Poor kids in the US still have a lot. And they live in bad areas, which contributes to not being outside as much as kids used to be. Curfews play a part, not saying curfews are good or bad. It's also the work ethic too. Running before they can walk. I'll give you an example to ponder over. I used to do business with this guy who was a pitching coach for 50 years(pro and am). Old guy, really old, but sharp as they come. One thing he taught me, is how kids now are encouraged to develop a larger pitching arsenal before their shoulders are strong enough. That the right way to do it, is to use your most natural motion until you're 17-18, and then develop another pitch. For most people, it's a fastball. You build that strength up, tweak your stance, and it comes full-circle.
Well, in basketball, I can think of a number of disciplines that are skipped over. Mainly because so much of the early development, and fundamentals are skipped over because they aren't playing as much. Think about it. The NBA ran into a shortage of post-players. Yeah, Post-up moves. That is a HUGE fundamental, and it became so scarce, that everyone had to pay Hakeem to give them classes on VERY BASIC MOVES. Step-back jumpers, turn-around jumpers, hook shots, overhead passing. What happened? If you play all day as a kid, then how can you make it into the NBA and not demonstrate fundamental skills? Mind blown. So of course, they push push push, and then we do something completely illogical, and blame million dollar developed custom shoes for their injury.
