Friday, March 15, 2019

Basketball: An Open Letter to a Young Player

Dear Young Player: 

 Former Princeton Coach Pete Carril wrote, "It is hard to teach things that take time to learn." That's basketball. Get past hard. 

 Learn what matters. It's not about you. Value starts with making your team better. 

 Do well what you do a lot. If you're a defender or a rebounder, do that well. If you want to score, then you must learn to finish and shoot. 

Buy in; get value added.  

 Buddy Hield grew his game and improved his shooting and scoring (above). Dante Scarnecchia coached up Patriot tackle Trent Brown; winning and performing at a high level got Brown rewarded. 

 Model great relationships with your coaches, like Dean Smith and Michael Jordan, John Thompson and Patrick Ewing. 

 Skill transcends dribbling, passing, and shooting. Playing hard is a skill. Toughness is a skill. Energizing teammates is a skill. Reliability is a skill. Know your talent and your role. 

Embrace fundamentals. "Technique beats tactics." Develop an elite skill. Ask yourself, "what can I improve today?" 

Look in the mirror. "If there's any doubt, there's no doubt." If you wonder about having enough gas to reach your destination, you NEED gas. If you wonder about your skill, then you need more.  

 Study your mentors and your mentor's mentors. Your mentor studied to grow their knowledge. Their mentors had a wealth of knowledge to share. Drink deep from that well. 

Never stop learning. How does practice, a drill, or a lesson advance your story? What helps us score or stops opponents from scoring? We can always learn more, learn better, teach better. "See one, do one, teach one." If it looks good but doesn't accomplish anything, stop. 

 Overcome what limits you. Improve your conditioning. Study the game (film, reading) to improve your vision. Plan your execution; execute your plan. 

 Don't tell me why you can't; show me how you can. 


Lagniappe: it's a team game. 

Horns into Flex with Flare Screen option...
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