Overview

The American International Basketball Institute (AIBI) is a 501 (C3) Non-Profit
organization that serves as  the umbrella  for 7 different ministries that work to provide
educational and basketball opportunities for young people throughout the World. The
International high school and post-graduate program serves to help foreign athletes
trying to get an American college scholarship.

The Hoop Gypsy program first started in Asheville, NC in 2009. It consisted of a
post-graduate boy's team comprised of 11 players from 7 different countries. The first
year went quite well as all 11 players got offers to play college basketball.
Unfortunately, Coach Jordan was forced to undergo heart surgery immediately after
that first season and decided to take a year off to heal before offering the program
again.  

This year we will offer three highly competitive teams, a varsity boys and girls high
school aged team and a post-graduate boys team. The program will run from October
1st, 2011 through March 28th, 2012 and be located in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte is the
largest city in North Carolina and 18th largest in America with a city only population of
750,000. The Charlotte metropolitan area that includes surrounding towns lifts that
population base to over 2.5 million people. A true international city with excellent
mass transit and lots to see and do. Charlotte is also a basketball crazy city that
sports an NBA team, several top college programs and is the city that Michael Jordan
resides in.

The purpose of this ministry is to provide a quality and affordable post-graduate and
high school  basketball program for young men both in the United States and around
the world who have graduated high school but still desire a chance to play American
college basketball or those high school aged students looking to study in the United
States. The criteria for being selected to the team is of course a high level of
basketball ability ,but just as importantly, the desire to serve others and make a
difference in the lives of other young people.  This program is concerned with helping
these young men to grow spiritually, academically and as basketball players while
they are under our care. We do this by a carefully planned daily regiment of activities
that are designed to achieve the end result. The offshoot of this approach is we will
end up helping these young men to evolve into the type of student-athlete that a
college is looking for. There are less than 100 college basketball programs that
actually generate a positive cash flow to their Universities each year, therefore, many
programs are just as interested in quality people, as they are high end athletes.
Community involvement, teamwork, and academic success are all things these
schools desire in the athletes they recruit. These are the qualities we hope to build in
our young men. We will be preparing them, training them and having them live as
college athletes live.



How Do We Do It? (Housing, Food, Training)

The first step is to assemble a group of like minded individuals who love basketball
and want to work hard. It is our job as a staff to make sure the athletes we choose for
the program possess these traits. Our program is made up of players from many
different areas and backgrounds. Each team will consist of 12 players. 10 out of area
players and 2 area players. We will provide for Room and Board for the players. The
players will be housed in three bedroom luxury apartments in the beautiful and safe
Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte. The apartments are located less than 2 miles
from Uptown Charlotte and feature two pools, two 24 hour fitness centers and an
indoor 24 hour basketball court.  The housing will be equipped with Cable TV, Wifi
computer access and adequate furniture. An assistant coach will live with the players
and the head coach, John Jordan's residence is also located very close to the
Player's housing. Within walking range are several restaurants and stores. There is
also a very cheap and useful transit system with a stop a few blocks away from the
players residence.  Food for the team will be provided by AIBI, however the
preparation of the meals will be done by the players themselves. This concept is not
just the simplest way to serve the purpose but also one of the steps we use in team
building. All of the household chores from cleaning, to washing dishes, to laundry will
be accomplished based on a duty list prepared each week by the AIBI coaching staff.
We feel this best prepares these young people for handling life on their own in a
college setting. It also makes them accountable to their teammates which we feel will
carry over on the basketball floor as well.

Academics will be based on an individual analysis of each players needs in relation
to being academically attractive to college basketball programs. If a player had good
high school grades and just needs SAT Preparation, that will be provided by the AIBI
staff as part of the boarding program tuition. We will also offer ESL (English as a
second language) classes to our non-English speaking students. If the young person
actually needs some high school course work, we will direct them to the The Oaks
Virtual Academy an Online school  that offers high school credit and graduation .Of
course the school is fully accredited. Our staff will assist the student in taking the
online courses and monitor their progress while they are here. The cost of the online
program will be the responsibility of the individual student. In comparison to similar
programs, the pricing is very low. For example, a full semester of high school work
runs less than $200 per month. Specific supervised academic time will be alloted
each day and players attendance and participation in academic pursuits during that
period is a requirement of the program. We do have special arrangements with local
high schools for those high school aged students who may desire a more rigorous
academic load.

Spirituality/Community Involvement are areas we feel are crucial for young
people to embrace. Each day we will have a team devotion that is conducted by
another member of the team. Once a week, our head coach will also share a brief
devotion. We are a Christian based program, yet we do allow non-Christians into our
program as long as they can agree to adhere to our devotion times. We also invite
their participation in our devotions and encourage them to bring their ideas and
thoughts to the forefront for discussion. We will also be arranging various community
service projects for our athletes that are structured to provide aid or help for other
members of the Charlotte community. This will be in the form of activities such as
basketball camps for underprivileged children, serving dinner at a homeless shelter,
attending a young peoples meeting and sharing about their culture or background.
Each player is required to attend church each Sunday that the team is in town with the
team. We will choose a different church each Sunday to try and expose our players to
the many different ways that Christians worship.

Basketball is of course what draws these athletes to the program. Training - We will
work hard in this area not just to build a terrific team but also to develop each
individual's skills to the highest level possible. We will accomplish that in several
ways. The team will practice as a team once per day up to 5 times per week
(Depending on game schedule) for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Each member of the team
will also participate up to 5 times weekly in daily strength. agility and speed programs.
These are workouts that come from some of the top college and NBA programs in the
country and will be supervised by our head coach.. Our head coach will also seek to
set aside one hour per week per player just to work individually with them on some
facet of their game and to visit with them about how things are going for them. In
addition to this formal training, each player will also have access to two 24 hour fully
equipped fitness centers located on the apartment property along with a 24 hour
indoor basketball court. Scheduling - Our team will play some of the top prep
schools, high schools and junior college or college JV programs in the country. We
are putting together the schedule now and it will include as many as 30-35 games.
Recruiting - We will do several things in this area that we feel will set us apart from
the normal post-graduate program. First of all, it is our expectation not just our goal
that everyone of our post-graduate players receives a college scholarship offer to
continue to play basketball and work toward their college degree. We will not ask or
allow a player to participate that we do not truly feel we can do this for. The first thing
we do is schedule the toughest opponents we can find. Our won-loss program is not
our primary concern, yes we want to be successful because being successful makes
colleges more likely to recruit our players. However, putting our athletes in front of the
very best opponents and in places where the college coaches are going to be in
attendance is far more important to us than the outcome of the game. We also will be
contacting individual college programs with our practice schedule and game schedule
and personally inviting them to come see our players. We will do an individual
recruiting file on each athlete, that is tailored toward finding the best college program
for their level of athletic ability and that offers the academic major they are looking for.
Everyone of our players will automatically be a member of our Total Exposure
Program. For a sample of that profile, Click Here.
Game Film - We will film as many of our games as possible and post those games
on our website. This does two great things. First, it allows the parents of some of our
players who are from a long way off to see them in action usually just a few days
following the actual game. Secondly, it provides a direct link for college coaches to
see our players in action. They do not have to load up a DVD or make a trip in their
car or any of that. They simply have to click on a link in their email to see our players
play firsthand. We will send out an email with links to our games to nearly 100 college
coaches after each game.

Other Concerns - Standards- We do not have rules but standards that we all agree
to at the beginning of the program. The idea is to teach our young men how to be
responsible and carry themselves in a mature and respectable fashion. Yes, there will
be an 11PM curfew on weeknights or weekend nights when we have a game the next
day. On weekends, unless there is a game the next day, the curfew is 1AM. This is
very much in line with what most colleges require in their own programs and much
more liberal than many. In fact it is the same schedule I hold my own 19 year old
daughter to. Failure to comply with the curfew can result in not being able to dress for
a certain number of games to being dismissed from the team. If you are going to be
late, you better have a real good reason and let someone know via phone before the
curfew takes place.  No Alcohol, Drugs or Tobacco Period.....Use of Drugs, Alcohol or
Tobacco can result in immediate dismissal.  No Females are allowed in player's
housing at any time and for obvious reasons. Quiet time is 11PM every night. This just
means that loud music has to be turned down and the television needs to be kept at a
decent volume. Just common courtesy for neighbors and each other. Extra Costs -
Uniform Fee - $100 - There is a small charge for their uniform, yet they will get to keep
it, they will also get sweats, either Nike or Adidas that they can wear when we travel.
Health Insurance - They are required to have health insurance and there is more in
regards to that on the cost page of the website. High School Academic Courses if
Needed - AIBI provides free SAT Prep Coursework, however, if the student is a high
school student needing to graduate or is missing a high school credit that the NCAA
deems they need for college eligibility then we will aid the student in getting the
required course but the cost of the course will fall on the student. The other extra costs
as I see it will be for their meals on the road and spending money. Similar programs
in America such as IMG or IMPACT charge $28,000- $40,000 per year. We feel this
is a low cost yet high quality and effective method to accomplish the same outcome.

Hopefully, this has helped answer many of your questions. Information on costs and
application forms can be found by following the links at the top of the page.

For More Info - Contact us via Email or phone (704) - 253-2006
The home floor of the NBA's
Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte's mass transit system makes
it very easy to get around the city
Friends and Family back home can watch you
play as we upload all of our games to the
internet. Below you can watch an AIBI Post Grad
Team in Action. The 2010 team featured below
made it to the national championship game of
the Reebok Prep Championships in Myrtle
Beach SC
Our Players are housed
in Luxury 3 bedroom
apartments located less
than 2 miles from
Uptown Charlotte. The
apartments feature:
2 Pools
2 24 hr fitness centers
24 hr indoor
basketball court
The
"institute"
features
HOOP GYPSIES