Borchart Bucks the System, Refusing to Pay Club Dues

Scott Borchart turned down a free trip to France last month.

“Are you stupid? Are you psycho?” asked several of his Chaminade High classmates.

All the 6-foot-9 Borchart had to do was play for a club basketball team and he’d be sipping Evian on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

He said no. He also rejected invitations to play basketball next month at the Nike Camp in Indianapolis and the West Coast All-Star Camp at Cal State Dominguez Hills. And he has no plans to join 3,000 high school players at a July tournament in Las Vegas.

What he’s doing is considered sacrilegious in the basketball community.

“I really don’t care,” Borchart said.

Hallelujah! It’s about time a 16-year-old rose up and stopped playing the insane recruiting game that everyone expects.

Borchart discovered this spring that he was losing his love for basketball. He was growing frustrated playing on club teams put together primarily to give college recruiters a chance to scout blue-chip players.

“I was getting burned out and didn’t want to play as much,” Borchart said. “It’s not my type of basketball. My type of basketball is more team and not individual. With club, it’s about yourself.”

Borchart is a two-time All-Southern Section selection and arguably the best basketball player in the San Fernando Valley. He has been receiving recruiting letters since his freshman season from top college programs.

He’s entering one of the most crucial recruiting periods, the summer before his junior season. It’s the time college coaches from elite programs start making final judgments on which players to recruit.

“[Borchart] needs all the exposure he can get,” said Dana Pump of Chatsworth-based Double Pump Inc., which runs all-star camps and tournaments. “He hasn’t been healthy and hasn’t really lived up to the billing as the next great Valley player.”

Borchart, who missed most of the last summer recovering from off-season knee surgery, decided he’s going to follow his own instincts rather than listen to what “basketball insiders” have to say.

“I feel I can develop better without people watching me,” he said. “On my own, I can push myself just as hard. People can say what they want. I don’t care.”

Borchart isn’t dropping out of basketball. He’ll play in more than 40 games for Chaminade while also attending several team camps. If college coaches want to see him play, all they have to do is attend a Chaminade practice or game. Today, the Eagles play at Simi Valley at 5 p.m.

But college coaches can forget about seeing him on a club team.

“It’s my choice,” he said. “It’s not against any [club] coaches or teams. I’m just doing it for myself. I need to get my love for the game back. It got too serious for me. So much was riding on playing club I lost all interest. Right now, I’m just looking to have fun.”

Coach Jeff Young of Chaminade already recognizes a difference in Borchart’s attitude.

“He’s a lot happier,” Young said.

Borchart understands the consequences of his decision. Not playing travel ball could limit his recruiting options and prevent him from gaining experience against players his size.

“I know there’s going to be some downs to it, but I’m prepared to take that,” he said.

It’s rare for a player the caliber of Borchart to buck the club system, but good for him. It’s about time someone challenged the wisdom of forcing teenagers to play on club teams every weekend just to impress college recruiters.

Borchart is good enough and smart enough to prove there’s another way to earn a college basketball scholarship.

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com