Basketball: Late New Year's Resolutions

Ask for the discipline to follow our New Year's basketball resolutions. Make it easier to follow the new behaviors and harder to continue the ones needing to go.

1. Find daily minutes for gratitude. Most of us are here not because of the game we love but the people we've met through the game. Memories flow from "peak experiences" and "end experiences." The saying "All's well that ends well" captures the latter. 

2. Get more and better exercise. "Youth is wasted on the young." For older readers, staying mentally and physically fit (strength, balance, nutrition, sleep) challenges us daily. 

Here's a dumbbell program I'm doing twice daily:

5 exercises, 5 sets, 6-8 reps per set

• Lunges (forward and reverse)
• Squats
• Overhead press
• Bent over rowing
• Curls 

3. Daily 'professional' reading/study. Learning never goes out of style. The more we know, the more we can apply across domains. 

4. Daily 'pleasure' reading. Some advocate a balance of fiction and nonfiction reading to lower the chance of memory loss. Books have an annoying habit of piling up next to my 'spot'. Pleasure reading includes basketball for me. 

5. Daily mindfulness (even 5-10 minutes). Mindfulness improves sleep, lowers stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, improves concentration, and has other benefits. Widening the space between 'stimulus' and 'response' adds value for most people. Think before speaking. 

6. Journal better. "Can't please everyone, gotta please yourself." - Ricky Nelson  To earn more readers, write better. Readers owe the writer nothing. 

Lagniappe. I have a saying, "bigs away come back into play." Except when they don't on this BOB. 

Must add BLOB from the Mavs. Use Kyrie and Luka in a zoom action for the slip lay up. pic.twitter.com/nyjYmSPVmD

— Joey Burton (@JoeyBurton) January 8, 2024

Lagniappe 2. Complex screens are hard to defend. Cut urgently. 

Iverson Cut Series
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This clinic by Marc Hart covers Isolations & Ball Screens for Shooters or Post players.
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You will be able to get the ball to your best player out of this series.
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Check out more on the Iverson Cut Series link below 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/XlAzZOkeFG

— Scott Peterman (@coachpeterman) January 6, 2024

Lagniappe 3. Split catch.  

Split Catch 1 v 1

Defensive player has to keep 2 hands on the ball. Offensive player bounces the ball and waits until it gets to its peak. Then attack off of a split catch.

Play 2-3 dribble max. pic.twitter.com/9jcoQPjCVm

— Reid Ouse (@reidouse) January 10, 2024

Lagniappe 4. We choose our degree of ownership. 

You won’t always be motivated.
You won’t always be inspired.
You won’t always be excited.
You won’t always feel like it.

But you can still choose to be committed, to be disciplined, to live the standard, to do the work.
Own the way you show up.

— Kevin DeShazo (@KevinDeShazo) January 5, 2024