Day 7 - Privilege

The idea in basketball development is to keep getting better both physically and mentally. In order to reach your goals, you need to put the time in. No one wakes up in the morning and becomes a great player overnight. It’s all about the work. Being a great teammate and buying into the concept that has been used for many, many years.

We continue with The 90 Day Basketball Improvement Plan.

Day 7 – Privilege

As an athlete, you are the chosen few among many to represent your team, your school, the community, your family and the all of the players that have been in the program before you. You are also placed in a position to possibly obtain a college scholarship. In college, if you are lucky enough to be on scholarship, you are getting your education paid for. You are representing your institution and thousands of fans, students and alumni. And as a professional, well you are trying to make a living. Putting food on the table and paying bills. It’s your livelihood.

Whether it’s getting up at 6:00 AM with your teammates to lift weights or maybe it’s getting in your sprints because you know you can't make it after school, taking extra shots at night, studying all night for that exam or working harder during workouts. Just remember, it’s a privilege to be a member of a team, not a right.

In sports, no one is entitled to anything… we are fortunate to have the opportunity to play.  Make the most of the opportunities you have.  Become a ‘Program Player’. Someone who cares about the team, the program, the school, the community and your family.
The term ’Program Player’ refers to athletes who put the team first. They don’t worry about scoring, getting their names in the newspapers or doing post-game interviews. All they care about is how they can help their team be successful.

What can you do? Work hard in your preparation, always play hard, be accountable and always remember it’s a privilege to be part of the team, not a right.

Day 6 – How Many Shots Did You Get Up Today?

As I was watching Team USA play Croatia in the 1st round of the World Championships Saturday, the announcers brought up the name Drazen Petrovich.  "Petro" was one of the most prolific shooters in international basketball history, who scored 112 points in his professional debut.  He brought the amazing skills he had honed and starred for the New Jersey Nets until a car accident cut his life and career short at 28.



Day 6 – How Many Shots Did You Get Up Today?

Coaches often ask players, ‘How many shots did you get up today’? The usual answer is anywhere between 100 and 500 with most players.  While chatting with a coach from Serbia at a clinic this summer, he mentioned to me that he had read where Gilbert Arenas talked about shooting 500 shots a day.  The Serbian coach laughed and said, ”Petro used to put up a 1,000 a day."

How many shots did you get up today?

-Coach Silk

Thanks to Coach Finamore of The Coaches Chronicle

Day 5 - The Gym Rat

"Being able to go out there and from 15 to 18 feet, make 60 to 70 in a row. To me that's a shooter."

-Larry Bird

Day 5 – Gym Rat

Are you a gym rat? Do you spend a lot of time working on your game?

The measure of your success in basketball is how well you use your time when in the gym.  Do you just hang out with your friends and hoist up long jumpers.  Do you try to dunk every time?  Does your buddy throw you alley-oops? Or do you work on your dribbling.  Do you take turns shooting jumper after jumper from seven different spots around the perimeter or just shoot random shots?

You want to be a great basketball player? Someone once said, “You become what you think about most of the time.”  Become a gym rat.


Thanks to Coach Finamore of The Coaches Chronicle

DAY 4 - Know Your Role, Do Your Job

As we prepare to begin competition in the new South Suburban Conference, let's get everyone on board and make our community proud of its basketball team. There will be a challenge every night we step on the floor.  Let's be prepared to meet and exceed it, which brings me to day 4 of the 90 day plan.

Day 4 – Know Your Role, Do Your Job

Players on a basketball team need to know and embrace their role on the team.  If you are here to share the ball, you share the ball.  If the coach needs you to rebound, you rebound.  If the coach needs you to come off the bench, you come off the bench. If your job is to shut someone down, consider it done.

Not every player on a team can be the star.

Find your niche.  Help the team anyway you can.  Rebound, defend, take charges, become a better passer, share the ball, screen harder, cut harder, work your tail off in practice, take coaching, don’t fight it.  Don’t get upset when you get removed from a game. Become a better teammate-pull for others.  Don’t be jealous.  It’s not always going to be your time to shine, but it can always be Eastview's time to shine.

If you concentrate on an area of the game and improve, you’ll give your team a better chance to win.  All players have something to contribute.  You can become a better shooter, a better ball handler and a better free-throw shooter.  Overall, become a better teammate and always take an interest in how the team is doing as opposed to how you are doing!

DAY 3 - Be a Great Teammate

Day 3 of our 90 day improvement basketball plan continues with being a better teammate. We can all agree that there are many traits needed to become a good teammate.  Someone that others will enjoy playing along-side of…

5 Effective Traits of a Good Teammate:

1-Shot Selection: Make sure you take good shots. Don’t force the issue. Run the offense and look for the best available shot. Stop dribbling into traffic and putting up off-balance shots.

2-Ball Movement: Stop turning the ball over. Unforced errors are a coach’s nightmare and you’ll find yourself on the bench. Don’t hold the ball too long, move it, reverse it, side-to side, look into the post.

3-Man Movement: Move without the ball. Don’t stand still. Cut, cut and cut. Don’t watch things happen, make things happen. Hit the glass on a shot. Sprint the floor hard on the break.

4-Proper Spacing: Spread the floor. Don’t run to the ball. 12-15 feet apart. 

5-Screening: Help your teammate get open. Screen away, screen the ball. Screen and re-screen. Set bone crushing screens. Hold your ground. Keep your hands down.

“When I watch a player out on the court, I ask myself two questions; ‘Would I want to play with that guy and would I want to coach him’.”

-Avery Johnson

Thanks to Coach Finamore of The Coaches Chronicle

DAY 2 – Continuous Improvement

You need to make the most of each day; especially on the basketball court.  Are you getting shots up? Did you get in your weight workout? Are you running?

In order to be the best you can be, you need to work.  Do something every day; both physical and mental.  Read about the game.  Watch film. Talk to your coach about expectations.  See where you fit in for the up-coming season.

Work on your dribbling.  Work on your footwork. Practice your drives to the basket. Learn a new move. Work on it hard so when your season starts, the opposition will be caught off guard. Become a better teammate by grasping a ‘selfless’ attitude.

Wake up early and get to the gym.  Do push-ups and sit-ups. Improve on your diet; are you eating the right foods? Are you getting enough water?  Are you getting enough sleep or are you hanging out late at night?

Prepare each day to get better. Don’t waste time.  Make positive changes in your game; in your approach.  Embrace this new way of thinking.

Don’t be afraid of hard work.  Get out there and get better. You, and only you are responsible for your progress as a basketball player.  The best players understand this concept; the unsuccessful are still trying to figure it out.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”

-Kobe Bryant

Thanks to Coach Finamore of The Coaches Chronicle

DAY 1 - Putting in the Time

It's August 25th.  Only 90 days to work on your game until the first day of the season.  Over the next 90 days, I will be posting different things to think about when trying to become a better player and maximizing your talent.

DAY 1 of 90 – Putting in the Time

When it comes to working on your jump shot, are you putting in the necessary time? Are you getting out and taking shots from all spots on the floor? Are you taking the time to become the best shooter you can become?

Or are you goofing around?

Are you taking your development seriously?

It’s all about the reps. Repetition, repetition, and more repetitions. That’s what makes better shooters. Not watching tv or playing video games all day long.

Work on your dribble pull-up and the catch and shoot.  Grab a friend and get out and shoot!

Strive to be a “180 Player.” 

The 180 Player is one who: Shoots 90% from the FT line, 53% from the field and 37% from behind the arc.

Add it up, that’s a special shooter.

This type of  shooter has confidence. That’s the key to shooting. Confidence comes from long hours spent in the driveway, on the playground and in the gym working hard. The great shooters pay the price for success. Which brings me to this.

Thanks to Coach Finamore of The Coaches Chronicle