[drothamel]

Someone brought up an excellent point about skill development at an early age. I think this has a lot to do with the differences in the game at a higher level. It is very likely to see a group of young boys playing a pickup game of basketball, much less likely that you would see young girls doing the same thing. As with most sports, the best players tend to be the ones that have been playing the sport for the longest time. On average, boys tend to play much more than girls over the course of their youth. Around here, this is certainly true in the rec leagues. The younger leagues are filled with boys and a few girls. This probably has a lot to do with the differences in the two games by the time the kids make it to high school.

The coachability point is an interesting one. I have never really noticed that before. Although I have noticed that some coaches try to coach the girls beyond their athletic ability. The two games are undoubtedly different, but some coaches try to coach them the same way.