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Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Identify Basketball Edges and Leave an Impression


Grandmaster Garry Kasparov once observed that part of chess is knowing what not to do when there’s nothing to do, and what to do when opportunity arises. That lesson applies across sports: players must learn both patience and decisiveness.

When advantage appears—whether in speed, strength, or size—it must be pressed. Great process ensures you can “leave an impression.” As the saying goes, throw your best pitch.

In chess, players don’t see isolated pieces; they see the board in chunks that form themes. Learning works the same way. If you were memorizing Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, you’d break it into manageable parts—“four score and seven years ago” is one natural chunk. Chunking simplifies complexity and helps you “learn how to learn.”

That same principle guides physical training. Skills are built through visualization, practice, and repetition. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, taught EDIR5: explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition—repeated five times. Top performers across domains rely on this approach because, as Wooden often reminded his players, repetition makes reputations.

Basketball provides its own version of chunking. A simple guard–post–wing triangle can generate multiple scoring options from the same spacing. What looks like one pattern actually contains many layers, just as in chess.


Lagniappe. Execution defines us. 

Lagniappe 2. Coach Tavares suggests ways to free the roll man.  

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