Best of summer teams

For all the chest beating we do about summer being a platform for the players, we must concede the necessity of teams. Though the dash for scholarships is an individual pursuit, teams give the whole evaluation period context. Since basketball is, after all, a team sport, prospects are judged with regard to their fitness for joining a given team on the next level.

Not to mention the many things that teams are inherently good for -- learning to cooperate and coexist, learning to trust and be trusted, to name a few.

Judging by the amount of mail we get before and after our Best of Summer series, appearing on the list below means something to a lot of people. So we take it seriously. We have seven staff members out during the summer, and we've seen hundreds of teams.

What makes a best team of summer? Tournament championships? Division I prospects? Head-to-head victories over others on the list. Yes, all of those and more.

Does the winner of Nike Nationals automatically get the No. 1 ranking? Not two years ago, but it helps. It is the premier tournament of the summer, a competition that pushes from the early rounds going forward, and the best proving grounds for a team. This year, four of the top five teams earned their stripes at Nike Nationals. Then again, the next seven were not invited.

We continue to dream about an all-inclusive, national club championship. Until that happens, maybe this is the next best thing. We hope so anyway.