Remix: Hoops Stories (concept
originally posted in June 2010)
Here are a few inspirational stories of
success I want to share:
1) Do you know what Michigan
State head coach Tom Izzo had his team do at their first
practice of the 1999-2000 season? No shooting drills. No ball handling drills. No
defense, no rebounding, no passing, and no sprints. At the first practice he had his
players practice cutting down the nets. That’s right, they practiced cutting
down the nets! It must have worked because less than 6 months later Coach Izzo and
the Spartans did cut down the nets at the RCA Dome after they beat Florida for
the National Championship. Success can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
2) During the end of the 1996-1997 regular
season, Tim McCormick of the NBPA had an opportunity to go watch a
Chicago Bulls practice. The Bulls were pursuing their 2nd
straight (and 5th overall) NBA Championship and had set an
NBA record with 72 wins the previous season. As excited as he was to be there, he was a
little disappointed because he assumed he wouldn’t get to see Michael
Jordan practice. After all, the Bulls just played 4 games in 5 nights and he
assumed MJ would take a well deserved day off. Especially since they won all 4 of those
games and his Airness had scored something like 38, 42, 46, and 34 points (and played
over 40 minutes each game). Much to his surprise, MJ showed up 45 minutes
before practice. He began with some form shooting and then quickly moved to a
variety of up-tempo shooting drills (using an assistant coach as a rebounder). He got
up around 200 shots. He was focused and intense and was in a full lather of sweat by
the time the rest of the team arrived. Sensing his team needed a light day;
Phil Jackson told the team that practice was only going to consist of
a scrimmage to 20 baskets. MJ proceeded to score 12 of his team’s baskets and
assisted on 3 others. He dove for loose balls and even took a charge! Needless to say,
his team won easily. On a day when Michael Jordan deserved to take a day off and
rest… he still outworked everyone and gave 100%. His commitment to excellence
and his competitive fire never stopped. Michael Jordan wasn’t great by
accident.
3) Sam Presti, the
Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Oklahoma City
Thunder, shared these reasons as to why Kevin Durant is an
NBA superstar:
- KD is a notable
teammate . He has relationships with everyone in the organization.
From the guy who sweeps the floor to the team owner.
- KD is an impressive practice
player . As hard as he plays in games, he practices even harder. He
knows that improvement comes from practice.
- KD is focused on the process
and on the long term . He isn’t in search of a magic bullet.
He embraces slow, incremental gains. He knows greatness takes
time.
- KD takes care of his
body . He lifts weights year round, ices after games, eats well,
and isn’t a party animal. His commitment shows in his daily
workouts.
- KD is the team’s
unofficial off-season leader . He organizes group workouts and
pick-up games. Wherever he is, he is always setting up places to play and inviting
(and encouraging) his teammates to join him.
- KD absolutely loves to play
basketball . His passion is pure. He respects the
game.
4) Steve Kostorowski, Chris
Paul’s long time personal trainer, sent an email with the subject line:
“Things CP does in the off-season before most guys are even out of
bed!”
- Wakes up at
5:00am.
- Drives to the
gym.
- Does a thorough
warm-up.
- Does 30 minutes of injury prevention
and corrective exercises.
- Does between 500-750 abdominal
crunches.
- Lifts between 4,000-5,000 lbs with
every major muscle group (legs, chest, back, etc.).
- Does a variety of balance and
coordination drills.
- Performs 1,000 reps of jump
rope.
- Does 40 minutes of on-court ball
handling and conditioning.
- Eats a nutritious breakfast (post
workout meal).
5) There is no excuse for not being a good
shooter. Shooting is a matter of practice. There has never been a great
shooter who didn’t shoot every day. But you can’t just be a casual shooter.
You need to pay close attention to correct mechanics, proper footwork, and progressing
to the point where you are taking game shots, from game spots, at game speed. Take a
look at how some “extra” shooting adds up:
- 100 extra shots x 5 days a week x 50
weeks a year = 25,000 extra shots a year
- 200 extra shots x 5 days a week x 50
weeks a year = 50,000 extra shots a year
- 400 extra shots x 5 days a
week x 50 weeks a year = 100,000 extra shots a year
How could you not be a great
shooter if you took an extra 100,000 shots a year?! Why aren’t you doing
it?
6) Shooting coach extraordinaire Dave Hopla
had the opportunity to work with Kobe Bryant back in 1996, before he
was drafted by the Lakers, and then continued to work with him for the first 4 years of
Kobe’s NBA career.
Here is a quick story about the first time
they met:
Kobe called late one evening to set up a
workout for the following day. The only time Coach Hopla had available was 5:30am
because he was heading out of town around lunch time. Kobe said, “Sounds good,
let’s do it.”
Coach Hopla arrived at the gym at 5:15am and
saw that Kobe was already there… preparing for the workout to start at
5:30am. Kobe had arrived at 4:45am. He was in a full sweat before the workout
officially started.
The first drill they did was a Half-Court
Shuttle Drill:
- You need 1 ball and 1 person to
rebound and pass
- Set up a cone at mid-court and 2 cones
at the free throw line extended (3 feet from sideline)
- Start at mid-court and sprint for a
jump shot at the free throw line
- Sprint back to the mid-court cone,
then sprint to either outside cone for another jump shot
- Sprint back to mid-court, then sprint
to the other cone for a jump shot
- Lastly, sprint to mid-court, and
sprint in to finish with a dunk or layup
- If you miss any shots, you continue
until you make the shot from that spot.
- Record your best time. A good time is
less than 21 seconds on an NBA court.
In his first time doing the drill, Kobe
moved at lighting pace and nailed his first three jump shots… but then missed
the final dunk (pounded it off the back rim).
Without hesitation (or without complaining
or pouting), Kobe sprinted after the ball (which bounced all the way past half court),
picked it up, sprinted back… and took off from just inside the foul line and
dunked it home. He then looked up and said, “What was my time?” Without
prompting from Coach Hopla, he jogged to mid-court and began the drill
again.
That was the first drill Coach Hopla ever
took Kobe through. He immediately knew that Kobe was a special player and would go down
in history as one of the greats. Over the next few years of working with Kobe, Coach
Hopla made this observation:
“Kobe has a sense of urgency with
everything he does. Every rep, every shot, every drill is important to him. He takes
advantage of every opportunity to get better. Kobe is never satisfied with his game and
his always looking to improve. That hunger is what makes him
great.”
Train hard. Train smart.
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
www.Twitter.com/AlanStein
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www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom