If you’re of a certain age, the idea of elite high school girls basketball might conjure up images of all-day AAU tournaments in gyms with padded-walls and no air conditioning, players sweating through cheap reversible jerseys in front of a sprinkling of parents sitting on hard, retractable risers using roster sheets to fan themselves. Needless to say, the stakes have gone up.
The best girls high school basketball players aren’t just earning thousands of likes on social for impressive crossovers and flashy dimes, they’re also signing NIL deals with major sponsors and playing in tournaments that draw sold out crowds and boast courtside superstars like UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Angel Reese.
The game has changed, and a driver behind that change has been Overtime, a social media outlet and sports league disruptor. What started in 2016 as a social media company focused on short-form content featuring top high school athletes (NBA players Zion Williamson and Trae Young were early favorites for followers), has expanded into basketball, football and boxing leagues, as well as merchandise and a film division. Spotlighting elite young athletes in traditional spaces such as high school or AAU games inspired the company’s founders, Dan Porter and Zack Weiner, to create non-traditional spaces in which players could compete, promote themselves and build their brands.
Read more (via ESPN)