAN, HEAD COACH of the MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES at the time. I also attended barber college and many never knew that I'm a licensed barber. Along the way, I met Mannie Jackson whom purchased the Harlem Globtrotters in 1993 and from there I moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis. My 14 years with the Globtrotters was a story in itself which I'm currently looking to possibly write a book or a documentary about my experience with the Globtrotters here shortly. Working for the Globtrotters has given me so many contacts and have opened so many doors along the way, I've turned down several Road Manager positions for famous groups and bands to stay in basketball and once I was hired as VP of Basketball Operations for the Harlem Globtrotters I felt like all of the hard work I put in had finally paid off but I had made the right decision by staying in the game. The Harlem Globtrotters have been known for their TRICKS and HALF COURT SHOTS but I was the one that changed that spearheaded the change which made the Globtrotters a competitive brand by having them compete against several colleges on TV against teams like SYRACUSE, MICHIGAN STATE, PURDUE, WESTERN KENTUCKY ,ST JOHN'S, MISSISSIPPI STATE, UCONN, VANDERBILT and a few more schools. I also recruited several players to play for the Globtrotters as you may remember MAGIC JOHNSON, TODD DAY, KIETH CLOSS, STANELY ROBERTS,JIMMY KING, KAREEM REID, OLDEN POLYNICE, DENNIS RODMEN, DEVEAN GEORGE and SMUSH PARKER. ORLANDO ANTIGUA (Assistant Coach at Kentucky) was the first I signed to the Globtrotters and BAKARI ALEXANDER (Assistant at Michigan) was also a player that I signed while with the Globtrotters and now both are doing great things in college coaching. I wake up every day enjoying and looking forward to what I do, talking to coaches on all levels from HS, AAU, COLLEGE and NBA to spread the word of the lesser known player. Til this day, I have several friends from that I met back when I worked for the Timberwolves that are coaching in the NBA like Sidney Lowe (Assistant w/Utah Jazz), Tyrone Corban (Head Coach of Utah Jazz), Sam Mitchell (NJ Nets), Scott Brooks (OKC Thunder), and Doug West (Assistant w/Villanova)... I have made strong contacts during my years and this business it's all about relationships.

JM/Q: With such an extensive back ground in basketball has obviously resulted in

you having very strong connections that you have built over the years, how much

of that plays a part in you being able to shed light on players that are worthy

of such recognition but don't have the pub?

CG/A: Coaches really respect my opinion on players because I never hype or fabricate assessments about any student-athlete that can't play at a certain level. Kids and parents make mistakes that sre sometimes very difficult to bounce back from, I just give my opinion based off of the my experience if they ask for it.

JM/Q: Chad all of your events in my eyes are categorized as MAXIMUM EXPOSURE events, would you say that's an accurate assessment? why?

CG/A: True and Thank You Jeff for your part in making them MAXIMUM EXPOSURE events. Because of scouts like yourself who attend and evaluate players and give them honest, unbiased opinions which is what makes all of my events MAXIMUM EXPOSURE events. You've played, coached and scouted, several scouts and writers have never played or worked in any professional aspect and for whatever reason they feel that there perspective is THE PERSPECTIVE. We keep it positive and keep it grinding.. It's scouts like you that make it happen..

JM/Q: Chad, here in just a couple of days, your having your biggest event of the year and one of the top events on the west coast the "Elite 8" in Phoenix, AZ at several different sites, can you tell a little bit about the tournament and who are some of the teams that will be participating?

CG/A: I like 64 teams but what I would sugdest that anyone do is show up this weekend and take your pick, all teams in this event are definitely worth watching. The schedule is up on my website www.areacodesbasketball.com

JM/Q: The "Elite 8" is definitely a top notch event, what are some of the other events that you have?

CG/A: AREACODES ACADEMIC SHOWCASE, LAS VEGAS SUPER 80, PHOENIX SPRING SHOWCASE, AREACODES EASTER CLASSIC, FULL COURT PRESS/AREACODES ARIZONA FROSH/SOPH SHOWCASE, PHOENIX FALL SHOWCASE, ARIZONA SUPER 80, FULL COURT PRESS/AREACODES BASKETBALL ALL-ARIZONA SPRING SHOWCASE and ARIZONA MIDDLE SCHOOL SHOWCASE.

JM/Q: Now Chad since your a west coast guy, give us a small list of names of players that we should be looking out for?

CG/A: Google them: Drew Bender, Paul Watson, Elston Jones, Kodi Justice, Sedrick Barefield, Jonathan Ross, Noah Robothan, Nate Grimes, Cameron Walker, Tyler Dorsey, Stanley Johnson and Mitchell Lightfoot.

JM/Q: Chad with you being in the position that your in, dealing with players daily that are aspiring to get to the "Next Level" what advice would you give them?

CG/A: Stay on top of your grades because without satisfactory academics you can't play. Stay true to yourself and what you do. You MUST love the game, you must stay in the gym because the next guy is.

JM/Q: With your big tournament coming up this weekend I'm sure that your phone is ringing non stop which means that this is the part where I say: thank you my friend, I really appreciate you taking the time for our EXCLUSIVE Q & A session and congratulations on your success and keep grindin.

CG/A: Meadows your the best and a true friend and people need to thank you as well for all that you do as a National Scout and Writer.

Well folks, we hope you enjoyed our EXCLUSIVE Q & A Interview with one of the nation's top basketball personalities CHAD GROTH. Stay logged on to Hoopsreport as we continue to bring YOU our avid fan EXCLUSIVE NEWS that you can only get here at HOOPSREPORT.

POSTED: 5-9-2012

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