Day 49: Wanted: Glue Guy

Who is the glue on your team?

Who holds your team together? Who keeps the team focused when times are tough? Who does all of the little things to make your team successful--takes charges, dives for loose balls, hits crucial free throws, is a pest on defense, and sets solid screens? Who doesn’t worry about how many points he scores or how much he plays but rather if the team wins and if he did everything within his role to contribute?

Every team needs a player like this, a player who will make all of the sacrifices necessary to be the glue that holds the team together. Glue players are paramount during the playoffs.

I read an interesting article in the New York Times that parallels this thought. The article was called "The No Stats All Star" and it focused on Shane Battier of the Houston Rockets. While they didn’t use the same terminology per say, it is obvious that Shane Battier is the glue of that team.

Despite the fact that he doesn’t put up huge stats (actually his box score stats are mediocre at best) he is an invaluable member of that team and plays a major role in their success. Bottom line; Shane is a proven winner. He has won at every level. Although he was a decorated high school and college player, he never put up big numbers; his points and rebounding averages were nothing to write home about.

Yet, Battier won three state titles in high school, tied the record for most wins in college (131) as well as won a college national championship while at Duke. Although he is yet to win an NBA title, the Grizzlies improved from 23-59 his rookie year to 50-32 in his third season. The year before he arrived in Houston the Rockets were 34-48 and his third year there went 55-27; including an impressive stretch of 22 wins in row. Coincidence? No way.

So how does he do it? He isn’t flashy, he is rarely on the SportsCenter highlights, and the only big number in the stat column is minutes played. So how does he have such a strong impact? How does he win so much?

It’s because he is a glue guy. Shane is the epitome of a team player. He is an impressive teammate in every sense of the word and he takes pride in doing the little things to help his team win. He is the guy every coach wants to have on his team and every player wants to play with. And trust me; there is tremendous value in being a glue guy. Shane makes $6 million a year.

Remember, it is not always the five best players who play; it is the five players who play the best together. So you may not be the most talented guy on your team, but if you can prove you are the glue, day in and day out, you will play. And you will play even more during playoffs.

If you want your team to make a serious run at a conference or league or state championship; I suggest you either say a sincere thank you to your team’s glue guy; or you become one yourself.

If you want your team to make a serious run at a conference or league or state championship; I suggest you either say a sincere thank you to your team’s glue guy; or you become one yourself.

Day 48: What the Greats Do

What The Greats Do

By Alan Stein

One of the most remarkable people that basketball has afforded me to meet is shooting coach Dave Hopla. Coach Hopla has worked in the NBA for several years (Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards).  

In addition to working directly for NBA teams, Coach Hopla has been hired privately by the game’s best players. We asked him to share two of his most memorable stories:

A Young Kobe Bryant

Coach Hopla had the opportunity to work with Kobe Bryant back in 1996, before he was drafted by the Lakers, and then continued to work with him for the first 4 years of Kobe’s NBA career.

Here is a quick story about the first time they met:

Kobe called late one evening to set up a workout for the following day. The only time Coach Hopla had available was 5:30am because he was heading out of town around lunch time. Kobe said, “Sounds good, let’s do it.” 

Coach Hopla arrived at the gym at 5:15am and saw that Kobe was already there… preparing for the workout to start at 5:30am.  Kobe had arrived at 4:45am.  He was in a full sweat before the workout officially started.

“Kobe has a sense of urgency with everything he does. Every rep, every shot, every drill is important to him. He takes advantage of every opportunity to get better. Kobe is never satisfied with his game and his always looking to improve. That hunger is what makes him great.”

Brandon Jennings is the Future

Coach Hopla was hired to work with the Milwaukee Buck’s Brandon Jennings this past August. He was scheduled to fly in to Milwaukee one afternoon to work Brandon out that evening and then again the following morning.  Coach Hopla’s flight was severely delayed.  He called Brandon to apologize and let him know he wouldn’t be getting in until 11pm and wanted to see what time he wanted to work out the next morning.  Brandon said, “Morning? I still want to work outtonight.  Let’s meet at the gym at midnight.”

Coach Hopla worked Brandon out from midnight to 2:30am… and they went hard!  They went again at 7:00am the next morning!

Coach Hopla was extremely impressed with Brandon’s work ethic and determination to get better. He said Brandon has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove to the world he is one of the best point guards in the NBA.  But he isn’t looking for a hand-out; he wants to earn that distinction.

It wouldn’t be fair to highlight those two stories without highlighting Coach Hopla’s story as well. He is considered by many to be the top shooter in the world. He regularly keeps track of all his shots during practice and when he is speaking at camps and clinics.

His stats are mind boggling:

• In 2005 he made 98.20% of his shots (35,332 out of 35,979 shots).
• In the summer of 2007, he spoke at 31 camps and shot an unbelievable 99.19% (11,093 out of 11,183 shots), including 260 for 281 from the 3-point line (92.52%).
• During 3 camps, he was perfect from the field during his lecture:
• June 25, 2007 at the University of Maryland he was 263 for 263.
• July 28, 2007 at the CT Starters camp he was 339 for 339.
• August 2, 2007 at UCLA he was 272 for 272
• 
  

Day 43: What Separates You?

With the start of the high school season approaching fast, it is time for you to ask yourself a significant question…

What separates you?

What is it about your game that separates you from every other player?

Are you as massive as Dwight Howard?

Are you as explosive as LeBron James?

Are you skilled as Kevin Durant?

I assume, if you are being honest with yourself, you answered “no” to these questions. Therefore, you need to find other ways to separate yourself.

Do you need to separate yourself from the players trying out so you can earn a spot on the team?

Do you need to separate yourself from the players that make the team so you earn playing time?

Do you need to separate yourself from the top players in your state so you can earn a college scholarship?

Do you need to separate yourself from the best players in the country so you can earn All-American status?

Think of the game Musical Chairs. The entire premise is that there are more chairs than there are people… hence the immediate anxiety attack you feel when the music stops and you scramble to grab a chair!

Basketball, and life for that matter, is similar.  You need to find what separates you from the pack… so you can “get a chair.” There are 4 ways to separate yourself to make sure you “get a chair” this season:

1)    Athleticism

2)    Skill

3)    I.Q.

4)    Intangibles

Athleticism

You have no control over the natural gifts you were born with… but you can always get better. Not everyone can be as athletic as Derrick Rose.  However, with hard work and a progressive program, you can get stronger, quicker, and be in great basketball shape.

Skill

Similar to athleticism, not everyone possesses the coordination and innate abilities required to handle the ball like Chris Paul or shoot like Stephen Curry.  However, with countless hours ofdeliberate practice, you can improve your fundamental basketball skills.

I.Q.

I am referring to your basketball I.Q. (not your potential to split the atom or win $25,000 on Jeopardy). Do you know how to play? Do you understand concepts like time and score, know what a good shot is, and know your teammates’ strengths and weaknesses? You can improve your basketball I.Q. by studying film and learning from folks who truly know the game (like your coach!).

Intangibles

While there are natural limits to how athletic you can be, how skilled you become, and how well you understand the game… there are no limits to the intangibles. Everyone has the ability to do these things, but very few have the heart, fortitude, and perseverance to do them on a daily basis. 

These intangibles are the best way to separate from the pack and help your team be more successful:

·         Enthusiasm (raise the level of those around you, be positive, accept coaching)

·         Unselfishness (put your teammates first, make the extra pass, set screens)

·         Effort (give 100% every practice, defend, box out, take charges, dive for loose balls)

Here is how powerful these intangibles are:

If you are below average in athleticism, skill, and I.Q… but do these 3 things every day… you still have a strong chance to make the team.

If you are average in athleticism, skill, and I.Q… but do these 3 things every day… you have a strong chance to earn quality playing time.

If you are above average in athleticism, skill, and I.Q… and do these 3 things every day… you have a strong chance of playing in college.

Most importantly, doing these intangibles will give your team a better chance to win and will create habits that will carry over to every aspect of your life.

If you want to separate from the pack… whether to make the team, earn playing time, or to be an All-American… then continue to develop your athleticism, skill, and I.Q… and damn well make sure you do the intangibles… every day! There is no excuse not to.