Basketball Conditioning - The Importance of Being in Shape

While I was playing high school basketball a team came out of nowhere in California to catch college basketball by storm. Loyola Marymount University was an amazing team to watch. I grew up in Utah and would stay up as late at night just to watch them play on television. It was a show. The thing that made them most unique was their desire to score lots of points and to put lots of shots up. They wanted to average a shot every 6 seconds. They had great players like the late Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble and a baseball player named Terrell Lowery. They would full-court press, run as fast as possible and score lots of points. They had a shooting guard named Jeff Frier and he was my idol.

The Jump Stop - An Effective Basketball Drill

I have worked with players of all shapes and sizes for many years and one of the most difficult moves to grasp that has the most advantages is the jump stop. This is just as simple as it sounds but rarely used the right way or especially at the right time. As I grew up I was very good at scoring the ball from anywhere on the court, but as I got older I found that I was getting called for a lot of charging calls. Teams knew that when I drove to the basket I wasn't going to stop. As a result, I was called for a lot of charging calls. I was fortunate enough to go to a basketball camp one summer in Iowa called FutureStars that was run by a man named Van Coleman.

Basketball Recruiting Tips

I was sitting in my American History class my sophomore year in high school. I remember it like it was yesterday. My basketball coach walked into class and handed a piece of mail to the teacher. She walked over to me and with a big smile and handed me a large envelope with the words University of California at Berkeley on it. It was one of the best feelings I had ever had up to that point in my life. It was incredible. I got many letters, phone calls and visits over the next few years before I finally decided where to attend college. That period of time is something that I will never forget and wish for everyone interested in improving themselves enough to play at any collegiate level.

Early NBA Pressures

When a rookie player starts out, there is a lot of pressure to succeed early on. These players have been given the chance to play and if they do not perform, they will suffer. In life, there is usually only a few chances to do something and if you miss, those chances are never given to you again. What makes the situation harder is that these rookies have the least amount of experience of anyone in the NBA. Lack of experience can lead to early mistakes, injuries and more. They have to get used to the travel, the lack of family care and the toughness of the veteran players. Sometimes, getting used to the NBA is half the trouble. Many of these young players struggle as a result.

From Zero to Hero

Gilbert Arenas is today, one of the best players in the NBA. He can put on dazzling scoring shows because of his ability to take over. He also holds a very competitive side to everything he does and is bent on improvement. However, this was not the same Gilbert that you all see today. When Arenas first played college ball at Arizona, he was a star but was not highly reputed. He was drafted in the second round of the draft and was destined for the bench. Sure enough, he did not receive much playing time and was frustrated. He knew that he could compete and was good enough to play at the same time. In order to fuel his anger, he focused on the teams that passed him in the draft and the fact that he was not playing.

Who is Larry Hughes?

Larry Hughes was the 10th overall selection in the NBA held recently. He decided to apply for the pro ranks before getting the chance to finish his collegiate career because of his brother"s heart problems. His brother, Justin had been born with heart problems and has been a financial burden on the family. It was said by people afterward, that Justin gave Larry, the will power he needed to succeed. His love for his brother and his family made him try that much harder to reach his goals, goals that were shared by those around him. Larry Hughes was a fine basketball player, he has a knack for defense and can explode offensively if he gets hot. As his career unfolded, Larry Hughes went to various organizations such as Golden State, Philadelphia and Washington.

Fallen Hopefuls in the NBA

When we look back on the past, we can see how many of the players we have followed have really turned out differently from what we would have thought. Some of these players have been projected to be great talents who would impact the league, while others were considered to be no ones. The NBA brings a lot of surprises because so little is known about how good a player really is when he enters. Scouts can go to games; they can meet and have workouts but never really learn about the player of interest. How can you tell whether the player will turn out to be a good scorer when there is no comparison to be made? They can be good players even amongst their own peers but there is a huge difference in talent from college to the NBA.

What Made Michael Jordan So Good?

I can remember reading about Michael Jordan and saying to myself, just like everyone else, why is he so good? As many of us know, to this day, many people consider him to be one of the best basketball players of all time. He is a global icon and even people who know nothing about the sport, know his name. Does Michael Jordan play more than other basketball players, is he more talented, or is he lucky? Kid Michael Jordan have a great coach, did he receive help from the day he started to play? These are only some of the guesses that can be made when discussing his greatness. Like a regular kid in love of sports, Jordan would play not only basketball but football, baseball, etc.

Hall of Fame Standard

Every year, there is a chance open for players to make the coveted NBA hall of fame. These players are judged by their careers and what they have done in the years as a player. Some players such as Magic were inducted even though he did not play very long because of how he dominated the game. The same can go for Bill Walton. It is said that he only averaged 13 points in his career but was inducted for the same reason. Other players make the hall of fame on the length of their career such as Karl Malone. The amount of years played allows for a chance to build up player stats such as points in career and rebounds. Since stats are important in judging whether a player can be considered for the hall of fame, longevity is important.

Lebron Hybrid

When Lebron James first came into the league at 18 years of age, a lot was expected of him. Some people said that he was going to be a future superstar because of the talent he has shown in high school. There was no question as to whether or not he should be the number one overall pick, something he could have robbed Yao a year earlier. At 6"8 and at least 240 pounds, Lebron has the strength and the size to be a great inside player but can also deliver outside when needed. He has great court vision and can find the open man most of the time. Heading into the draft, some people even felt that Lebron"s greatest strength came from his ability to pass. They have compared him to Magic Johnson because he was one of the best passers of all time.