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Monday, December 18, 2017

Fast Five: Bill Bradley Still Sharing

Younger readers may have never heard of Bill Bradley - Princeton star, Rhodes Scholar, NCAA legend, NBA champion, United States Senator, good man. That's a shame. 

Bradley leveraged a fierce work ethic into a magnificent resume'. He could have been President. 

Some of what I know of him came from John McPhee's A Sense of Where You Are. "For one thing, he has overcome the disadvantage of wealth." Bradley grew up the affluent son of a rich banker, a three-car garage kid, an atypical story where many players arise on 'the wrong side of the tracks.' 




1. He had game. "...single game NCAA tournament scoring record." 

2. Successful free throw shooting includes focused 'targeting'. Bradley was told to aim (old school rims) at the center of the four bolts fixing the goal to the backboard. I sometimes encourage struggling young players to do the same, but now it's the writing on the 'plate' on the underside of the attachment mechanism. 

3. Beat the Pro (a.k.a. Bill Bradley). "It's a make or miss game." In a shooting game to 11, you have to make 11 (by one) versus Bill Bradley (the Pro) who gets three points for each miss. To win, you must make at least 11 of 14 (to win 11 to 9). There's a harder version where you must make 15 before you miss 3 (15 of 17). 

4. Bradleys. 




Go to 3:58 of the video for "Bradleys." I think this drill encourages better release through balance, high release, and consistency. "The closer to the basket, the higher you jump." 

5. "Row plus Throw" make "x in a row, plus a free throw." (From Basketball Skills and Drills, Krause et al.)


Lagniappe:


1-4 low BOB via Zak Boisvert against man-to-man defense.