Basketball: The Art of Possibility

Simple is faster, but not always better. Two scientists discuss a newly discovered frog with iridescent eyes. The geneticist beams with excitement, "we can sequence his DNA, discover the protein coding for the color, and synthesize it." The biochemist says, "why not just pop the eyes out and put them in the Waring blender?" Simple is faster, but not always better. Especially if you're the frog. 

Knowledge comes at a cost - reading, study, and thinking. 

Human perception is broad yet limited. We hear less than a dog, are blind to the visual spectrum of bees or night vision of cats, and lack the electrical field sensors of sharks. 

Basketball vision escapes the usual visual spectrum. The novice misses the imminent backdoor cut, the Flex, Floppy, Spain pick-and-roll, screen-the-screener, Iverson stagger, or slip. Mastery sees. 



Cultivate the Art of Possibility, the ability to see easily what they missed yesterday. At practice last night, a player read the 'slip' perfectly, got the pass, and finished. She's only 13; I stopped practice to review the 'read' and finish. 

In The Art of Possibility, Rosamund and Benjamin Zander advise:

Orient to Abundance - focus on scarcity tends toward selfishness. 

Orient to Joy - "action in a universe of possibility...giving...creating new ideas, consciously endowing to meaning, contributing." See everyday actions as special and valuable. 

Lagniappe: NBA training basics from Drew Hanlen



Build core competencies in picking up the shot: 

• Hesitation
• Crossover
• Between-the-legs (optional for youth)
• Behind-the-back (optional) 
• Side/step back

Lagniappe 2: Doc Rivers concepts (via Kevin Eastman)

• He who angers you owns you.
• Winning teams are clutter-free.
• We will not win until you drop your guard and let me in.
• Champions get punched, too. 
• Never compromise your culture. 

Lagniappe 3: Credit teammates!

There's only one way coaching works. 

Jimmy Chin teaches adventure photography (MasterClass)