The greatest scorer in college basketball history.
Clink on the link below to watch the 4min video on him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swHmiNyzHPM&feature=related
2.28.2010
LARRY BIRD - #1 SHOOTER IN COLLEGE BBALL
Bird is widely considered the best shooter in college basketball history.
In this Video Bird describes a shooter as a player that can shoot from 15-18 feet and make 60-70 shots in a row while working out.
Click on the link below to watch the 4min video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Qn4JjJ_vc
In this Video Bird describes a shooter as a player that can shoot from 15-18 feet and make 60-70 shots in a row while working out.
Click on the link below to watch the 4min video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Qn4JjJ_vc
Evidence That Little Touches Do Mean A Lot
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: February 22, 2010
Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and facial expressions that carry emotion. A warm tone of voice, a hostile stare — both have the same meaning in Terre Haute or Timbuktu, and are among dozens of signals that form a universal human vocabulary.
YOU FEEL ME...
A quick hug, fist pound, high five or belly bump can communicate a wide range of emotions, sometimes more accurately than words.
In recent years some researchers have begun to focus on a different, often more subtle kind of wordless communication: physical contact. Momentary touches, they say — whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm — can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.
“It is the first language we learn,” said Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of “Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life” (Norton, 2009), and remains, he said, “our richest means of emotional expression” throughout life.
The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast. Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long, compared with estimates from people who were untouched. Research by Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute in Miami has found that a massage from a loved one can not only ease pain but also soothe depression and strengthen a relationship.
In a series of experiments led by Matthew Hertenstein, a psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana, volunteers tried to communicate a list of emotions by touching a blindfolded stranger. The participants were able to communicate eight distinct emotions, from gratitude to disgust to love, some with about 70 percent accuracy.
“We used to think that touch only served to intensify communicated emotions,” Dr. Hertenstein said. Now it turns out to be “a much more differentiated signaling system than we had imagined.”
To see whether a rich vocabulary of supportive touch is in fact related to performance, scientists at Berkeley recently analyzed interactions in one of the most physically expressive arenas on earth: professional basketball. Michael W. Kraus led a research team that coded every bump, hug and high five in a single game played by each team in the National Basketball Association early last season.
In a paper due out this year in the journal Emotion, Mr. Kraus and his co-authors, Cassy Huang and Dr. Keltner, report that with a few exceptions, good teams tended to be touchier than bad ones. The most touch-bonded teams were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, currently two of the league’s top teams; at the bottom were the mediocre Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.
The same was true, more or less, for players. The touchiest player was Kevin Garnett, the Celtics’ star big man, followed by star forwards Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz. “Within 600 milliseconds of shooting a free throw, Garnett has reached out and touched four guys,” Dr. Keltner said.
To correct for the possibility that the better teams touch more often simply because they are winning, the researchers rated performance based not on points or victories but on a sophisticated measure of how efficiently players and teams managed the ball — their ratio of assists to giveaways, for example. And even after the high expectations surrounding the more talented teams were taken into account, the correlation persisted. Players who made contact with teammates most consistently and longest tended to rate highest on measures of performance, and the teams with those players seemed to get the most out of their talent.
The study fell short of showing that touch caused the better performance, Dr. Kraus acknowledged. “We still have to test this in a controlled lab environment,” he said.
If a high five or an equivalent can in fact enhance performance, on the field or in the office that may be because it reduces stress. A warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust, and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
In the brain, prefrontal areas, which help regulate emotion, can relax, freeing them for another of their primary purposes: problem solving. In effect, the body interprets a supportive touch, as “I’ll share the load.”
“We think that humans build relationships precisely for this reason, to distribute problem solving across brains,” said James A. Coan, a psychologist at the University of Virginia. “We are wired to literally share the processing load, and this is the signal we’re getting when we receive support through touch.”
Published: February 22, 2010
Psychologists have long studied the grunts and winks of nonverbal communication, the vocal tones and facial expressions that carry emotion. A warm tone of voice, a hostile stare — both have the same meaning in Terre Haute or Timbuktu, and are among dozens of signals that form a universal human vocabulary.
YOU FEEL ME...
A quick hug, fist pound, high five or belly bump can communicate a wide range of emotions, sometimes more accurately than words.
In recent years some researchers have begun to focus on a different, often more subtle kind of wordless communication: physical contact. Momentary touches, they say — whether an exuberant high five, a warm hand on the shoulder, or a creepy touch to the arm — can communicate an even wider range of emotion than gestures or expressions, and sometimes do so more quickly and accurately than words.
“It is the first language we learn,” said Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of “Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life” (Norton, 2009), and remains, he said, “our richest means of emotional expression” throughout life.
The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast. Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long, compared with estimates from people who were untouched. Research by Tiffany Field of the Touch Research Institute in Miami has found that a massage from a loved one can not only ease pain but also soothe depression and strengthen a relationship.
In a series of experiments led by Matthew Hertenstein, a psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana, volunteers tried to communicate a list of emotions by touching a blindfolded stranger. The participants were able to communicate eight distinct emotions, from gratitude to disgust to love, some with about 70 percent accuracy.
“We used to think that touch only served to intensify communicated emotions,” Dr. Hertenstein said. Now it turns out to be “a much more differentiated signaling system than we had imagined.”
To see whether a rich vocabulary of supportive touch is in fact related to performance, scientists at Berkeley recently analyzed interactions in one of the most physically expressive arenas on earth: professional basketball. Michael W. Kraus led a research team that coded every bump, hug and high five in a single game played by each team in the National Basketball Association early last season.
In a paper due out this year in the journal Emotion, Mr. Kraus and his co-authors, Cassy Huang and Dr. Keltner, report that with a few exceptions, good teams tended to be touchier than bad ones. The most touch-bonded teams were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, currently two of the league’s top teams; at the bottom were the mediocre Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats.
The same was true, more or less, for players. The touchiest player was Kevin Garnett, the Celtics’ star big man, followed by star forwards Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors and Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz. “Within 600 milliseconds of shooting a free throw, Garnett has reached out and touched four guys,” Dr. Keltner said.
To correct for the possibility that the better teams touch more often simply because they are winning, the researchers rated performance based not on points or victories but on a sophisticated measure of how efficiently players and teams managed the ball — their ratio of assists to giveaways, for example. And even after the high expectations surrounding the more talented teams were taken into account, the correlation persisted. Players who made contact with teammates most consistently and longest tended to rate highest on measures of performance, and the teams with those players seemed to get the most out of their talent.
The study fell short of showing that touch caused the better performance, Dr. Kraus acknowledged. “We still have to test this in a controlled lab environment,” he said.
If a high five or an equivalent can in fact enhance performance, on the field or in the office that may be because it reduces stress. A warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust, and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
In the brain, prefrontal areas, which help regulate emotion, can relax, freeing them for another of their primary purposes: problem solving. In effect, the body interprets a supportive touch, as “I’ll share the load.”
“We think that humans build relationships precisely for this reason, to distribute problem solving across brains,” said James A. Coan, a psychologist at the University of Virginia. “We are wired to literally share the processing load, and this is the signal we’re getting when we receive support through touch.”
OMAR SAMHAN
Powerful motivation can come from the smallest of phrases.
Good or great?
That's the line St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett and assistant coach Kyle Smith used to inspire Omar Samhan when he was a freshman.
Samhan, a 6-foot-10 center who plays his final scheduled home game tonight in McKeon Pavilion, needs 25 points to break the school's season record of 614, set by Eric Schraeder in 1998-99.
Three years ago, though, Samhan was simply a redshirt freshman trying to find his way.
"I remember thinking in my freshman year, 'Man, I hope I score 614 points in my career,' " Samhan said recently.
Good or great?
Bennett and Smith had gotten the line from ESPN's Doug Gottlieb, who said it at a St. Mary's camp. Samhan put together a solid freshman season, averaging 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Bennett and Smith wanted to turn solid into something special.
Samhan began going to the gym at 6 a.m. to shoot for an hour and then lift weights for another hour before heading to class. Smith usually accompanied him in those early-morning sessions.
"The night before," Samhan said, "I'd text coach Kyle, 'Are we going tomorrow?' and he'd just text me back, 'Good or great?' and I knew that meant we were on. 'I'll see you at 6.' "
Samhan, a self-described "overweight high school kid who wasn't really recruited," improved his game and his confidence in those workouts.
"It got to the point," Samhan said, "where I was working so much, I was like, 'I deserve it more than a lot of these other guys.' That's how I felt."
"He works as hard as anyone I've ever met," junior guard Mickey McConnell said.
Samhan also probably is as demonstrative on the court and talkative off it as anyone McConnell has met.
"Omar's an extrovert, he's social," Bennett said. "He's got a little Muhammad Ali to him."
As McConnell put it, "He has a knack for getting under people's skin a little bit."
After spending the previous two seasons somewhat overshadowed by his best friend, forward Diamon Simpson, and guard Patty Mills, Samhan unquestionably has become the Gaels' leader in 2009-10.
"Every game is just so special," Samhan said, "just to be on this team with guys who are more than willing to let me be the leader, and look up to me.
"It's a great responsibility, but one that I truly enjoy."
Count USF head coach Rex Walters a Samhan booster. After the Dons lost 73-57 in Moraga on Feb. 6, Walters said the Gaels had played harder than his team during stretches of the game.
"A lot of that's a testament to Omar," Walters said, "because Omar will just kick your butt if you don't bring it. He'll absolutely bury you - and I love that about him."
Good or great?
Bennett calls Samhan "one of the biggest ambassadors for St. Mary's basketball," and that's not only because he leads the WCC in scoring (21.1 ppg), rebounding (11.2 per) and blocked shots (2.9 per).
"Nobody's perfect; I'm not saying Omar is," Bennett said, "but he's got a big heart. He gets it."
A communications major who hopes to get into broadcasting once his basketball career ends, Samhan is front and center on the Gaels' bandwagon.
"He feels like we are the best team in the country," McConnell said, "when he's on the floor, especially."
Said Bennett: "Don't try to tell him that St. Mary's shouldn't be really good and that that wasn't the best place for him to go because he's not going to hear that."
You can bet Samhan will hear resounding cheers before tonight's game when he and fellow seniors Ben Allen and Wayne Hunter get honored.
"I just want to be remembered as a guy who kind of defied the odds," Samhan said. "Chances were I wasn't going to be good. Chances were I would never play.
"I just didn't take no for an answer - and I think that that's the best legacy anybody could have."
What might have been.
After Omar Samhan graduated from San Ramon Valley High in 2005, no one would have predicted he'd become a cornerstone of the St. Mary's program - because he wasn't headed to Moraga.
Samhan committed to USF. He remained with the Dons until an SAT problem led to his departure from the Hilltop.
"I, at the time, was crushed," Samhan remembered.
Fairly soon thereafter, Samhan got a scholarship offer from the Gaels. He redshirted in 2005-06 and the rest is St. Mary's history.
Samhan remains grateful to Randy Bennett and his coaching staff.
"I think that it's a real tribute to those guys," Samhan said, "to think outside the box and take a chance on a kid nobody else really wanted."
Samhan says
During an interview in Moraga last week, Omar Samhan gave first-thing-that-comes-to-mind responses to various names and topics:
Randy Bennett: "Father figure."
Diamon Simpson: "Best friend."
McKeon Pavilion: "Home."
Australia: "Look forward to visiting. I never thought this when I came in here, but that's a place when I get family vacations when I'm older, I'll definitely go over there and see these guys. It's just a warm feeling over there. They've embraced us as much as we've embraced them."
Gonzaga: "Rivalry. They made my college career that much better, just between the wars and battles we've had over the years. They help the conference any way you look at it. ... Both sides have gotten more mature over the years. It started off a little rocky, but I think we both can acknowledge that the other one's pretty good at what they do."
Future: "Pro basketball."
Good or great?
That's the line St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett and assistant coach Kyle Smith used to inspire Omar Samhan when he was a freshman.
Samhan, a 6-foot-10 center who plays his final scheduled home game tonight in McKeon Pavilion, needs 25 points to break the school's season record of 614, set by Eric Schraeder in 1998-99.
Three years ago, though, Samhan was simply a redshirt freshman trying to find his way.
"I remember thinking in my freshman year, 'Man, I hope I score 614 points in my career,' " Samhan said recently.
Good or great?
Bennett and Smith had gotten the line from ESPN's Doug Gottlieb, who said it at a St. Mary's camp. Samhan put together a solid freshman season, averaging 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Bennett and Smith wanted to turn solid into something special.
Samhan began going to the gym at 6 a.m. to shoot for an hour and then lift weights for another hour before heading to class. Smith usually accompanied him in those early-morning sessions.
"The night before," Samhan said, "I'd text coach Kyle, 'Are we going tomorrow?' and he'd just text me back, 'Good or great?' and I knew that meant we were on. 'I'll see you at 6.' "
Samhan, a self-described "overweight high school kid who wasn't really recruited," improved his game and his confidence in those workouts.
"It got to the point," Samhan said, "where I was working so much, I was like, 'I deserve it more than a lot of these other guys.' That's how I felt."
"He works as hard as anyone I've ever met," junior guard Mickey McConnell said.
Samhan also probably is as demonstrative on the court and talkative off it as anyone McConnell has met.
"Omar's an extrovert, he's social," Bennett said. "He's got a little Muhammad Ali to him."
As McConnell put it, "He has a knack for getting under people's skin a little bit."
After spending the previous two seasons somewhat overshadowed by his best friend, forward Diamon Simpson, and guard Patty Mills, Samhan unquestionably has become the Gaels' leader in 2009-10.
"Every game is just so special," Samhan said, "just to be on this team with guys who are more than willing to let me be the leader, and look up to me.
"It's a great responsibility, but one that I truly enjoy."
Count USF head coach Rex Walters a Samhan booster. After the Dons lost 73-57 in Moraga on Feb. 6, Walters said the Gaels had played harder than his team during stretches of the game.
"A lot of that's a testament to Omar," Walters said, "because Omar will just kick your butt if you don't bring it. He'll absolutely bury you - and I love that about him."
Good or great?
Bennett calls Samhan "one of the biggest ambassadors for St. Mary's basketball," and that's not only because he leads the WCC in scoring (21.1 ppg), rebounding (11.2 per) and blocked shots (2.9 per).
"Nobody's perfect; I'm not saying Omar is," Bennett said, "but he's got a big heart. He gets it."
A communications major who hopes to get into broadcasting once his basketball career ends, Samhan is front and center on the Gaels' bandwagon.
"He feels like we are the best team in the country," McConnell said, "when he's on the floor, especially."
Said Bennett: "Don't try to tell him that St. Mary's shouldn't be really good and that that wasn't the best place for him to go because he's not going to hear that."
You can bet Samhan will hear resounding cheers before tonight's game when he and fellow seniors Ben Allen and Wayne Hunter get honored.
"I just want to be remembered as a guy who kind of defied the odds," Samhan said. "Chances were I wasn't going to be good. Chances were I would never play.
"I just didn't take no for an answer - and I think that that's the best legacy anybody could have."
What might have been.
After Omar Samhan graduated from San Ramon Valley High in 2005, no one would have predicted he'd become a cornerstone of the St. Mary's program - because he wasn't headed to Moraga.
Samhan committed to USF. He remained with the Dons until an SAT problem led to his departure from the Hilltop.
"I, at the time, was crushed," Samhan remembered.
Fairly soon thereafter, Samhan got a scholarship offer from the Gaels. He redshirted in 2005-06 and the rest is St. Mary's history.
Samhan remains grateful to Randy Bennett and his coaching staff.
"I think that it's a real tribute to those guys," Samhan said, "to think outside the box and take a chance on a kid nobody else really wanted."
Samhan says
During an interview in Moraga last week, Omar Samhan gave first-thing-that-comes-to-mind responses to various names and topics:
Randy Bennett: "Father figure."
Diamon Simpson: "Best friend."
McKeon Pavilion: "Home."
Australia: "Look forward to visiting. I never thought this when I came in here, but that's a place when I get family vacations when I'm older, I'll definitely go over there and see these guys. It's just a warm feeling over there. They've embraced us as much as we've embraced them."
Gonzaga: "Rivalry. They made my college career that much better, just between the wars and battles we've had over the years. They help the conference any way you look at it. ... Both sides have gotten more mature over the years. It started off a little rocky, but I think we both can acknowledge that the other one's pretty good at what they do."
Future: "Pro basketball."
2.25.2010
COLLEGE BASKETBALL - IT'S A MARATHON
Late February is the 21-mile marker of the college basketball season's marathon. It's been more than six months since most players and coaches started preparing for the 2009-10 season. The practices, weight-training workouts and film sessions have been endless, but it is the next three weeks that will determine, for most teams, whether it has been a successful season.
The pressure of trying to get your team into the NCAA tournament is enormous. At the low and mid-major level, what you've done in the regular season is mostly irrelevant because winning your conference tournament in a couple of weeks is the only thing that matters.
For power conference teams, every league game down the stretch will determine not only whether you earn an at-large bid, but also how high your seed will be if you do.
For the elite teams, getting into the tournament is only the beginning of the pressure to perform up to expectations. Ask Kansas coach Bill Self if early-round exits in 2005 and 2006 at the hands of Bucknell and Bradley didn't give him major migraines for two years.
Regardless of what level you are coaching at, getting your team ready to play its best basketball in the last month of the season is an art form. More than at any other time of the season, a coach must play psychologist, drill sergeant, physical therapist, teacher, motivational speaker, time-management expert and problem-solver.
Mental preparation in February and March, in my opinion, is far more important than physical preparation. Most teams are beaten up physically and beaten down mentally by the length of the season, by tough losses, by long road trips and by academic work that always looms. How you choose to motivate your team has a big part in late-season success.
While there are different philosophies about the length of practice at the end of the season, I was always a believer in the "fresh legs" approach. As a coach, you want to keep your players sharp without making them mentally miserable.
While two-and-a-half to three-hour practices were common in the first half of the season, I always cut practice times down to as little as 45 minutes late in the season. The intensity level was still high, but the players knew that if they were crisp and attentive, we got them off the court quickly. The extra time could be used for "mental practice," like a film session or a few new plays to introduce or extra shooting and skill development.
Late in the season, I believed in keeping my players off-balance. At one practice following a devastating loss, our players were expecting a tough, hard practice. Instead, we practiced last-second shots, and every time we scored, our bench players had to run on the court and celebrate with their teammates. After a few pile-ons and with the team in a great mood, we ended practice before anyone got hurt. Coincidence or not, we ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
I also believed in adding some of our best offensive plays late in the season. With the familiarity that comes with playing in a conference and breaking down film, everyone is prepared for the opponent's best stuff throughout the season. So we would practice new sets or add wrinkles to plays we already had in our offense.
One season, when John Calipari was still coaching at UMass and I was at Manhattan, he gave me a last-second play over the phone one night in early January. We practiced it the next day, and I told our team that we would run the play only when we needed a sure basket. We called it "Winner."
For the next two months, we worked on "Winner" every day -- and finally, with the score tied in our conference championship game, we called the play in our final timeout. The players knew "Winner" in their sleep, executed it, and it helped get the Jaspers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 35 years. It's a great feeling when your players have confidence in you because you have prepared them for success in a pressure situation.
The pressure of trying to get your team into the NCAA tournament is enormous. At the low and mid-major level, what you've done in the regular season is mostly irrelevant because winning your conference tournament in a couple of weeks is the only thing that matters.
For power conference teams, every league game down the stretch will determine not only whether you earn an at-large bid, but also how high your seed will be if you do.
For the elite teams, getting into the tournament is only the beginning of the pressure to perform up to expectations. Ask Kansas coach Bill Self if early-round exits in 2005 and 2006 at the hands of Bucknell and Bradley didn't give him major migraines for two years.
Regardless of what level you are coaching at, getting your team ready to play its best basketball in the last month of the season is an art form. More than at any other time of the season, a coach must play psychologist, drill sergeant, physical therapist, teacher, motivational speaker, time-management expert and problem-solver.
Mental preparation in February and March, in my opinion, is far more important than physical preparation. Most teams are beaten up physically and beaten down mentally by the length of the season, by tough losses, by long road trips and by academic work that always looms. How you choose to motivate your team has a big part in late-season success.
While there are different philosophies about the length of practice at the end of the season, I was always a believer in the "fresh legs" approach. As a coach, you want to keep your players sharp without making them mentally miserable.
While two-and-a-half to three-hour practices were common in the first half of the season, I always cut practice times down to as little as 45 minutes late in the season. The intensity level was still high, but the players knew that if they were crisp and attentive, we got them off the court quickly. The extra time could be used for "mental practice," like a film session or a few new plays to introduce or extra shooting and skill development.
Late in the season, I believed in keeping my players off-balance. At one practice following a devastating loss, our players were expecting a tough, hard practice. Instead, we practiced last-second shots, and every time we scored, our bench players had to run on the court and celebrate with their teammates. After a few pile-ons and with the team in a great mood, we ended practice before anyone got hurt. Coincidence or not, we ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
I also believed in adding some of our best offensive plays late in the season. With the familiarity that comes with playing in a conference and breaking down film, everyone is prepared for the opponent's best stuff throughout the season. So we would practice new sets or add wrinkles to plays we already had in our offense.
One season, when John Calipari was still coaching at UMass and I was at Manhattan, he gave me a last-second play over the phone one night in early January. We practiced it the next day, and I told our team that we would run the play only when we needed a sure basket. We called it "Winner."
For the next two months, we worked on "Winner" every day -- and finally, with the score tied in our conference championship game, we called the play in our final timeout. The players knew "Winner" in their sleep, executed it, and it helped get the Jaspers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 35 years. It's a great feeling when your players have confidence in you because you have prepared them for success in a pressure situation.
2.22.2010
DIRK
“Dirk lives the game,” says Rick Carlisle. Since age 13, everything he does in his life is and has been geared toward being the best basketball player he can be. And the thing that you love about Dirk is that he loves living this life. The life for Nowitzki – All-Star, NBA MVP, future Hall of Famer – is and has always been only about basketball. “He’s not flashy. He’s not conspicuously spending money or hanging with high profile friends. He’s not after every dollar he can get. It isn’t interesting to him.”
“I’m not going to jump over two guys and dunk it or stare or muscle you down,” he says of is style, which is quiet, quick and efficient. Nowitzki is old school, a workhorse. He loves doing all sorts of drills, he does push-ups on his fingertips, and late night shooting practice. Sometimes the coaches will ban him from the practice facility because they think his body needs rest so he sneaks down to the local high school to use their gym. He does not drink or smoke.
A driver for Hotel ZaZa, the Dallas glitterate hangout, sums up Dirk: “I know all the players. They all come hang out here. But Dirk? Him I never see. “
“I’m not going to jump over two guys and dunk it or stare or muscle you down,” he says of is style, which is quiet, quick and efficient. Nowitzki is old school, a workhorse. He loves doing all sorts of drills, he does push-ups on his fingertips, and late night shooting practice. Sometimes the coaches will ban him from the practice facility because they think his body needs rest so he sneaks down to the local high school to use their gym. He does not drink or smoke.
A driver for Hotel ZaZa, the Dallas glitterate hangout, sums up Dirk: “I know all the players. They all come hang out here. But Dirk? Him I never see. “
2.21.2010
RAY ALLEN - SHOOTING
Ray Allen was talking the other day about how he goes out to shoot before every practice, every game, for 20 to 30 minutes. He hoists up shot after shot from different places all over the floor. "When I shoot, whether its for 20 minutes or an hour and half, I really focus on my mechanics and making each shot important."
“I just evolved into finding the time where I could get into the gym when nobody’s in there and do my own thing some of the time,” he said. “I think there are a lot of guys that vary, change up their routines. But, me, it stays the same.”
Not surprisingly, he said he’s often out there with Rondo and Pierce.
“With kill shooters, guys that really perfect their craft, you see that consistency, where they want to get out on the floor and in the gym and shoot when there’s nobody out there to deter them from getting up their shots and deter them from doing what they have to do.”
The sight of Allen throwing up some of his perimeter shots has reminded many of Larry Bird, which Allen takes as a great compliment.
“That’s good company,” he said of the Celtics legend. “He shot the ball the way he did for a reason. To be a great shooter, to be one of the best, you have to be one of the hardest workers, Bird worked tirelessly, he had his own style where he worked so hard that when the games came he was only practicing what he did over and over again.
“I just evolved into finding the time where I could get into the gym when nobody’s in there and do my own thing some of the time,” he said. “I think there are a lot of guys that vary, change up their routines. But, me, it stays the same.”
Not surprisingly, he said he’s often out there with Rondo and Pierce.
“With kill shooters, guys that really perfect their craft, you see that consistency, where they want to get out on the floor and in the gym and shoot when there’s nobody out there to deter them from getting up their shots and deter them from doing what they have to do.”
The sight of Allen throwing up some of his perimeter shots has reminded many of Larry Bird, which Allen takes as a great compliment.
“That’s good company,” he said of the Celtics legend. “He shot the ball the way he did for a reason. To be a great shooter, to be one of the best, you have to be one of the hardest workers, Bird worked tirelessly, he had his own style where he worked so hard that when the games came he was only practicing what he did over and over again.
2.19.2010
THE TALENT CODE NOTES
- Every expert in every field is the result of around 10,000 hours of committed practice, also known as “deep practice.” Deep practice is defined as working on technique, seeking constant feedback, and working ruthlessly on shoring up weaknesses.
- World class expertise requires roughly a decade of committed practice.
- Do you have the rage to master? If you have to ask that question about somebody they don’t have the rage to master.
- Myelin – Barn ball, mini hoops, 3 on 3 full court
o Z Boys – swimming pool
o Brazil – Futsal
- Guilds: Around the age of 7 they would go spend 5-10 years working with a master. They would learn things from the ground up. (Mixing paint and preparing canvas for the painters)
- Ron Howard: was the son of Jean Howard, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, writer, and actor. Howard graduated from John Burroughs High School, and later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate. Ron is now an American film director and producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show.
- Watch the movie, “Small Wonders”
o The inspiring story of Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras and her passion for teaching. A single mother, she moved to East Harlem and began teaching violin to support her family. When the Board of Education eliminated her position due to budget cuts, Roberta refused to stop. Instead she started her own non-profit organization in 1990 to fund a violin program for three East Harlem public schools. The popularity of her program is so astounding that a lottery was established to fairly select 150 students each year for instruction. Roberta's unique teaching technique and immeasurable energy capture the respect and love of her students as well as recognition from such famed violinists as Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman. Through rigorous instruction she focuses their attention and instills in them discipline and commitment. But what the kids learn extends far beyond the realm of music and inspires them to achieve in the bigger arenas of their lives.
- Is it possible to judge ability solely by the way people describe the way they practice and train?
- It’s not the hours spent but the deep practice hours spent.
- If you turn it over, why did you turn it over? If your in a shooting slump, why are you in a shooting slump? If you miss a blockout, why did you miss a blockout?
- Future hotbeds can be predicted.
- Dandelions spread throughout suburban yards with one puff. Overtime that puff will bring many flowers.
- Passion: Hotbeds treat bare bones practice with focus and intensity.
- You learn first by struggling and then by getting through it and succeding.
- The words you never here from the one that “made it” are…effortless, automatic, easy, natural.
- The McPherson Test: Musical children wre asked how long they planned to play. There answers were broken down into three categories: short term, medium term, long term. The children who said, “I want to be a musician for the long run” outperformed everybody else. It’s all about the perception of themselves.
- Recruits: coaches sons and sons of pros. They want to be like their Dad which is who they love the most and look up to. They also think of being a pro as normal.
- If you want “X” later, you better do “Y” like crazy now.
- Programs/groups: It’s all about creating belonging. You want people to say look. “those people over there are doing something terrifically worthwhile.” Youth programs are the key at the high school level.
- Talent hotbeds tended to be junky, unattractive places. Most of the buildings were makeshift, the fields were weedy and uneven, and the walls were bald. If your in a nice, easy, pleasant environment, its easy to naturally shut off and not work as hard.
- People who lose a parent: They learn that nothing is guaranteed or safe which can create a massive outpouring of energy that can be created by a lack of safety. These people can overcome the many obstacles and frustrations standing in the path of achievement.
- Talent requires deep practice, deep practice requires vast amounts of energy, and primal cues trigger huge outpourings of energy.
- Violen – one school succeded that had the lottery for the students and the other school that bought everybody violens died off because there wasn’t the same excitement and motivation in the kids.
- Why do breakthrough performances sometimes ignite talent booms and sometimes not? They are able to keep the ignition firing.
- Curacao’s: Curiel “lives at the field.” He says you need three things to be a player; heart, mind, and balls.
- 1987 Spartak Tennis Club: The coach Rauza Islanova started her class with 25 seven year olds. Every two weeks or so she would reduce it by one. Of the seven players that made the final selection, three became top 10 in the world.
- Verbal cues: However small can be very powerful.
- KIPP: Verbal cue, “Your all going to college.”
- Take youth programs to go watch college teams practice and bring them to high school practices. It gives them a vision that they can see and chase.
- Master Coaches: quiet, reserved, older, most have been teaching 30-40years. They listen more than they talk. They didn’t give pep talks or inspiring speeches. They give small, targeted, highly specific adjustments. They understand the person they are talking to and know how to relay the information to them.
- JaMarcus Russell: He is like anybody else, he can’t do it by himself. You can’t put him on the field and say win a super bowl. He needs mentoring and development.
- Pay attention to what your children are fascinated by and praise them for there effort.
- World class expertise requires roughly a decade of committed practice.
- Do you have the rage to master? If you have to ask that question about somebody they don’t have the rage to master.
- Myelin – Barn ball, mini hoops, 3 on 3 full court
o Z Boys – swimming pool
o Brazil – Futsal
- Guilds: Around the age of 7 they would go spend 5-10 years working with a master. They would learn things from the ground up. (Mixing paint and preparing canvas for the painters)
- Ron Howard: was the son of Jean Howard, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, writer, and actor. Howard graduated from John Burroughs High School, and later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate. Ron is now an American film director and producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show.
- Watch the movie, “Small Wonders”
o The inspiring story of Roberta Guaspari-Tzavaras and her passion for teaching. A single mother, she moved to East Harlem and began teaching violin to support her family. When the Board of Education eliminated her position due to budget cuts, Roberta refused to stop. Instead she started her own non-profit organization in 1990 to fund a violin program for three East Harlem public schools. The popularity of her program is so astounding that a lottery was established to fairly select 150 students each year for instruction. Roberta's unique teaching technique and immeasurable energy capture the respect and love of her students as well as recognition from such famed violinists as Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman. Through rigorous instruction she focuses their attention and instills in them discipline and commitment. But what the kids learn extends far beyond the realm of music and inspires them to achieve in the bigger arenas of their lives.
- Is it possible to judge ability solely by the way people describe the way they practice and train?
- It’s not the hours spent but the deep practice hours spent.
- If you turn it over, why did you turn it over? If your in a shooting slump, why are you in a shooting slump? If you miss a blockout, why did you miss a blockout?
- Future hotbeds can be predicted.
- Dandelions spread throughout suburban yards with one puff. Overtime that puff will bring many flowers.
- Passion: Hotbeds treat bare bones practice with focus and intensity.
- You learn first by struggling and then by getting through it and succeding.
- The words you never here from the one that “made it” are…effortless, automatic, easy, natural.
- The McPherson Test: Musical children wre asked how long they planned to play. There answers were broken down into three categories: short term, medium term, long term. The children who said, “I want to be a musician for the long run” outperformed everybody else. It’s all about the perception of themselves.
- Recruits: coaches sons and sons of pros. They want to be like their Dad which is who they love the most and look up to. They also think of being a pro as normal.
- If you want “X” later, you better do “Y” like crazy now.
- Programs/groups: It’s all about creating belonging. You want people to say look. “those people over there are doing something terrifically worthwhile.” Youth programs are the key at the high school level.
- Talent hotbeds tended to be junky, unattractive places. Most of the buildings were makeshift, the fields were weedy and uneven, and the walls were bald. If your in a nice, easy, pleasant environment, its easy to naturally shut off and not work as hard.
- People who lose a parent: They learn that nothing is guaranteed or safe which can create a massive outpouring of energy that can be created by a lack of safety. These people can overcome the many obstacles and frustrations standing in the path of achievement.
- Talent requires deep practice, deep practice requires vast amounts of energy, and primal cues trigger huge outpourings of energy.
- Violen – one school succeded that had the lottery for the students and the other school that bought everybody violens died off because there wasn’t the same excitement and motivation in the kids.
- Why do breakthrough performances sometimes ignite talent booms and sometimes not? They are able to keep the ignition firing.
- Curacao’s: Curiel “lives at the field.” He says you need three things to be a player; heart, mind, and balls.
- 1987 Spartak Tennis Club: The coach Rauza Islanova started her class with 25 seven year olds. Every two weeks or so she would reduce it by one. Of the seven players that made the final selection, three became top 10 in the world.
- Verbal cues: However small can be very powerful.
- KIPP: Verbal cue, “Your all going to college.”
- Take youth programs to go watch college teams practice and bring them to high school practices. It gives them a vision that they can see and chase.
- Master Coaches: quiet, reserved, older, most have been teaching 30-40years. They listen more than they talk. They didn’t give pep talks or inspiring speeches. They give small, targeted, highly specific adjustments. They understand the person they are talking to and know how to relay the information to them.
- JaMarcus Russell: He is like anybody else, he can’t do it by himself. You can’t put him on the field and say win a super bowl. He needs mentoring and development.
- Pay attention to what your children are fascinated by and praise them for there effort.
2.18.2010
La Bomba
It's roughly two hours until tipoff and Rudy Fernandez practices alone on the arena floor before a recent Trail Blazers game.
The time has come to work on "La Bomba."
Fernandez jogs from half court, collects a pass from assistant coach Kaleb Canales and fakes a shot from the three-point arc. After a hesitation, Fernandez drives toward the hoop and lofts a high-arcing floater near the free throw line as assistant coach Bill Bayno sprints toward him hoisting giant black pads with raised arms.
Splash.
Since returning from microdiscectomy surgery on Jan. 13, Fernandez has endured inconsistency as he has worked his way back into midseason form. But one thing that has remained consistent is his tireless pursuit at expanding his offensive repertoire to feature more than three-point shots. The second-year guard is intent on improving his driving ability and the weapon he practices most often is the tear drop, an Old School move that few in the NBA use.
"I think I'm a good shooter but I can do a lot more," Fernandez said. "I can go to the basket and I have the ability (to make) layups. I play hard and want to go to the basket more. I think it's a good move, a good shot, because in the NBA there are a lot of big men and athletic (players) ... and it's tough situation for them to block the shot."
For Fernandez, a critical element of his future is the evolution of his offense. The tear drop is an especially difficult shot to defend because it's virtually impossible to block, particularly when a lanky and athletic 6-foot-6 player such as Fernandez is attempting it. And because so few players in the NBA use it, it's unconventional and often surprising.
Players who do feature it -- a short list that most notably includes San Antonio's Tony Parker, Phoenix's Steve Nash -- are multifaceted offensive forces. The tear drop revolutionized Tony Parker's game, elevating him from a prospect into an All-Star. It helped Nash become an MVP.
Because Fernandez is such a respected shooter, a simple pump fake frees him up to drive the lane unabated.
Once he reaches the free throw line, the threat of a tear drop then opens up multiple possibilities. If a front line player approaches to offer help defense, Fernandez can dish to a suddenly open teammate for an easy layup or dunk. Or Fernandez can simply lob the shot.
"I want him attacking," McMillan said. "I like the fact that he's going to the paint. I like the aggressiveness. I think we need that. I think that's something he needs to add to his game. He should be a guy that can get to the rim and get to the free throw line because he goes hard, he knows how to draw fouls."
So why does Fernandez call it "La Bomba?" It's an ode to one of the most respected native Spanish players, Juan Carlos Navarro, who plays in the Spanish ACB League. Fernandez' relationship with Navarro dates to when he was 17 and playing on the Spanish National Team. Navarro, who's nickname is "La Bomba," was a mentor and one of his trademark moves is the tear drop.
Fernandez works on the challenging shot for extensive stretches during most practices and before every game with Canales.
"It's another move for me and I think every player needs to always work on improving," Fernandez said.
The time has come to work on "La Bomba."
Fernandez jogs from half court, collects a pass from assistant coach Kaleb Canales and fakes a shot from the three-point arc. After a hesitation, Fernandez drives toward the hoop and lofts a high-arcing floater near the free throw line as assistant coach Bill Bayno sprints toward him hoisting giant black pads with raised arms.
Splash.
Since returning from microdiscectomy surgery on Jan. 13, Fernandez has endured inconsistency as he has worked his way back into midseason form. But one thing that has remained consistent is his tireless pursuit at expanding his offensive repertoire to feature more than three-point shots. The second-year guard is intent on improving his driving ability and the weapon he practices most often is the tear drop, an Old School move that few in the NBA use.
"I think I'm a good shooter but I can do a lot more," Fernandez said. "I can go to the basket and I have the ability (to make) layups. I play hard and want to go to the basket more. I think it's a good move, a good shot, because in the NBA there are a lot of big men and athletic (players) ... and it's tough situation for them to block the shot."
For Fernandez, a critical element of his future is the evolution of his offense. The tear drop is an especially difficult shot to defend because it's virtually impossible to block, particularly when a lanky and athletic 6-foot-6 player such as Fernandez is attempting it. And because so few players in the NBA use it, it's unconventional and often surprising.
Players who do feature it -- a short list that most notably includes San Antonio's Tony Parker, Phoenix's Steve Nash -- are multifaceted offensive forces. The tear drop revolutionized Tony Parker's game, elevating him from a prospect into an All-Star. It helped Nash become an MVP.
Because Fernandez is such a respected shooter, a simple pump fake frees him up to drive the lane unabated.
Once he reaches the free throw line, the threat of a tear drop then opens up multiple possibilities. If a front line player approaches to offer help defense, Fernandez can dish to a suddenly open teammate for an easy layup or dunk. Or Fernandez can simply lob the shot.
"I want him attacking," McMillan said. "I like the fact that he's going to the paint. I like the aggressiveness. I think we need that. I think that's something he needs to add to his game. He should be a guy that can get to the rim and get to the free throw line because he goes hard, he knows how to draw fouls."
So why does Fernandez call it "La Bomba?" It's an ode to one of the most respected native Spanish players, Juan Carlos Navarro, who plays in the Spanish ACB League. Fernandez' relationship with Navarro dates to when he was 17 and playing on the Spanish National Team. Navarro, who's nickname is "La Bomba," was a mentor and one of his trademark moves is the tear drop.
Fernandez works on the challenging shot for extensive stretches during most practices and before every game with Canales.
"It's another move for me and I think every player needs to always work on improving," Fernandez said.
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