Day 46: Play to be the Best

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls on why he plays.  Great article on the future of his team via FanHouse.

“There is no point in playing the game if you’re not trying to be the best. I’m just trying to be the best in the NBA,” he said with his typical quiet confidence before the Bulls played the Magic Thursday night. “If that’s not the case, retire and start doing something else.”


Rose is right.  But here’s more…On his playing for Team USA this past summer.


“It helped me a lot, especially when it came to learning about leadership, about being more vocal. There are different kinds of leaders. You can be quiet like Tim Duncan, or be like Kobe Bryant, always talking,” he said. “I just have to find out where I can fit in here.”

Day 45: 7 Keys to Basketball

BOB McKILLOP'S 7 KEYS TO BASKETBALL

1. Seeing 

See the game

Makes you quicker
See that you are denied and go back door.

2. Talking
Families break down because they do not talk
Talk with your hands and your mouth
Ask for the balls with 10 fingers

3. Flesh on Flesh Contact

Set hard screens body to body
Box out physically

4. Be detailed
Run to the ball as a teammates saves it OOB
Do not dribble a loose ball. Pick it up and chin it
Sacrifice position for possession in the post
Screens
.....A. Crack the opponent

.....B. Point your crack in the direction you want the cutter to come

.....C.Catch a ball low and loaded

5. Always be on balance

Defensively
With the ball

6. Finish
Finish every play
Finish every shot you miss in practice
The last part of the play needs to be the strongest
Finish your basket cut to the rim then space out to the 3 pt line

7. Be an actor

 Foot fake
Fake the screen away and basket cut

Pass fake/shot fake

Day 44: Stretch it Out

Flexibility is important in reducing injuries, speeding recovery and increasing speed.  Stretching also helps increase your range of motion.I see players all the time, walk into a gym, put on their shoes, get some shots up and then start to play.  Always begin and finish your activity with an active warm-up and finish with some type of stretching.  

If you attend an NBA game you always see the players out on the floor stretching.

Kevin Love and Eric Gordon

Michigan State University basketball has a great stretching routine. They are passionate about their stretching. Here’s a passage from their Summer Program Handbook about stretching after working out.

Our flexibility training program is a planned, deliberate, and regular program of exercises that can progressively increase the usable range of motion of a joint. Flexibility exercises tend to increase the resting length of muscles, restore normal range of movement, encourage proper blood flow, and permit increase of power with strengthening exercises. Flexibility exercises are designed to stretch certain muscles and reduce the likelihood of injury to muscle tendon units. Make sure you maintain the stretch for 10-15 seconds – avoiding bouncing. Take about 10-15 minutes to do these flexibility exercises with total concentration. You should be in a relaxed state of mind at all times when you are stretching.

Be sure to stretch your hamstrings, hips, your back, shoulders, calf, groin, and arms.

DON'T FORGET TO PROPERLY WARM-UP BEFORE YOU HIT THE FLOOR THIS FALL.

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.

Day 42: Helping Teammates

I stumbled across a small piece from hoop notes.com on Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett and how he likes to help his teammates. But he doesn’t spend all day trying to help them. They either get it or they don't.

"Does he play favorites?  Of course he does.  He loves guys who do what they can to help the team," Doc Rivers said.  "Kevin is great.  Kevin tries to help every big in here.  If that big doesn't listen to him one time, he'll never speak to him again.  Literally one time.  That has happened a couple of times.  Those two guys that he did that to are no longer here and that may be one reason." (NOTE: KG IS AN INTENSE DUDE!!!)

Are you one of the few who looks to help their teammates?

Or, are you someone who is all about themselves?

A great teammate is always looking to help another player on their team.

It can be positive advice.  Rebounding for them after practice.  Encouraging them to get up early and hit the gym or even a small dose of congratulations on a job well done.

Lend a helping hand to a teammate.

“Just remember, you’re teammates, not rivals.”

-Red Auerbach

Day 41: Setting Goals

Setting goals as a team and as an individual is critical to moving your game in a positive direction.  Goals are a blueprint for achievement.

Leading goal setting researchers Locke and Latham (1990) have identified 4 different mechanisms that goal setting does to move a team in a common direction:
1. Goals direct your attention and focus
2. Goals increase effort and intensity
3. Goals promote persistence when faced with adversity
4. Goals foster the development of problem solving strategies


When setting goals it is imperative that you recognize the difference between a goal and a desired outcome. A goal is something you can measure, record, and adjust. A desired outcome is something you wish or hope will happen.


My challenge to you is to set three realistic goals you have leading into the upcoming season for basketball.  Maybe these are things you have been working on for a while.  Please share these goals with me at mrbsilk@gmail.com

I approach everything step by step....I had always set short-term goals.  As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.  When I got cut from the varsity team as a sophomore in high school, I learned something.  I knew I never wanted to feel that bad again....So I set a goal of becoming a starter on the varsity.  That’s what I focused on all summer.  When I worked on my game, that’s what I thought about.  When it happened, I set another goal, a reasonable, manageable goal that I could realistically achieve if I worked hard enough....I guess I approached it with the end in mind.  I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.  As I reached those goals, they built on one another.  I gained a little confidence every time I came through. 

-Michael Jordan

excerpt from I Can't Accept Not Trying

Day 40: Winning Time

It is often said that it is not who starts a game, but who finishes it that matters most.  If you are trying to increase your chances to be one of those five players, read this article on free throw shooting by one of history's finest analyzing one of today's finest.  I watch kids in the gym every week who really need to improve their free throw percentage, but aren't open to changing their routine.  It wins and loses games! Not an 80% shooter?  Ask someone to video tape you and help you improve your shot and routine.

Great stuff from the University of Arizona men's basketballnewsletter.  Hall of Famer Rick Barry discusses Toronto’s Jose Calderon, who made 79 consecutive free throws in January 2009, and highlights the game’s most underrated aspect:  You must be a heck of a FT shooter when a guy who led the NBA and ABA in Free throw percentage in  1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980 admires your stroke enough to critique it.

THOUGHTS FROM RICK BARRY ON JOSE CALDERON'S WORLD CLASS FREE THROW SHOOTING ROUTINE.

Technique: "First, he gets his hand set properly under the ball. Then he shoots the ball "up," not "at" the basket. He also has a great follow through on his release. Rarely, if ever, will the ball miss to the left or to the right. Great shooters miss a hair long or a hair short. Missing left or right indicates a problem with the shooting form."


Confidence: "I'm sure Jose believes he's going to make every free throw he shoots. I know I did when I made 60 in a row, which was then a league record. There isn't any pressure when you have confidence. When your confidence wavers, that's when you start feeling pressure. Pressure only exists if you allow it to exist."


Routine: "All great free-throw shooters have a consistent routine. Basically, they do the same thing every single time they shoot. They program themselves to the point that once the ball is handed to them at the free-throw line, whatever was in their mind goes away. The routine takes over immediately. The entire focus and concentration is on the routine, which has been repeated thousands of times. Having a consistent routine has allowed Jose to put together this outstanding string."

Special Thanks to:

Arizona Basketball Newsletter

Coach Starkey, LSU

Day 39: Who Will Win?

Bill Belicheck met with his team shortly before the playoffs. He showed them a video of the Breeders' Cup (horse race) and paused the tape halfway through the race with the outcome still up in the air.

He asked the team "Who will win?

• The horse with the most experienced jockey?
• The horse who has won the most money?
• The horse with the best odds prior to the race?"

The team was puzzled, "No, it's the horse that runs the best race from here on out."

You can't focus on prior accomplishments/failures, you must only focus on the present and doing your best the next play.

NEVER REST ON YOUR LAURELS.

Day 38: Anticipation

The hallmark of a good player.  Anticipation.


Do you know where the open teammate is going to be?


Do you know where to go to be open on different types of plays?


Do you know what the guy you are guarding is going to do before it happens?


Can you anticipate what is likely to happen next?  No one knows exactly what is going to happen, but it pays to be thinking and to be guessing while you are preparing for everything.  For example, after a rebound, there is likely to be an outlet pass to the side.  There may not be, but anticipating one and being prepared to intercept it is playing smart.





There are all sorts of situations that come up during a basketball game, and the more of them that you can anticipate, the better player you are.


For example, you're defending someone away from the ball, and suddenly the ball is dribbled baseline.  Maybe the player with the ball will score a lay-up, or maybe he will pull up and take a jump shot if our help defense gets their feet outside the lane.  Chances are that if you've played against the player a lot, you can anticipate what he is going to do with the ball.  Most guys are able to do one or two things when they get stopped on a drive.


You should anticipate!  You might have to help the help defender.  You may read that the passer likes to throw the baseline drift.  Maybe he's a guy who shoots every time he drives and you can anticipate where the rebound is going to be.  If the driver drops a short bounce pass to an open man in the middle or across the lane, you can intercept it if you anticipate it properly.


No one can anticipate every move in advance, but good players constantly are asking themselves, "Now what's going to happen? Now what are they going to do?"


Do you work on improving your anticipation when you are playing, or are you just running up and down the floor?

adapted from STUFF Good Players Should Know

by Dick DeVenzio

Day 37: Poise

Do you keep your cool during a basketball game?

Are you a hot head when something doesn’t go your way?

Are you one who complains and battles the official when a call or two goes against you?

Day 37– Poise

Poise, staying cool.  It’s the ability to play your best when your best is needed.

You hear it all the time; ‘they play with poise’.  But just what is playing with poise really mean? A poised player is one who is thinking straight.  They refuse to let someone rattle them.   It’s not self-destruction when things get heated.

What about not losing your cool during a tough practice or a very physical game?

How about if your opponent throws an elbow at you while the official isn’t looking?  Are you going to keep your composure and not retaliate? Or are you going to swing back, and get caught by the officials and thrown out of the game, possibly enduring a suspension and hurting your teams’ chances of winning?

What if a foul is called on you, will you argue with the official?  If the coach takes you out of the game will you pout at the end of the bench?

If you turn the ball over on offense, get back on defense and do your best to get it back.

How do you react when the defense is shutting you down, when they don't give you an inch? Do you keep your poise and help the team win or get upset because things aren't going as you planned?

We play a tough and physical brand of basketball, but there should never be an excuse for losing your poise.