Introducing The Circuit: The Next Evolution of Grassroots Basketball

By The Circuit, 03/12/21, 4:45PM EST

The 2021 grassroots circuit is right around the corner, and our team at The Circuit is thrilled to announce our new-and-improved coverage for the upcoming season.

Building upon the last eight years of coverage from D1Circuit and PrepCircuit, The Circuit was launched with a goal; to provide an experience that player's want, coaches need, and fans crave - for all levels of grassroots basketball.

Moving forward, The Circuit will be providing state-of-the-art coverage for the Nike EYBL, adidas 3SSB, Under Armour Association, as well as 25 of the top independent event operators from across the country.

The Circuit coverage will include tracking every final score from these events, allowing us to record each program's season-long schedule and results for three age levels - 17U, 16U, and 15U.

The concept of The Circuit is simple: if your team plays in an event hosted by one of the elite event operators listed below, all games played will count against your overall season-long circuit record.

The Circuit will also be implementing a new team-rating system called The Circuit Score (TCS). The TCS is a multiple linear regression model that allows teams the ability to earn points during the circuit season based on a variety of variables, including;

Event difficulty
Event location
Strength of schedule
Wins over ranked opponents
Wins over shoe-sponsored teams

There will be four different quadrants for events:

Wins Over Shoe Circuit Program (EYBL, 3SSB, UAA)
Wins at Circuit Certified // Circuit Series
Wins at Independent Circuit Events
Wins at Circuit Regional Events

Shoe Circuit events include every event from the Nike EYB, 3SSB, UAA circuits.

Circuit Certified events are hand-picked events from the 25 different event operators, resulting in a super-list of the top independent events in the country. The Circuit Certified list will be announced shortly and will likely be around 50-60 total events.

Circuit Series events are a comprehensive list of every event/tournament operated by a shoe-sponsored program (ex: E1T1 Invitational, Nightrydas Elite Invitational). This list will also include elite independent events from operators that don't host more than two events a season (ex: TipOff Classic, Spring IceBreaker).

Independent Circuit events are any event operators that structure their event in a structured league format. This includes the following event operators: HoopGroup Showcase League, Bigfoot XL, HoopSeen, NY2LA, PH Circuit, DMV Elite SC, ZGXL. It is important to note that events from these structured circuits can also be listed as Circuit Certified events.

Circuit Regional events consist of every remaining event from the 25 selected event operators. The comprehensive list of events will be finalized shortly.

The Circuit League I, II, III & IV will count the same as winning in a shoe circuit game, giving the top independent teams across the country an opportunity to maximize their season-long score.

Each participating program will have the opportunity to join The Circuit and activate a fully-customized program page, which will host rosters, schedules, statistics, social media, news, scholarship offers, video, and more.

Just like in years past on D1Circuit and PrepCircuit, The Circuit will be providing full boxscores for the Nike EYBL, as well as adidas 3SSB, and the Under Armour Association 17U circuits. The Circuit also partnered with the Hoop Group Showcase League to provide all-event performers, team rankings & statistics. The Circuit will also be providing full statistics for RYZE Events and Hardwood Confidential Events.

Additionally, The Circuit media team will be providing the following coverage:

All-Event Awards for the three shoe circuits (1st, 2nd, 3rd teams; MVP; etc.)
Welcome To The Circuit Podcast
Full boxscores for all shoe circuit games
In-Event interviews
Instant Stat Tweets
Player Performance Stamps
National Circuit Top 25 Rankings (17U, 16U, 15U)
Circuit Team Power Rankings (EYBL, 3SSB, UAA, HGSL)
End-of-year awards
& much more

The Circuit will also be providing coverage for the Boys and Girls 5th-8th Grade World Championships in July, as well as Girls All-American games at the 17U, 16U and 15U level. All shoe-sponsored programs will receive an invitation to participate in the World Championships for all age groups on behalf of The Circuit.

As announced earlier this year, The Circuit will also be providing the same media coverage for the Girls NEYC 17U, 16U, 15U age levels. The NEYC is a comprehensive list of all 20 events operated by a Nike-sponsored program.

Stay tuned for comprehensive coverage from The Circuit as the season unfolds, and make sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram.