DAY 64: 50′s

I’ve been off a couple of days…but we’re back! The 90 Day Improvement Plan continues…

Day 64 – Dribbling

I made up a drill that I have players do all the time.

I call it ’50′s’.

It’s a dribbling drill and its real simple.

Get in a stance, left foot out in front and start with your right hand.  Dribble the ball very low 50 straight times without stopping.

Switch hands and do the same with your left hand, right foot out in front.  50 low and hard dribbles.

After the right and left hand work on 50 crossover dribbles.

Go at your own speed.

Remember to keep your head up and don’t lose the ball.

Good luck!

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

DAY 63: MINUTE-BY-MINUTE

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics tipped off the 2010-11 NBA season last night. Today, in our 90 Day Basketball Improvement Plan I discuss playing time.

Day 63 – M.P.G.’S

Last night LeBron James played 42 minutes in the Heat’s 88-80 loss at Boston.

To me, he needed to play 48 minutes.

Yes, I said 48 minutes.  The whole entire game!

That is of course, if he gets into foul trouble or gets injured he comes out of the game.

I know for a fact the 6’8″ 270 pound extraordinary athlete from Akron, Ohio did not need to get any splinters last night at the Boston Garden.

In the 4th quarter, with 9:07 to go in the game the Heat were down 65-61 (this after scoring 9 points in the entire first quarter). James was replaced by D-Wade… At the 7:23 mark, James checked back in the game with the Heat now down 9. Did he really need that rest?

NO!

I don’t care what anyone says…you stay on the floor until you can’t go; especially in a huge game like last night. (Yes, I said HUGE game)

Mateen Cleaves, formerly of Michigan State University once said, ‘leave it all on the court.”

First game of the season at the age of 25, you don’t need a rest.

During the 1961-62 season, Wilt Chamberlain played 48.5 minutes per game for a whole season; look it up. And just so you know, an NBA game is 48 minutes long. But wait, there’s more.  During that entire season, Wilt only rested for 8 minutes total!

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

DAY 62: THIRSTY

A few weeks back I was at a coaches clinic and an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons, Pat Sullivan mentioned that Richard Hamilton, the shooting guard of the Pistons is ‘thirsty’ to get the ball.  In other words, he wants it bad.

Day 62 – Thirsty

Today, in our 90 Day Basketball Improvement Plan it’s not about how much water you want to drink; it’s about how active you are in going after the ball.  How bad do you really want it? Are you shooting the ball in rhythm?

Tight story from Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe on the Celtics who are thirsty.

Coach Doc Rivers will tell you that Pierce and Allen are “thirsty scorers,’’ their appetites for the ball constantly needing to be fed. Garnett, on the other hand, can be painfully unselfish, to the extent that young point guard Rajon Rondo will yell at him to “shoot the damn ball!’’

You need to want to get the ball and shoot it.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore

DAY 61: HUMBLE

How do you handle success?

You have been playing well as of late and people are starting to pat you on the back; starting to take notice of your improved game.

Have you changed the way you treat people?

Day 61 – Handling Success

When a player is just average, not many people notice.  But when you improve, and get a lot better, everyone sings your praise.

Be careful how you handle that.  Don’t get a ‘big head’.

Take it with a grain of salt and keep working hard.

When you are on top, everyone is going to give you their best. Recruiting services rank players and if you are good enough to get your name on one, be careful, there is someone out there who printed the list and circled your name.  They are coming for you.

Maybe you are getting a couple of letters from a college – they have a small interest in you, don’t let that go to your head; keep working hard.

Don’t brag about your accomplishments.  Stay grounded.  Be well liked – no one likes a guy who boasts about how many points they scored or which college is recruiting them.

Don’t tell anyone about your victories to make them more meaningful to you.

Let your game do all the talking…

“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”

-Benjamin Franklin

DAY 60: SHARE THE BALL

I love reading about the NBA guys who play the right way.

Day 60 – Distribute the Rock

Came across this article from the Detroit Free Press on Will Bynum of the Detroit Pistons. He makes a lot of sense.

“We need to be unselfish; I don’t think we’ve preached that as much as we should have preached it in this training camp,” said Bynum, who’s on the mend from a slight hamstring injury.

“That’s the main thing; chemistry comes with unselfishness, and that’s sharing the basketball and getting everybody shots, because we have a team full of guys who love to score the basketball. Getting those guys the ball and sacrificing, and maybe stepping it up on the defensive end would help our team out a lot.”

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore