Finally healthy, Hill appreciates game now more than ever

Great story on 37 year old Grant Hill and his tremendous focus and work ethic. From cnnsi.com:

Another season is in progress. It should be his 16th. Grant Hill is sitting in another visiting locker room on another weeknight preparing himself for another game.

"We all have our routine," he said, as he detailed his checklist. "I come over to the arena early, get a little work done on the table with the trainer, Aaron Nelson. Go out and do my shooting routine. Come back in here and get some exercises. Get some heat packs on between 90 and 70 minutes before the game.

"At 60 [minutes], I put my shirt on. I eat my [energy] bar and I watch the game film and take in what they do and just get ready for the game."

He is a 37-year-old small forward for the Phoenix Suns, an old man excelling against younger, more explosive athletes. The wonder is that he does not appear fatigued. The details of the regimen do not bore him. On the contrary: He loves to arrange the entire day around the game that night.

"I usually come to the arena on the first bus," he said. "But if we're at home, a 7 p.m. game, I usually leave the house around 4:15 to try to get there about 4:45.

"It's the whole routine. The routine starts the moment you wake up. Come home from [the morning] shootaround. Eat. Sleep again. When I wake up from my nap, the first thing I do, I turn the heat up to 75 degrees. I turn on all the lights in the room. I don't know why I do it. I turn on all the lights and I open the curtains. I've been doing that as long as I can remember."

He is amazed to still be sitting here, to have another game waiting at the end of another day. Ten years ago, Hill suffered a broken left ankle that would require five operations to fix, including one in 2003 that almost killed him after an infection raised his temperature above 104 degrees. He missed 357 games over the next six years with Orlando, including the entire 2003-04 season. He was supposed to contend for championships with Tracy McGrady and qualify for entry into the Hall of Fame, but all of that receded behind the medical trauma and the pain.

Now, Hill is contributing 30.1 minutes per game and 11.5 points to a Phoenix rotation balanced with a half-dozen scorers in double figures. The Suns cannot win the championship -- small up front, porous defensively -- yet they are a game away from overtaking Utah for home-court advantage in the first round. He has fit in by expanding his range to the three-point line, which isn't easy for a star approaching the end of his career. Over six truncated seasons with Orlando, Hill attempted 40 threes and made nine of them. In three years with Phoenix, he has hit 83-for-236 (35.2 percent) from the three-point line.

"I haven't necessarily shot a lot of them during this season," he said, though he is converting a career-best 46.4 percent of the 56 threes he has attempted. "But I've put my work in, and I just want to get better. Iron out my weaknesses, and certainly that may have been -- or may be -- one of them. But you've just got to work at it.

"And that's the thing I enjoyed this summer: 'OK, let's work on something, let's improve on it, whether I got better or not.' It's just the fact that I'm thinking along those lines and able to put the time in to do it. A lot of guys who came in [to the NBA as rookies in 1994] with me who would love to be working on something for next season. A lot of these guys are done, so I'm very appreciative. Very appreciative."

Here may be the most impressive achievement of Hill's career: Over the last two seasons, he has missed one game. He played all 82 last season for the first time.

He still can't believe he's here, in this locker room, preparing for this night to come.

"I may have told you this before, but I used to laugh at Joe Dumars," Hill said of his early years with Detroit, when Dumars was continuing to play into his 30s. "I would tell him, 'Man, when I'm 34, I'm done.' I was a young kid and 34 seemed so far down the road when you're 21 or 22 years old. And maybe if I'd been healthy all these years and played all these minutes, maybe now mentally and physically it would just be over for me. But I missed a lot. I still love it, enjoy it, appreciate it even more."

When basketball should have been easiest for him, the game played hard to get. He chased it and fell in love all over again.

Facing Big Situations Head-On

Kansas State coach Frank Martin has some good stuff to say in the piece from the Kansas City Star as they gear up to play at #2 Kansas:

Faced with one of the biggest games in program history, most coaches would try to downplay the significance, worried how the added pressure would come down on 18-to-22-year-old players.

Not Martin.

The volcanic coach wants his players to understand exactly what they're facing. Wants them embrace the pressure. Wants them to be ready for the reward on the other side.

Martin has, after all, prepared them for this moment since the day they arrived in the Little Apple, through all those demanding practices, the screaming, those us-against-the-world speeches.

Martin told his players the truth about Wednesday's game because he knows they can handle it.

"Telling them this is the biggest game they've played, why is that negative pressure?" Martin said. "I look at as great pressure, that their hard work has paid off, that they've put themselves in that conversation that something great can happen to this basketball team."

It's not about making things easy. You make things easy, you're cheating them," Martin said. "You've got to make them difficult. You've got to be real with them. You've got to be honest with them. Life is about pressure. If you can't handle pressure, you're going to have a hard life."

Sleepover could be a defining moment for Michigan State

This is an article from the Detroit Free Press about the Michigan State players taking ownership of their team by planning a team outing:

LANSING -- Folks at Michigan State usually have big smiles on their faces when they turn the calendar to March. After all, the Spartans have gone 54-21 during March under coach Tom Izzo since after the 1997-98 season.

Izzo was more excited to discuss what his team did in late February while meeting with the media Monday.

In past seasons, Izzo has come up with something out of the ordinary -- having players wear football pads or smashing game tapes -- that is looked back on as a defining moment in the year.

The players might have created their own defining moment this season Friday when they suggested having a team sleepover at the Breslin Center as a way of coming together before the most important time of year. It was their idea, and everyone -- including Izzo and his staff -- bought in.

The idea emerged from a discussion with players Raymar Morgan, Draymond Green, Isaiah Dahlman and Kalin Lucas while watching film comparing their first game against Purdue this season with film against the Boilermakers from the previous season.

"Like Raymar (Morgan) said, there was no sound on the film and you could see there was more communication and togetherness" on the tape from the previous season, Izzo said. "Draymond said, 'We gotta do something off the wall.' "

Green then suggested the sleepover, but not at someone's house. He wanted to have it on the main court. Student managers, equipment managers, the players and coaches all showed up.
They played video games, checkers, ate pizzas and then went to bed around 2 a.m. in sleeping bags on the hardwood.

"It was one for my book if I ever write one 20 years from now," Izzo said. "I've never seen anything like that. In my high school, we all lived so close together it was like having a sleepover every night.

"Kalin right away jumped up and said, 'Yeah, that's a great idea.' And Zeke (Dahlman) said, 'Yeah, we'll have a tournament of checkers and Xbox and ping-pong.'

"Was it good for us from a back standpoint? Probably not. Was it good for us from a rest standpoint? Probably not. Was it good for us from a togetherness standpoint? One of the great team-building events, and the best part is it goes back to my original thing I've believed in my whole career here: It was a player decision."

And while Izzo loves the fact that people around the department and campus feel excited at this time of year, he wants to make sure his team understands they have to do their part to build on the program's past success.

"I do think we have a good system in March," Izzo said. "I do think our managers get excited in March. They know they're going to have to work more hours and be in there more on film. But, the games are not won by me, the secretaries, the managers or anybody else.

"Players have to realize the respect they gain in March is earned by what they do and not by the guys that did it before them. That is maybe the one factor for this team -- there's a bit of entitlement."

Syracuse 2-3 Zone

Sureness with the ball

This quote about UCLA senior Mike Roll should be what every player strives for as an offensive basketball player. To have a teammate say this about you is one of the best compliments you can receive as a player:

Asked what part of Roll's game he would like to absorb into his own, freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt said, "His court awareness. When the ball is in his hands, everybody on the court feels safe. Nobody is worried whether he is going to take a bad shot, or turn the ball over."

Coach's Corner: Late-season pressure

Coaches corner article by former head coach and current ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla:

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.

While pressure comes with coaching, 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.

While playing motivator is critical, sometimes coaching psychology doesn't always go as planned.
One year at Manhattan College, with our team rolling along at 19-3, I planned to "throw them out of practice" in order to give them the day off. I purposely found something to annoy me and wanted to send them the message that, even with our record, we couldn't be satisfied. In fact, I was just trying to get them some more rest. It backfired.

After I kicked the team out of practice, my staff and I went to the coaches' locker room. After 15 minutes, one of my managers came in and told me that the players were still practicing on their own. They had so much pride in their practice habits, they stayed out on the court for two hours without coaches!

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.

It's what coaches live for.

Intensity & Toughness Look Like...

Good article from TeamArete on what intensity and toughness look like on the basketball court.

Intensity Looks Like

*Beat the ball down the floor in transition and conversion.
*Rebound position every shot—back, space, pinch on free throw.
*Play defensive in a stance.
*Help and then recover.
*Help the helper.
*Close out with hands above shoulders.
*Dive on loose balls.
*Protect the ball when you have it.
*Rip through on pivots—strong with the ball.
*Chin rebounds.
*Meet every pass.
*Change direction and speed on cuts.
*Take a charge.
*Steal passes that are thrown too far.
*Sprinting from spot to spot in practice.
*Contest every shot.
*Ball Fakes.
*Deflect passes.

Toughness Looks Like

*Verbal response and applause for good plays (regardless of shirt color in practice).
*Encourage a teammate after an error or a missed shot that was a good shot.
*Help a teammate up off the ground.
*High fives and back slapping.
*Huddles on the floor.
*Never criticize a teammate.
*Bench stands when a player leaves the game.
*Acknowledge a player being substituted for in practice as he leaves the floor if you are also on the sideline.

Learning from the bench

Good quote from Kansas freshman Elijah Johnson, who's playing time has been limited due to the strong depth of guards for the Jayhawks.

“I can’t come in right away and win a national championship. I feel I need to learn first. I’ve been learning a lot sitting on the bench. I think I learn more on the bench than I would on the floor. I don’t think a lot of people understand, but I do, and I see it through coach (Bill) Self’s eyes. I see the bigger picture. It’s not a rush. I gotta learn first, then I can give him what he wants.”

Pack your Parachute

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After seventy-five combat missions, his plane was shot down, and Plumb parachuted into enemy territory, becoming a POW. He survived his ordeal, however, and eventually returned home. While eating in a restaurant one day, he was approached by a scruffy-looking man who said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam and were shot down!”

“How did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. “I guess it worked!”

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about the unknown man who’d saved his life. From that day on, he determined to always take notice of—and say thank you to—those who “pack his parachute” each day.

Make the most of each day by thanking those who “pack your parachute” and by making an effort to do the same for someone else

Characteristics of a Team Player

We all fit into different niches. Each of us must make the effort to contribute to the best of our ability according to our own individual talents. And then we put all the individual talents together for the highest good of the group.

Thus, I valued a player who cared for others and could lose himself in the group for the good of the group. I believe that quality makes for an outstanding player. It is also why the best players don't always make the best team. I mean by this that a gifted player, or players, who are not team players will ultimately hurt the team, whether it revolves around basketball or business.

Understanding that the good of the group comes first is fundamental to being a highly productive member of a team.

-John Wooden

Dirk's Work Habits

Two factors lead to Dirk’s maturation as a shooter. First, he was encouraged to shoot from the outside, both as a boy growing up and then as a Maverick. Second, he practiced his tail off. When Avery Johnson was coach of the Mavs, he became so concerned with Nowitzki’s obsessive practice habits that he started fining his star if he found him in the gym on an off day. Nowitzki’s solution? “He would sneak off to a high school gym,” says Del Harris, an assistant at the time. “He and Jason Terry and whoever else they could drag with them. They’d find ways to get into a gym or a high school, or a health club and go shoot at night.”

Judging a point guard

From the World Herald:

Sherron Collins, Kansas' preseason All-America point guard, has seen his scoring average drop from 18.9 last season to 16.0 now. So how much sleep is KU coach Bill Self losing over that?

None.

Fewer shots and points for Collins mean more Jayhawks have progressed to play at a higher level. And Collins, who soon will have been part of more wins than any other KU player, has been happy to share.

"I judge him strictly on if we're winning or not," Self said Monday. "That's all you should ever evaluate a point guard on.

"The shooting percentages don't matter. The steals don't matter. All that matters is if you win. That's why I think he's the best because he does whatever we need him to do."

Get out of your comfort zone

"I hear so many times guys say they want to win a championship, I want to be a winner, but what they're really saying is they want to win so long as it's comfortable for them,'' Rivers said. "You don't win by being comfortable. You win by doing things out of your comfort zone to make the team better."

-Doc Rivers

Seize the Moment

From Peter King at Sports Illustrated:

Coming up with a motivational tool is huge for NFL coaches, particularly on the eve of an important game. Last Saturday night, before the biggest game in the 43-year history of the Saints, New Orleans coach Sean Payton produced a doozy at the team's downtown hotel. As the players settled in for their last team meeting before the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings, the lights dimmed, Aerosmith's Dream On started playing at a Superdome-decibel level, and on the video screen at the front of the room great moments in sports history went by in rapid-fire order.

Babe Ruth homering, Michael Jordan scoring, Pete Maravich floating, Roberto Clemente fielding, Tiger Woodsfist-pumping, Eddie Robinson coaching, Wayne Gretzky scoring, Jim Valvano leaping, Larry Bird shooting, Muhammad Ali punching, the Bears Super Bowl--shuffling, Doug Flutie passing, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team celebrating—on and on, as goose bumps rose to the pulsating chorus: "Dream on, dream on, dream on...."

And when the lights came up, there was Ronnie Lott, a four-time Super Bowl champion. Payton had invited the Hall of Fame defensive back to speak to his players before the season, at which time Lott told the Saints he could "smell greatness in the room." smell greatness T-shirts were promptly distributed to the players. Now Lott stood before them holding one of the purple baseball bats each player had received that night as a reminder to hit the Vikings hard on Sunday. Lott tapped the bat in his hand, staring intently at the players, and said, "What I wouldn't give to have the chance to go out there, just one more time, to do what you're going to do tomorrow. To become a champion again."

"It's something I'll never forget," free safety Darren Sharper, 34, would say later. "Ronnie's the epitome of greatness in our game, and for so many reasons on and off the field, this was our chance for greatness—to seize the moment. It may never come again."

Possession Focus By Kevin Eastman

Focus is a big phrase in sports. We constantly hear coaches and players talking about having to “focus more” or “focus better” or “improve our focus." Without question, this is an aspect of sports that we all know needs to improve, yet we’re all still searching for the best way to make sure it gets done consistently.

To ask a team to focus for a full game is a worthy demand, but to expect this to happen is often a frustrating exercise for a coach. Though I don't have a tested and proven solution, I strongly believe we must try to address the art of focusing, as it is a major factor of success.

Make focusing an every minute/every day endeavor for your team. Give it verbal repetition (coaches constantly reminding players) every time you hit the floor. Define it even more by having your team become a group that focuses on one possession at a time, no matter if it’s a drill or a scrimmage. Get them thinking and trying to maintain focus for short periods of time while in practice to start the habit.

Drills are designed to improve a specific area of the game; constantly remind your team what this specific area is for each drill they're working on. Demand that they truly focus on this intended area of drilling. Stop the drill when it gets sloppy, and remind them of the intent and focus of the drill. Get them to focus on the execution possession by possession in every drill and scrimmage.

I believe focus is the ability to know what to do, how to do it, and actually doing it that way every time through intense concentration. Demand this concentration every possession until it builds into a game in/game out habit.

These are steps toward developing focus. The major responsibility first falls with the leaders of the team -- your staff and any player who may be a leader. They actually have to have a focus first, before they can begin to remind the other players to focus and concentrate every possession. Just as we improve skills through repetition, we can improve focus through repetition. Focusing every possession every day will get you on the road to improving in an area that can be a big time difference-maker for your team!

Start a new streak

Read a good story on new Memphis head coach Josh Pastner and the difficulty of taking over a program with such high expectations due to the success of former coach John Callipari. Memphis recently had their 64 game conference winning streak snapped. Coach Pastner offers tremendous perspective on what a loss in basketball means:

The loss left the seniors in tears after the game, and when Pastner noticed them moping around in practice the next day, he brought them in for a pep talk.

"For crying out loud, there's no reason to be so depressed," said Pastner, who unlike Calipari and just about every other coach in America does not use profanity. "We just lost a game. Do I need to take you over to St. Jude's [Hospital]? No doctor called to say you're sick or that you're dying. We lost a game, that's all. Let's start another streak."

Want to win? Don't do these things

Jay Bilas has a list of six things in college basketball that will get you beat. This is a list that he complied from years of talking to the best coaches in college basketball about what gets teams beat. Lots of great stuff for every level and every sport:

1. Defensive Breakdowns:

Teams with defensive breakdowns lose. The best defenses are difficult to score upon and do not allow open shots. The best defenses are "help defenses" that require little help because they guard the ball well by closing out under control to take away the open shot and because they take away the middle drive. The best defenses sustain a physical and intense defensive effort, play the ball and communicate at a high level, and they do it consistently throughout the game. Bob Knight has said that action is quicker than reaction, and help defense is the solution. If the defender containing the ball gets beat, he must have swift and decisive help, and the helper must be helped with a similar sense of urgency. The best defenses are committed to taking away any open shots and forcing one quick and contested shot, with five defenders committed to getting the ball before converting to offense. Teams I have seen that consistently have the best first-shot defense and fewest defensive breakdowns are Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Duke, Temple, Syracuse, Tennessee and Florida State.

2. Outcompeted on the Glass:

The best teams understand the worth of additional possessions and make rebounding a priority on both ends. The best teams understand that defensive rebounding is a five-man effort to deny the opponent the opportunity to get additional possessions to score before you can. The best teams understand that offensive rebounding allows you to get additional possessions to score before your opponent can. The best teams are committed to going to the glass and not surrendering to or staying attached to blockouts, but instead overcoming obstacles to pursue the ball with both hands and secure it. The best rebounding teams I have seen this year are Michigan State, Kansas, Baylor, Kansas State, Tulsa and Kentucky.

3. Losing the Free Throw Battle:

The free throw line is the best and most efficient place from which to score on a basketball court. The best teams work with a purpose to get to the free throw line, coach to get to the free throw line and hit free throws when they get there. The best defenses keep the opponent out of the middle, play tough and physical defense without fouling, and understand that there is no such thing as "fouls to waste." Fouls should not be wasted, and when a substitute enters the game with no individual fouls, that is not license to commit a needless foul and put the opponent closer to the bonus. Getting into the bonus earlier takes away opponents' aggressiveness, and putting the opponent into the bonus takes away your aggressiveness.

4. Losing the Turnover Battle:

The best teams understand the value of the ball, and being loose with the ball provides the opponent additional possessions and results in empty possessions for your team. The turnover total is not the best marker -- it is the turnover margin, because that is the number of additional possessions gained or lost based upon how each team values the ball. Some teams protect the ball better and other teams have more takeaways than miscues. The key is the additional shot attempts gained by valuing the ball on offense and defense. The teams that value the ball the best are Michigan, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Duke, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Virginia and UNLV.

5. Poor Shot Selection and Offensive Execution:

The best teams consistently work for and take high-percentage shots and are committed to passing up early, contested shots to find a teammate with an open one. The best teams are committed to working together and are not hung up on "my" shot, understanding that every shot is "our" shot. The best teams understand roles and have all five players on the court working hard to get open and be threats to score. The best teams understand that working hard to get a good open shot and taking it is not selfish. Taking bad shots, such as contested shots early in the clock, is selfish. The teams I have seen that have exhibited the best shot selection and offensive execution are Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Ohio State, BYU, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Cornell.

6. Poor Communication:

The best teams not only talk, they listen. It does no good to have five talkers on the floor unless you also have five good listeners and actors. The best teams are connected to one another on offense and defense, and are connected to the bench. Whether at home or on the road, breakdowns in communication result in corresponding breakdowns in Nos. 1-5 on this list. Communication is a skill, and the best teams value communication as highly as any other aspect of the game.

Paint Touches Lead to Three Point Success for Marquette

Marquette University is leading the NCAA in three point field goal percentage this season at 43.4%. Coach Buzz Williams has a good idea as to why this is getting done:

"I definitely have a strong belief in numbers - if you study them in an objective way," said coach Buzz Williams. "We have never mentioned a specific number of threes, or what our percentage has been recently. However, we constantly stress paint touches and creating for others. We believe the combination of those two things will typically turn into a good shot for our team."

"I'm not sure if we have a team full of shooters, but I think we have developed into a team that understands the foundation of a good shot."

Playoff Time Brings the Best Out of Warner

“Playoff time is just special, and it’s different. I said that to somebody last week, ‘It’s time to elevate, it’s time to raise that standard.’ You have to bring your game up. You have to bring up your consistency level. There is something about knowing that this is it, that every game you could be going home, that it’s just more fun. It’s more exciting.

“You don’t get a second chance. You don’t get another opportunity. This is it. So, you better bring it every time, and lay it all on the line. To me, that’s fun. Having the success that I’ve had, it even pushes more in that direction. I’ve accomplished the ultimate goal in this business, and I really don’t have anything else I play for. It’s all I play for every year.

“I don’t care about the stats. I don’t care how many touchdowns I end up with. I want to win a championship, so that’s fun. When you get here, it’s like throw everything else aside and forget what we’ve ever done. It starts right now and you see how long you can keep it going.”

-Kurt Warner

Struggling Florida finds itself at a crossroads

Found a really good article on Billy Donovan talking about Florida's struggles lately. After beating Michigan St. and Syracuse earlier in the year, Florida has dropped its first two conference games and Coach Donovan is asking himself how his team is going to respond. Here is a little from the article:

Gators coach Billy Donovan has had quite a philosophical viewpoint while coaching an elite program. He has plenty of experience managing egos with a roster that has had its share of big-time players mixed with classic four-year players who are necessary to win at a high level. He has been to three national title games and won two, and consistently has Florida known as a national name, even during the past two struggling seasons.

Donovan said he has seen the arc of a season.

"Every team is jacked up for the start of practice, but then the excitement wears off," Donovan said. "You have the first game and then everyone is focusing on minutes. Then you start to distribute them and then you start to understand there is a ceiling to get better. We have a high ceiling."

But Donovan admits there was a dip in intensity when the Gators came off the Michigan State win and Syracuse effort but then landed with a thud when they failed to hold on to a double-digit lead against Richmond in Sunrise, Fla., and then fell flat by losing at home to South Alabama.
Getting beaten at Vanderbilt was arguably expected because the Commodores are always a tough out in Nashville, especially when they are as talented as they could be this season. Kentucky simply was more talented.

"I'm anxious to see how this team responds against LSU," Donovan said. "It's critical for us to separate ourselves. Do they come together as a group? How will this team come together for practice Thursday? What kind of effort will we have? There are external motivational things that happen, like playing Michigan State or Kentucky. But how internally motivated are you?"

"We've got some stuff there, but every team comes to a crossroads," Donovan said. "You can go into the league with false sense of who you are. We're at that crossroads right now, and which path will we choose?"

That's Durant with a capital 'D'

CNNSI had a good article today on how Kevin Durant has stepped up his defense this year for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are having their best season in years so far.

Says one Western Conference scout:

"Anyone with his length and wingspan can be an above-average defender by putting in the effort. This year I noticed he's more engaged. He's getting into his stance much sooner and not standing around, and getting back [in transition]. That's great because he's still very young -- he just turned 21. When you're that gifted offensively as a teenager, you just don't think about defense that much. I give a lot of credit to [Thunder coach] Scottie Brooks for getting him to buy in."

Says coach Scott Brooks:

"I spent time with Kevin watching the NBA playoff series and talking things over this summer," Brooks said. "There were so many great moments where great players were the ones defending -- Kobe, Carmelo, Paul Pierce -- and so many times the winning basketball play was on defense.

"Kevin always had the effort, but he didn't have the knowledge or the physicalness in his body to go through an entire NBA season playing defense. This summer he got his mind and his body right. He understood that if he was committed, we would be a much better team. We focused on defense from Day One, and when one of your better players is one of your better defenders, it makes coaching easier. I mean, he leads our team in rebounding, steals, blocks."

"Knowing when to stay with your man and when to help out is one of the hardest things for young players coming in," Brooks said, "because you think you're playing defense if you're guarding your man, but you also have to be aware of what might happen three passes away.

"We like to be as disruptive as possible, pushing people to the baseline, defending tight in the paint and closing out on shooters. We constantly talk about having a hand up in guys' faces -- you have to contest to make NBA players miss. And we like to force extra passes and get deflections. Kevin is a big part of all of that."

Never Give Someone the Chance to Question You

Great article in Sports Illustrated on Cowboys WR Miles Austin, who was recently voted to his 1st Pro Bowl appearance. This is a good story about what going hard on every single rep can do for you:

Fifteen months ago Austin slumped into his seat on the Dallas team bus in St. Louis, confused and hurt. Work hard, and you'll get your shot, he was told after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Division I-AA Monmouth in 2006. Now the Cowboys had acquired Roy Williams from the Lions, further cluttering the depth chart. Austin wondered, What can I do?

"He came to me, and he was a little down," says receivers coach Ray Sherman. "I told him, 'This isn't about you. This is about Jerry Jones going out and getting a good player. You control you. Nobody else.' And I talked to him about being consistent on every play, in practice and in games."

Austin had gotten his shot in the NFL because Bill Parcells—who signed him in '06—thought he was a little engine that could. "The more I thought about it," Austin said last week, "the more I thought I never really gave them the consistent product on every snap. Nine out of 10 plays, I put it all out there. I decided I'd never give them the chance to question anything about me again. Every time I ran a play, in practice or a game, even when I knew it wasn't coming to me, I killed out there. I tried to win every play. I still do."

Thoughts from Steve Nash

Words of wisdom for point guards (presented bySteve Nash at the Nike Point Guard Academy:

"You should always want your coach to be critical. It gives you an opportunity to learn and to over-come adversity."

"You maximize your potential by being humble,develop a work ethic, strive to be a good person,and to be the best teammate you can be."

"Use your scoring ability to be a better passer,and your passing skills to become a betterscorer."

"You can't be a point guard who gets into thelane and always passes. Capitalize on the realestate you have gained."

"Point Guard must be able to pass with both handsequally off the dribble."

"I am always thinking how can I get myself better."

"On the fast break, after 2 or 3 hard dribbles youshould see the whole floor and know where allyour teammates are."

Two Good Teammates

Good article on Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and WR Julio Jones. Both of these Alabama stars are big time playmakers who have done a good job of buying into the team concept. Here is a little from the L.A. Times:

Offensive linemen don't win Heisman Trophies. Neither do running backs without a few 300-pound bulldozers clearing a path.

That's why Alabama running back Mark Ingram's Heisman acceptance speech last month included a shout-out to his five faves.

"Everything I do starts with them," Ingram said Monday."I try to give them as much praise, as much acknowledgment, as I could because they're kind of like the unsung heroes. They talk about me, but they're never on the picture, they're never on the highlights."

The linemen said they felt like they're part of the excitement, though. Peek said he was so touched by Ingram's winning the Heisman that he sobbed. Johnson said, "We felt like we were sitting there with him. It was a really special moment for the five of us. . . . I think we all felt like we had a hand in it."

Here is a little about the mindset of Alabama Julio Jones:

Sophomore receiver Julio Jones is on a significant uptick, making 29 of his team-leading 42 catches over Alabama's last six games. The increased production wasn't a result of any just-give-me-the-ball demands.

"I've been around guys demanding the ball, making problems, making issues when they don't receive the ball, but Julio never complains," quarterback Greg McElroy said. "He's a joy to have in the locker room, a joy to have in the huddle."

Said Jones: "I really don't care about stats and everything. I just go out there and play the game like it's supposed to be played and try to block . . . it's how I was raised."

Donte Smith finds his way off the bench behind Mike Gerrity

Good article here on the point guard situation at USC. Donte Smith (pictured left) was the starting point guard for the first eight games. Then, teammate Mike Gerrity became eligible Dec. 18th and has started every game at the point since.

Smith has seen his minutes go from 32 per game to 7 per game. Since the change, USC hasn't lost. Says Smith:

"It was frustrating at first, but I thought about it, and, hey, I've got to go with it -- we're winning."

Smith and Gerrity get along well. Each acts as the other's eyes.

"In Hawaii, every timeout he was coming up, slapping me on the back, encouraging me," Gerrity said. "Whatever he could do, whatever he saw. He was telling me, 'Hey take advantage of this, look for that.' He's just been the ultimate teammate."

CP's Work Ethic

Golden State guard and former All-American Stephen Curry had the chance to work out over the summer with all-star Chris Paul. Here is what Curry says about his work ethic:

"It's just his work ethic, what he does in the offseason to prepare. What's this? His fifth year? And he's working four hours every morning, going hard. I was trying to keep up. I can pick and choose some stuff that I saw him do, but nothing specific. It's about being in the gym working. "

Just Do It

"Just do it. Just do the best job you can, go as hard as you possibly can, practice as hard as you possibly can. Just leave it all out there on the floor. That's all you can ask of yourself at the end of the day. If you're comfortable going home, looking in the mirror and saying you played 100 percent every single night, that's fine."

-Kobe Bryant

Passion & Purpose

From Coach Kevin Eastman:

Another great exercise for players is to read up on players at the next level. Not only will it (hopefully) inspire them, but if they search well enough, they’ll get some guidance as to what it takes to get where they want to go. If players search enough and do their research on the best in the business, they’ll find that two words can sum up what these players are all about: (1) passion, and (2) purpose.

The best in any field have a true purpose as to why they are out there. It’s never about what they can do for themselves. It’s always about what they can do for the team. They know their purpose. They know what they have to do to get the team to win. They know that their personal success must come after their team contribution. This is how the great ones operate.

Once they have a firm grasp of their purpose, they then separate themselves from others by their passion. It’s a passion that’s with them at game time, in the weight room, on the track, and in practice. The best never leave their passion in their lockers.

I am fortunate in that I get see passion displayed on a daily basis by one of the best to ever play the game — Kevin Garnett. He has worked on his skills to hone them to the level of a true talent, but what puts him in a category of his own is his passion for the game. He brings it every time he gets into a basketball setting, from practice to pregame preparation.

Every player needs to evaluate himself in these two key areas. The results will tell if that players has a chance to reach the levels he seeks!

Characteristics of Great Point Guards

From Coach Randy Brown.

The following eight skills are necessary for great point guards:

Study and understand your teammates-The point guard more than anyone of the floor knows each of his teammates inside and out. He knows all roles on the team and makes it a priority to enhance each of their strengths. He knows how to put them into situations where each player can be successful. For example, a post player is instructed to post up on the blocks and not float out to the perimeter. His skills and ability will impact the team most by playing around the basket. Roles are crucial to good teams and the point guard can solidify the team unit with good leadership skills.

Be the coach on the floor and in the locker room-A good point guard embraces his coach's philosophy of the game and instills it on the floor. Knowing what the coach wants and does not want is a rare trait among players. For example, it a team's philosophy is to shoot as many three point shots as possible, the point guard needs to get the ball in the shooter's hands in scoring areas often. If the style of play is to push the ball up the floor, then the point guard needs to organize the break, push it hard, and attack the defense. The term "coach on the floor" belongs to great point guards.

Earn the players trust- For a team to follow a leader, they must believe that he would do anything for them. Not only must he play extremely hard, but he can motivate teammates to do the same. Without confidence in your floor general, a team is left vulnerable.

Set the tone in practice-Your point guard must understand how a successful practice is run and what the goal of practice is. By serving as a model, he can set the pace for a good practice. Conversely, when a leader is not willing to give it his all, the team will suffer by having a bad practice.

Knowledge of each possible situation-Understanding what to do in every situations is the duty of a great point guard. He must know who is in the game and how he can set up teammates to be successful. Offensively, the game plan must be played out to perfection. Good shots, smart passes, and good screening are a must and can be dictated by the point guard. Point guards are responsible for knowing the time and score at all times, the importance of each possession, and control the tempo. He need to be aware of what is taking place and what needs to be accomplished on both ends of the floor. A good test is to watch a leader take over a game at winning time. When his team is out of time outs, the great players take over the does what it takes to win.

Unselfishness-Many coaches interpret this to mean the point guard should not look to score. This is not the case, especially if scoring is a strength of your point guard. Unselfishness means that he will sacrifice his game at times to find better opportunities for teammates. Great point guards always make others on the floor better because of his presence.

Defensive leadership-A great assist to a teammate for a layup is great, but can't match the impact of solid defensive play. Defense wins games and by taking a charge or forcing a turnover, any player helps his team win. It is more difficult to inspire teams to play defense at times. Players love offense and tolerate defense. A great point guard can lead a team to take ownership of the defensive end of the floor.

Handle success and defeat in perspective-Athletic competition is a constant flow of highs and lows. Young players are often greatly affected by the outcome of games. By developing a solid point guard, you will provide your team with a peer who can keep them grounded. Winning often breeds complacency in a team and a good point guard can keep success in perspective. Conversely, a loss can be tough on a team. Good point guards are able to pick up the team with his toughness and work ethic. This characteristic is the foundation of all great point guards.

You don't have to have talent for effort

Good story on Derek Jeter told be A's General Manager Billy Beane:

Eight years ago, to his recollection, Beane watched Jeter run out a routine ground ball to shortstop in the late innings of a routine game in which the Athletics were beating the Yankees. Jeter ran down the first base line in 4.1 seconds, a time only possible with an all-out effort. Beane was so impressed by the sprint that he ordered his staff to show the video of that play to all of the organization's players in spring training the following year.

"Here you have one of the best players in the game," Beane says, "who already had made his money and had his four championships by then, and he's down three runs in the seventh inning running like that. It was a way of showing our guys, 'You think you're running hard, until you see a champion and a Hall of Famer run.' It wasn't that our guys were dogging it, but this is different. If Derek Jeter can run all out all the time, everybody else better personally ask themselves why they can't."

Told the story, Jeter says, "It makes you feel good whenever anybody appreciates how you do things. My whole thing is, you're only playing for three hours a day. The least you can do is play hard. You have what, four or five at bats? O.K., it's not difficult to run, to give it a hundred percent. It's effort. You don't have to have talent for effort."

Handling Adversity

Peyton Manning had a good quote yesterday talking about the Colts mindset after being down 17-0. The Colts came back to win by 8. Said Manning:

"We don't get overexcited certainly when things aren't going the way we want them to. We don't panic, we don't yell, we don't throw helmets. We just try to put the series behind us and move on to the next one. There was a lot of that today."

NBA TNT Fundamentals with Carlos Boozer on POST MOVES

Working that Left Hand

Ohio State junior Evan Turner was asked by head coach Thad Matta to switch positions this year from forward to point guard. Last year, Matta was weary of making the switch because of Turner's inability to make an accurate pass. Here is how Turner gained the confidence to make a pass with his left hand:

Matta has used Turner as a de facto point forward in the past, but he was reluctant to shift him to the lead spot until Turner proved he could handle it. Last spring, Matta asked Turner to throw 10 passes with his left hand at a target. He missed all 10 times. A couple of weeks later, Turner came to Matta and pointed at a spot on a far wall. Then he fired the ball with his left hand and nailed it. "I said wow, how did you do that? He said when he walked through campus, he picked up rocks and threw them at street signs with his left hand," Matta says. "That shows you the type of kid he is."

Wanting to be Coached

Timberwolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn speaking about head coach Kurt Rambis:

"Oh, he's definitely on me. But it's good for me. He's got to be harder on his point guard. Every coach in the league is going to be tough on the point guard because that's the heart of the offense, that's the engine that makes the train run. So I welcome it. ... Kurt being on me, wanting me to be my best, it's really helping me. Sometimes you need the toughness of a coach to make you a better player. It's motivating me, hopefully to be something special in this league."

Having Challenges

"It's having a challenge in my life, having something to go to bed thinking about and wake up having to pursue. Without that, life can be difficult. Some days are hard, but for the most part I still love it. I love being one of the guys, I still love waking up and going to work and trying to get better every day and trying to prepare to play, and after I play try to recover and get ready to play the next game. It gives me something to set goals and challenge myself and be directed."

-Steve Nash