"Trust the process." You can't trust or distrust phantoms. Process vaporizes if we can't explain, teach, and share it. In his MasterClass, writer David Baldacci tells aspiring writers to read, write, and think constantly.
"Nurse" is a play where 1 passes to the post and basket cuts off the opposite post (backscreen) for a possible return. A ball screen from the initial screener is an excellent second option with the resulting double gap pick-and-roll, if you have the personnel.
Focus. Be self-aware. Mindfulness lowers stress hormones, blood pressure, and decreases anxiety and depression. Through neuroplasticity it builds brain density in the learning and memory centers. And it shrinks the stress center, the amygdala. Meditation worked for Kobe, Jordan, Shaq, Phil Jackson, and great current NBA stars. But it's useless for us? Start here.
Teach better. Use the Feynman technique: Name, Define, Research, Refine. Ask players to define a back cut. <Crickets> "A back cut goes to the ball then away from the ball." Then, ask them to demonstrate its use, individually and in context.
Carla Berube moved on from Tufts to Princeton and surely will take the 1-3-1 back cut with her.
Simplify.
Two minutes of pick-and-roll from Auerbach and Bird...it's Thanksgiving with all the fixings. Rock and roll all night.
Everything has to matter. Excellence comes from habits. Habit includes nutrition, sleep, preparation, practice, study, communication, and the professionalism you bring daily. Expecting good play from bad habits trusts a fool's errand. Strive to make each word count.
In Redbelt, screenwriter David Mamet reminds us, "a man distracted is a man defeated." If we have success, remember why and keep grinding.
Lagniappe:
Train to prevail.
