CONFIDENCE

When your team leaders exhibit confidence, it becomes contagious to the rest of the team... unfortunately, showing a lack of confidence is just as contagious.

WHO ARE YOU BEATING?

You can beat average and mediocre teams in a lot of ways… but there's only one way to beat good teams... and that's with thoughtful preparation, discipline and leadership.

LISTENING OR HEARING?

There is a big difference between Listening and Hearing. Hearing is easy to do... Listening is far different... and much more important. But what does it mean to listen?

Once heard a story about a high school music appreciation class that provides a meaningful answer to that question. The teacher of the class asked for a volunteer to explain the difference between listening and hearing. At first, no one wanted to answer; but finally, a student raised his hand. When the teacher called on him, he said, “Listening is wanting to hear.”

Coaches usually use timeouts to make their game-strategy adjustments. Often, the difference between winning and losing - especially in a close game, comes down to whether the players hear... or listen.

Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong.

HOW TO PLAY vs KNOWING PLAYS

Good coaches focus on teaching their players "how to play" rather than just teaching them "plays." 

In this particular picture, the Defense is playing a 1-2-2 or a 2-3 Zone. The corner player forces the low wing defender to choose betwee

n guarding her or the low post player. Whatever decision the low wing defender makes... the corner player will punish her for it.

If she stays home to guard the low post, the corner player has a wide open look from outside. If the low wing defender chooses to come out and defend the corner shot (which she does in this picture), the corner player lobs it over the top to her low post player for an easy score.

Knowing "how to play" is far more valuable than knowing a dozen plays.

WHAT MAKES YOU A GREAT DEFENDER?

A good defensive player never focuses on steals or blocks to reinforce their reputation as being a great defender. Instead, they look to deny what the offense wants to do and force the offense to react to their defensive pressure. Few offenses practice, prepare, or even have a Plan B.

Being a great defender means taking away offensive opportunities before they can ever develop. 

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

Here is an online article written by Coach K that appeared in the Wall Street Journal:

I believe that my work is as much about words as it is about basketball. Choosing the right words is no less important to the outcome of a game than choosing the right players and strategies for the court. As a coach, leader and teacher, my primary task is motivation. How do I get a group motivated, not only to be their individual best but also to become better as a team? I have always said that two are better than one, but only if two can act as one.

After the 1999 season, when we lost to Connecticut in the national championship game, several of our top players left Duke earlier than expected. Shane Battier, who had played a supporting role on that team, was going to have to become our star.

Shane and I agreed that he would need to emerge as the team leader, but there was one problem: Shane had never imagined himself as a star.

After the players had gone home for the summer, I gave Shane a call.

"Shane," I said, "this morning, did you look in the mirror and imagine that you were looking at next year's conference player of the year?"

He chuckled, "Coach, I…"

I hung up.

The next day I called again. "Shane, it's Coach. When you were on your way to work this morning, did you imagine scoring 30 points in a game this season?"

He laughed cautiously and began to respond before I hung up again.

Seconds later, my phone rang. "Coach," Shane said, "Don't hang up on me."

"I won't hang up on you if you won't hang up on you," I told him.

Shane needed to imagine these sorts of things in order to become the player that he could be. Before he graduated, Shane earned National Player of the Year honors while leading our team to the 2001 national championship. He had all of the tools necessary to become a great player, but he fully realized his potential only when he allowed himself to imagine great things.

For motivating Shane, the crucial word to communicate was "imagination." For others, it may be "enthusiasm" or "self-confidence" or "poise." But undefined words are meaningless, and dictionary definitions usually do not suffice. Meaning is understood by seeing a word in action.

I ask teams to understand the meaning of dependability by telling them about my brother, Bill, who never missed a day of work in 38 years of fighting fires in Chicago. I tell them about willpower by sharing the story of my former player and current associate head coach, Steve Wojciechowski, and his last game on our home court: Wojo only scored one point that day, but his sheer determination led our team to an exciting victory.

'Shane,' I said. 'When you were on the way to work this morning, did you imagine scoring 30 points in a game this season?'

And I convey the meaning of courage by telling them about my friend and colleague, the late Jim Valvano, who used his own battle with cancer to raise millions of dollars to support cancer research.

My hope is that, as the players listen, my brother's example may remind them of the most dependable person in their own lives. Maybe the story of Wojo's senior game will make them think of a moment when they were carried through a tough situation by the strength of their own will. Learning about Jimmy Valvano, they may recall a time when they witnessed true courage.

When an audience makes these associations, we have found common ground. We are no longer merely exchanging words; we are being mutually motivated by their meaning.

(Thanks Joey Burton http://basketballinsights.blogspot.com)

WANT MORE MINUTES?

Unless you are one of the 5 or 6 "star" players on your team, your minutes will always be determined by how much you can contribute to your team.  The players who can consistently help their team win games are the ones who get playing time - it's just that simple.   Want more minutes?  Then you need to understand how to make yourself valuable to your team.

You do this by embracing your role and focusing on things other than scoring.  Sure, you've spent your whole basketball life developing and displaying your offensive game, but suddenly you aren't getting those scoring opportunities in games.  You take thousands of shots in the offseason, you work on your shot before and after practice, yet you may go weeks without taking a jumper in a game.

If you can become really good at things like screening, passing, defending, communicating, boxing out and rotating defensively, you can have a huge impact on your team winning a game.  If those parts of your game become a habit and you develop consistency and embrace whatever role your coach places you into, you are going to be valuable to your team and  you will get more minutes.

A lot of players can't or won't do these things because they don't see the value in it.  However, those that "get it" look at it as sacrificing your own game for the greater good.  This is true to an extent, but you don't just play this way because you are a nice player and you are willing to let other players shine. You do it because you want to win, to be a part of a championship team, and you do it because you want to create value for yourself.  If you come off the bench and you start to take more shots, to take your scoring average from three points a game up to five points a game, not many people are going to notice.  You are doing the same things, just in a more inefficient way. 

On the other hand, if you average only five points a game but defensively you can adequatelty cover the othe team's best 3 or 4 players,  you are going to be able to play plenty of minutes  over your career.  At the same time, your play will have more of an effect on winning than it would otherwise. 

The goal is to try to make it very difficult for your team to replace you, so that they have to do what it takes to keep you around. That's how a player creates value for himself.

(Thanks Nick Collison & Bob Starkey)

DON'T BE SATISFIED WITH AVERAGE

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, and countless others that decided they wanted to achieve what others said was impossible… The only person holding YOU back from achieving greatness is YOU!  

JUMP STOPS CORRELATE WITH JUMP SHOTS

I don’t think there is much debate over the shooting ability of Ray Allen (Celtics) or Mike Miller (Heat).  Let’s take Ray.  If you will notice the he gives a little hop (Jump Stop) prior to receiving the ball.  “Ball is in the air and his feet are in the air.”  Catch and shoot (Its’ quick)! It is quicker than the other way.  I don’t believe you can change the method over night...it is going to take a true commitment but it is definitely worth the change.

Most coaches teach from the shoulder up etc.  I personally think it starts with the feet (Balance).  “Don’t sacrifice balance with the jump shot!!”

My best pupil was Nelson Franse at the University of New Mexico.  He was taught as a youngster the two step jump shot but it was too slow and he couldn’t get off quick enough.  So we changed his shot over the summer.  Nelson would go to the “Pit” everyday and spin the ball out in front of him and step into the ball with a jump stop and catch and shoot.  He MADE 100 everyday from the 3-point range and won several ball games for us with his outstanding shooting.  Note: When we did the R/F/S Rebounder/Feeder/Shooter drill daily Nelson would knock down 20+ shots in a 60 second turn.

Watch Ray Allen (Boston) or Mike Miller (Heat)...  It’s all about JUMP STOPS (hops) and being on balance squared to the basket.

(From Gary Colson on Fastmodelsports.com)

SWAGGER IS THE BY-PRODUCT... NOT THE PRODUCT

"For us the swagger was developed by demonstrated performance and from having a chip on your shoulder and from work ethic and from being the hardest-working team and from being a tough team and from playing with passion. And all of a sudden people said, ‘Miami plays with swagger.’ Well, then it only takes a couple years where you have kids that put on the uniform and think you automatically get the swagger because you wear the U. But they don’t want to do the things that made the U special."

- Alonzo Highsmith
(Thanks SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN, Miami Herald)

AFTER EVERY WORKOUT

At the end of a workout, there’s a tendency to want to head for the showers and rush back to the pressing issues of the day.  But how you transition via a brief recovery period will determine how well your body repairs itself and responds in the coming days.  Use this simple checklist to kickstart your body’s recovery process—and get the most out of each workout.

1. Reflect
It’s important to recognize what you’ve accomplished with your training and how it contributes to your long-term vision, not just for your physical well-being and athletic pursuits but how such commitment is fueling your success.  “You’ll feel great in the short-term regardless,” says Anthony Slater, director of performance at Core Performance.  “But it’s important to reflect on how you feel and connect it back to your goals.  That reinforces the behaviors you’ve chosen and is something people don’t do nearly enough.”

2. Track
There’s no shortage of gadgets and smart phone apps to log training and measure progress.  It can be a simple spreadsheet or even paper.  The important thing is to track your workouts, not only to give yourself a pat on the back, but also to have a reference point for the following workout, or to review months later.   Track everything from your weight, energy, productivity, and sleep, for starters - and see your progress charted over time.

3. Stretch
Active-isolated stretching is most effective after a workout when the muscles are warm.  This can range from a full routine to the three or four stretches that address any mobility issues you might have.  You can also do some reflection while you stretch.  What worked and what could you do better during the next training session?  “When you combine the stretching and the reflection, it allows you to shift gears and re-enter your day-to-day responsibilities and shift back into the real world,” Slater says. (Click here for a guide to active-isolated stretching.)

4. Refuel
To refuel you body after a workout, consume a mixture of carbohydrates and protein immediately afterward, preferably within 10 minutes of training.  At this point, your cells are wide open and screaming for nutrients, and by drinking a shake or another balanced carb/protein small meal, you expedite the recovery process and maximize lean muscle growth. (Click here for five delicious post-workout shake recipes.)

5. Cool down
If you have access to a 55-degree “cold plunge” tub, spending 1 to 3 minutes in it is a great way to decrease post-workout inflammation.  Alternating between a cold plunge and a hot tub (three to five minutes) stimulates bloodflow and muscle recovery with hardly an effort.  If you don’t have access to a hot tub or a cold plunge, you can get the same effect in the shower by switching between hot and cold settings.

(Thanks Pete Williams & Sefu Bernard)

COACHES (AND PARENTS) NEED TO LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER

Had a chance to speak at length with a first year Middle School coach this week at the Nike Higher Level Camp in Florida, who also happened to have her daughter at the camp.  (Important point here, this was her daughters first "intense" ball handling camp).

Her question was (paraphrased), "how hard do I push my daughter and after being here at this camp, I'm beginning to wonder if she even likes basketball"

Her daughter was a rising Freshman and seemed to only give noticeable effort when playing defense while scrimmaging.  On offense, her daughter was clearly not engaged.  The second thing that I noticed,  her daughter didn't give the same level of effort while working on individual ball handling drills, she would only give minimal effort.

Was she lazy?  Probably not.

Coaches do not have the time to push every athlete to reach their full potential.  As bad as that may sound, think about it for just a second... ever had an athlete that just doesn't seem to care?  How many times have you wasted a lot of time and energy into trying to motivate them and show them the right way to do things, only to have them remain in that state of giving only 70% on drills?

In this particular situation, I began to watch her daughter and quickly noticed that every time she was put into the spotlight on individual ball handling drills, her effort immediately dropped as if she didn't really care one way or another.  My guess is, that it wasn't that she didn't care... it was more than likely that she felt exposed and insecure in her skills and abilities when compared to the other athletes at the camp (there were some die-hard ballers there).

As coaches, we often overlook that simple explanation and tag that type of player as being lazy and we give up on trying to motivate them.

After discussing this with her mom (and coach), it became evident that more ball handling skill work was needed to get her daughter over the confidence hump and to a point where she felt like she could compete with others.

Rather than label players as lazy, coaches need to look at the circumstances before giving up on a player.

4:13

THE GREAT EQUALIZER - COMPETITIVENESS

You can’t always be the strongest or most talented or most gifted person in the room, but you can always be the most competitive. 

There are bound to be days when you run into someone who is better than you.  What can you do about it?  You can compete, that’s what.  You can put forth so much effort that you cut your opponent down to size and force them to play below their abilities.  Competitiveness allows you to influence your opponent.

(Thanks Pat Summitt)

CHAMPIONS EXPECT TO WIN

Champions Expect to Win - When they walk on the court, they expect to win.  In fact they are surprised when they don't win.  They expect success and their positive beliefs often lead to positive actions and outcomes.  They win in their mind first and then they win on the court.

(Thanks Coach Bob Starkey & Jon Gordon)

DO YOU WALK IT LIKE YOU TALK IT?

Our summer workouts are optional, your choice to attend. Next season's playing time is also optional, my choice whether you play.

What few players really seem to understand, is that great players are made in the Summer... during the off-season.

If you are spending your summer at the beach, or sleeping in until noon, or using whatever other reason (excuse) you may have for not developing your skills and becoming a better player before the start of next season... you will NEVER become a better player.

Too many players these days think watching a DVD, going to a camp, or practicing in the driveway will magically propel them to the next level.  It doesn't work that way.

I hear it from players all the time... "it's too hot to practice"  "it's too cold to practice"  "I have too much homework"  "my coach never opens the gym"  ...too much of this and too much of that!  Realize that whatever  your particular set of circumstances are that is keeping you from becoming a better player... there's already a great player out there that had your exact set of circumstances when they were coming up... it's just that they found a way around those circumstances.

The real question is... do you put more effort into talking about becoming a great player, than you do in actually practicing to become that great player?

(Thanks Alan Stein & Vaughn Wallace)

FRIDAY'S MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES

I know I've been slacking off on the Blog entries for a while now and decided this morning that I will get back to it.

"Trust (from your teammates) doesn't develop from always doing the right thing. It comes from taking responsibility when you make a mistake."
- Simon Sinek

"Players are about their team. Pretenders are about themselves!"
- Joey Burton

"High school players play with their hands. College players play with their feet. NBA players play with their minds."
- Coach Holub

"You hit a bad shot, you have to get over it right there and then so you can get focused on the next one."
- Tiger Woods

"I am always ready to learn, though I do not always like being taught."
- Winston Churchill

"If losing doesn't sting, you don't need to be playing!"
- Coach Farris

"Self-discipline, competitive fire & self-belief. All the talent in the world is useless if you are missing any 1 or all 3 of these qualities."
- Chris Oliver

"Focus on your potential instead of your limitations."
- Tony Gaskins

SOME OLD SCHOOL TRIVIA

"During my rookie year with the Miami Heat, one of my teammates, Willie Burton, did something he shouldn't have done. When Jordan didn't score any points in the first quarter, Willie told Michael, 'Hey, we're shutting you down tonight. We're going to stop you.' Michael went on to score 56 points in the last three quarters. The worst thing about what Willie did was he wasn't the primary man guarding Michael. I was. So I have 56 unpleasant memories of Jordan from that playoff game." -- Steve Smith former NBA guard.

(Thanks 23isback.com)

MORE OLD SCHOOL TRIVIA

During a game in 1990 against the Orlando Magic someone snuck into the Bulls locker room and stole Jordan's "23" jersey before the game. Unfortunately the Bulls did not have a spare jersey, so they had to give Jordan a number "12" jersey with no name on the back. After that game the Bulls made sure to bring plenty of extra "23" jerseys to all future games to avoid having the same problem again.

(Thanks 23isback.com)

HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

DRAFTING A PLAYER WITH HEART

In basketball, the difference between winning or losing can often come down to a single centimeter. That’s what Kawhi Leonard’s college coach always told him.

It could be a loose ball, a coin-flip rebound, a tip-in, a charge taken, a shot denied.

“You can’t take any play off,” said Leonard, the Spurs’ soon-to-be rookie forward. “Getting that loose ball could be the play that helps us win the game.”

The every-possession-counts approach that coach Steve Fisher preached at San Diego State helped transform Leonard from under-recruited high school prospect from Riverside, Calif., into one of the country’s best college players in two short years.

It helped Leonard transform SDSU from college basketball wasteland into a top-five NCAA program.

Thursday, it helped make Leonard the 15th pick in the NBA draft.

(Thanks Jeff McDonald)

SUPERSTITIOUS?

Jason Terry has never been the most popular opponent.  

And his mouthy style has never endeared him to many opponents, either. 

But the superstitious Terry claims the Spurs tried to trick him in one of his best known beliefs. 

Terry prepares for an opponent by wearing the shorts of the next day’s opposing team. This compulsion has left “The Jet” desperately tracking down the right trunks after a bad night. But a network of rival equipment managers and fellow NBA players usually take care of Terry. 

But after Terry’s groin shot to Michael Finley during the 2006 playoffs, he doesn’t have many friends with the Spurs. And the team tried to trick him by giving him a pair of practice shorts rather than a game-worn pair several years ago. 

“It’s gotta be the real thing,” Terry told ESPN.com. “Now, San Antonio tricked me about three years ago when they gave me some practice shorts, and I tried them. And they ended up beating us. So that doesn’t work.” 

Terry told ESPN that his worst shorts he has worn were a pair once worn by former Utah point guard John Stockton. 

“Stockton didn’t give them to me, but I got them from the actual ball kid in the arena,” Terry said. ” When I looked at them, I knew they were his, because they were the shortest thing out there, and then they had his No. 12 on the inside.” 

Terry’s wife, Johnyika, isn’t a fan of this compulsive practice. But her husband doesn’t care. 

“Nah, she doesn’t like it,” Terry said. “But hey, it works for me. Got a lot of wins.”

(Thanks Tim Griffin & LM Otero)

STYLE INSTEAD OF SUBSTANCE?

Championship-caliber teams don't get worse as the biggest series of their season progresses. They don't fumble, stumble and crumble under the sort of spotlight that requires them to be committed, aggressive and accountable.

I've used boxing metaphors before, because no sport better blends the human condition with the spectrum of sports. So in many ways for the Heat, they were Mike Tyson in Tokyo. They were intoxicated with the paparazzi following. They were the life of the Finals party. They were the popular pick to win it all, even after some flaws were exposed early in the series.

And then they got popped in the mouth, and started scrambling around the ring searching for a mouthpiece instead of getting up to answer the count.

And as a result, the Mavericks -- those takers -- snatched a championship from the Heat's waste. But here's where the Tyson-in-Tokyo analogy ends. What the Mavericks accomplished was no upset.

Team won out over top-heavy talent. Determination beat out distraction. Substance overcame style.

(Thanks Michael Wallace - ESPN)

KILLER CROSSOVER

When you stand just 5-foot-6, you usually aren't considered a basketball prodigy. When you are just a 17-year-old sophomore in high school, you usually aren't considered a pro prospect. Aquille Carr -- in what many will consider a surprise -- apparently is both.

The quick-as-lightning, high-scoring, show-stopping point guard from Patterson (Md.) High School returned from a recent tournament in Milan, Italy, with a $750,000 contract offer that conceivably could be worth nearly $1 million.

Carr was the best player in the tournament, averaging more than 40 points per game. Checkout the full article here.



(Thanks Rivals.com)

SMART PLAYERS

Came across a good read on Joey Burton's blog about smart players and decided to pass it along...

Smart basketball teams play with poise. Smart teams never appear ruffled by anything that happens. They're fiercely competitive to be sure, but they play with controlled aggression. They extract the utmost from the individual skills of each player and then blend those skills into their team game. Smart teams don't beat themselves; they consistently win the close ones.

The fact is, I've never seen a championship team in any sport that didn't play smart. And while smart teams may not always win championships, they are always competitive. It's no surprise that those teams are comprised of players who think the game-who make productive plays under pressure and seldom, if ever, make game-costing errors. They consistently outthink their opponents. They master the game's finer points, the little details that almost always determine the difference between a W and an L.

"Play smart," says Jerry West. "Your brain is as much a weapon as your legs and arms."

The ability to make the correct split-second decision and execute a critical play consistently is a key attribute of a great player. Regarding the mental game within basketball, Phil Jackson says, "It's not how hard you play, it's how smart you play." I agree with Phil, with the caveat that if you don't play hard it may be too late to play smart. Smart players always play hard. It's not that great players stop to mull over a decision as to what to do next. They anticipate what needs to be done, which enables them to do the right thing.

(Thanks Joey Burton, Basketball Insights)