It was a pretty successful week for the Basketball Knowledge and Facts blog, if I do say so myself. So far I have really enjoyed myself on this blog and I wanted to use this post as a recap of this weeks posts, which was only about 7 of them, but 7 good posts i'd like to believe.
I am going to list the posts of the week, starting with the oldest and work my way down to the newer ones, and give a brief recap on the topic and what was talked about, so lets get right into it.
The 5 Positions of A Basketball Team (6/22/15)
This was a fun one for me. Not a lot of people really think about the 5 different positions much anymore since the game has changed and players of varies sizes have the skills of more than one position and are often interchangeable. I listed each position and gave a fairly brief description of the position. The 5 positions were; Point Guard (PG), Shooting Guard (SG), Small Forward (SF), Power Forward (PF), and Center (C).
Stronger Team Blog (6/22/15)
For this one I just highlighted for you my favorite basketball blog on the internet, which is the Stronger Team blog written by Alan Stein. It covers every aspect of basketball, including drills, player interviews and ways to improve as both a coach and a player.
Alan Stein's Q & A With Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul (6/23/15)
Here, instead of highlighting the entire Stronger Team blog, I highlighted one of my favorite and more recent posts on the blog. It was a Q & A Alan did with Chris Paul, the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, regarding his experience with training.
Book Review: Father First (6/24/15)
I am not a very big book reader (I prefer articles and blogs) but this was a great book. Written by Miami Heat shooting guard, it talks about the struggles he has faced through his life and how he fought to gain sole custody of his 2 sons.
Nike Elite Championship Airlock Official Basketball (6/24/15)
As a basketball player, having a good basketball is essential. So for this post I recommended my absolute favorite basketball to play with, the Nike Elite Championship Airlock Official Basketball.
Basketball Knowledge and Facts (6/25/15)
This one was just to reiterate the whole purpose of this blog.
3 More Ways To Maximize Every Practice (6/25/15)
I read the post, 8 Ways To Maximize Every Practices, way back when I was just coming into high school and I thought it was important enough to share, plus add 3 of my own ways to maximize every practice.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
3 More Ways To Maximize Every Practice
I remember in high school our coach was really big on the idea that the way you approach practice is nearly identical to the same way you are going to approach games, whether you admit it or not. So he made sure that we all read 8 Ways to Maximize Every Practice, not this is a much older post but it is still a very good one in regards to how to take on practice and get the most out of it.
I wanted to add 3 of my own ways to maximize every practice that I picked up during my time as a player and what I see now in some practices I have watched.
1. Ask Questions - A lot of the times players will listen and see what their coaches are trying to instill in them but they don't actually understand why to do these things or how they work the way they do. I was never the player to ask questions, I always thought my questions would be dumb and meaningless but if you don't understand something, there are no dumb questions if they make you a better basketball player.
2. Volunteer Yourself - When coach asks for volunteers for a drill how many people usually raise their hand? If you think hardly any, we are in a agreement. But why does it matter if I volunteer myself for drills? By volunteering yourself you are showing your coach and your teammates initiative to get become better, which is contagious. You are also making sure you are in on every drill both when it is being demonstrated and when the team goes through it, something that can only make you better.
3. Be Vocal - Now this point was actually touched up very briefly in the original 8 ways but I think it is important enough to be its own way. Being vocal in practice is going to help build the communication amongst you and your teammates and help with team chemistry that is going to translate into games. Another reason to be vocal is that it is a vital part in becoming a good leader. Relaying what coach has said to the rest of the team or vocally praising and motivating your teammates make for a good team leader.
Original article : 8 Ways to Maximize Every Practice
I wanted to add 3 of my own ways to maximize every practice that I picked up during my time as a player and what I see now in some practices I have watched.
1. Ask Questions - A lot of the times players will listen and see what their coaches are trying to instill in them but they don't actually understand why to do these things or how they work the way they do. I was never the player to ask questions, I always thought my questions would be dumb and meaningless but if you don't understand something, there are no dumb questions if they make you a better basketball player.
2. Volunteer Yourself - When coach asks for volunteers for a drill how many people usually raise their hand? If you think hardly any, we are in a agreement. But why does it matter if I volunteer myself for drills? By volunteering yourself you are showing your coach and your teammates initiative to get become better, which is contagious. You are also making sure you are in on every drill both when it is being demonstrated and when the team goes through it, something that can only make you better.
3. Be Vocal - Now this point was actually touched up very briefly in the original 8 ways but I think it is important enough to be its own way. Being vocal in practice is going to help build the communication amongst you and your teammates and help with team chemistry that is going to translate into games. Another reason to be vocal is that it is a vital part in becoming a good leader. Relaying what coach has said to the rest of the team or vocally praising and motivating your teammates make for a good team leader.
Original article : 8 Ways to Maximize Every Practice
Basketball Knowledge and Facts
I want to take a little time and use this post to reiterate, or for those who may be newer to this blog, the whole point of my blog Basketball Knowledge and Facts.
The entire purpose when I started this blog was to help people who know nothing about basketball learn and for those who know some or for those know a lot to be able to come and just read and touch up on varies aspects that they may not know at all or know little a bit about. I think the mission statement does a very good job of summing that up, "Here to help you learn and understand the wonderful game of basketball.", for those of you that haven't seen it. I have tried to incorporate a wide variety of different materials encompassing every aspect of the game such as history, technique and how to's from my own personal experiences and from others who I believe are very insightful individuals within the basketball world. I believe that basketball truly is a wonderful game that sometimes gets overlooked because popularity wise it falls behind baseball and football for some people.
I have only been blogging for a short time but I do have a good amount of things I would like to talk about and share with everyone willing to read it. I am also extremely open to feedback and/or questions as well as possible topics for discussion ideas anyone has for me. I hope that this blog is serving its intended purpose to this point and continues to into the future.
The entire purpose when I started this blog was to help people who know nothing about basketball learn and for those who know some or for those know a lot to be able to come and just read and touch up on varies aspects that they may not know at all or know little a bit about. I think the mission statement does a very good job of summing that up, "Here to help you learn and understand the wonderful game of basketball.", for those of you that haven't seen it. I have tried to incorporate a wide variety of different materials encompassing every aspect of the game such as history, technique and how to's from my own personal experiences and from others who I believe are very insightful individuals within the basketball world. I believe that basketball truly is a wonderful game that sometimes gets overlooked because popularity wise it falls behind baseball and football for some people.
I have only been blogging for a short time but I do have a good amount of things I would like to talk about and share with everyone willing to read it. I am also extremely open to feedback and/or questions as well as possible topics for discussion ideas anyone has for me. I hope that this blog is serving its intended purpose to this point and continues to into the future.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Nike Elite Championship Airlock Official Basketball
For some people, a basketball is just a basketball, they pick it up and just shoot or play with whatever they find. For me its a completely different story. I can stand a worn down or flat out bad basketball when I play. I have to be able to grip the basketball, it has to feel right when I hold it, but most importantly a good basketball for me makes it so I can get the rotation I need on my shots.
I have played with and used many different basketballs in my life and it truly is hard sometimes to find one that is virtually perfect. I have gone to places looking for a basketball and gone home empty handed despite there being over twenty different basketballs to choose from. That's why when I came across the Nike Elite Championship Airlock Official Basketball, I was in love. I was never accustomed to spending that much for a basketball, usually like $20-$30 but Nike's comes to about $70, which if I am being honest is a little hard to swallow but after owning two of these basketballs (one for inside and one for outside), I believe it was worth it. Now I know not everyone can fork over $70 for a basketball so this basketball might be better off for those who are serious basketball players or as a gift.
My favorite thing about this basketball is its grip. For starters, the grip feels great right out of the box but the best part is that the grip lasts! Anyone who has owned a basketball knows it may feel awesome for the first couple days or even weeks but that grip eventually fades and it feels like trying to shoot with a small child's bouncy ball, but not this basketball! As I mentioned a negative of this basketball is its price. You do however get what you pay for if you'd rather look at it that way. I highly recommend this basketball to anyone who loves to play basketball or is looking to get started. To find this basketball click here or the link above, both of which are to Dick's Sporting Goods, but if you find it somewhere else new and for a cheaper price, please let me know!
I have played with and used many different basketballs in my life and it truly is hard sometimes to find one that is virtually perfect. I have gone to places looking for a basketball and gone home empty handed despite there being over twenty different basketballs to choose from. That's why when I came across the Nike Elite Championship Airlock Official Basketball, I was in love. I was never accustomed to spending that much for a basketball, usually like $20-$30 but Nike's comes to about $70, which if I am being honest is a little hard to swallow but after owning two of these basketballs (one for inside and one for outside), I believe it was worth it. Now I know not everyone can fork over $70 for a basketball so this basketball might be better off for those who are serious basketball players or as a gift.
My favorite thing about this basketball is its grip. For starters, the grip feels great right out of the box but the best part is that the grip lasts! Anyone who has owned a basketball knows it may feel awesome for the first couple days or even weeks but that grip eventually fades and it feels like trying to shoot with a small child's bouncy ball, but not this basketball! As I mentioned a negative of this basketball is its price. You do however get what you pay for if you'd rather look at it that way. I highly recommend this basketball to anyone who loves to play basketball or is looking to get started. To find this basketball click here or the link above, both of which are to Dick's Sporting Goods, but if you find it somewhere else new and for a cheaper price, please let me know!
Book Review: A Father First
When it comes to reading I will admit that I don't generally like to read books or anything of that nature, I am more of an article or blog reader, something I can sit down and read within a couple of minutes or so. So today I wanted to talk about and give a little review of a book I actually took the time to read, and thoroughly enjoyed!
The book is, A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball by NBA star Dwyane Wade. I absolutely love this book. It is a great story, told by Dwyane himself, about his life growing up and the varies hardships he faced while living in the South Side of Chicago. Dwyane uses the book to take about the various father influences he had through his life, such as his own father and the many coaches he had as a basketball player through high school, college and in the NBA. A very important aspect of the book is the struggle Dwyane faced in trying to gain sole custody of his 2 sons, Zaire and Zion.
This really is a good book for teens and adults alike with an interest in basketball as it is full of advice and the personal life experiences of a successful NBA player who has had a rough patches in his life but has time and time again found a way to persevere. I would not consider this a shining piece of literature but the story itself along with the insight gained from the story is what makes this book by Dwyane Wade one of my favorites and I would give it a very solid 8/10 if I were to rate it. I strongly encourage you to check it out. The link above and right here will lead you to the book on amazon, but if you can't buy it see if it is available at your local library.
The book is, A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball by NBA star Dwyane Wade. I absolutely love this book. It is a great story, told by Dwyane himself, about his life growing up and the varies hardships he faced while living in the South Side of Chicago. Dwyane uses the book to take about the various father influences he had through his life, such as his own father and the many coaches he had as a basketball player through high school, college and in the NBA. A very important aspect of the book is the struggle Dwyane faced in trying to gain sole custody of his 2 sons, Zaire and Zion.
This really is a good book for teens and adults alike with an interest in basketball as it is full of advice and the personal life experiences of a successful NBA player who has had a rough patches in his life but has time and time again found a way to persevere. I would not consider this a shining piece of literature but the story itself along with the insight gained from the story is what makes this book by Dwyane Wade one of my favorites and I would give it a very solid 8/10 if I were to rate it. I strongly encourage you to check it out. The link above and right here will lead you to the book on amazon, but if you can't buy it see if it is available at your local library.
(Dwyane Wade with A Father First)
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Alan Stein's Q & A With Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul
Despite just recently creating this blog I have been very much into reading blogs, as I have mentioned before and as I told you in yesterday's post I really enjoy the blogs of Alan Stein. However, today I want to spotlight one of his posts in particular.
Back in May alan talked about a little Q&A session he had with Los Angeles Clippers' and eight time all-star point guard, Chris Paul. For those wondering what Q&A is, it's just questions and answers, or an interview, to keep it simple. To me, posts of this nature whether they be in a blog or an article are really awesome and at the same time extremely valuable. I tend to seek these types of posts out as much as I can. It isn't everyday you you get to hear advice or insight from someone extremely successful in their field.
Alan chose to ask Chris a few questions regarding his training, such as when he began lifting weights, how he felt lifting weights helped his game and why performance training is important for basketball players. He also added questions pertaining to the difference between the NBA and college as well as what he thought players in both high school and college need to improve on, in his opinion. Now I don't want to ruin the answers but they are pretty good pieces of information to know, so if you are interested in reading what Chris Paul has to say just click here. I would love to hear of any other posts someone else has found involving Q&As as well!
Back in May alan talked about a little Q&A session he had with Los Angeles Clippers' and eight time all-star point guard, Chris Paul. For those wondering what Q&A is, it's just questions and answers, or an interview, to keep it simple. To me, posts of this nature whether they be in a blog or an article are really awesome and at the same time extremely valuable. I tend to seek these types of posts out as much as I can. It isn't everyday you you get to hear advice or insight from someone extremely successful in their field.
Alan chose to ask Chris a few questions regarding his training, such as when he began lifting weights, how he felt lifting weights helped his game and why performance training is important for basketball players. He also added questions pertaining to the difference between the NBA and college as well as what he thought players in both high school and college need to improve on, in his opinion. Now I don't want to ruin the answers but they are pretty good pieces of information to know, so if you are interested in reading what Chris Paul has to say just click here. I would love to hear of any other posts someone else has found involving Q&As as well!
(Chris Paul)
Monday, June 22, 2015
Stronger Team Blog
As you can tell by my posts (the few I have posted so far) I am pretty passionate about the game of basketball. I try to get my daily fix of anything basketball anyway that I can, one of which happens to be reading blogs. There are a handful of great basketball blogs out there to be read, blogs on general basketball topics (such as mine), blogs on different drills you can incorporate into your training, blogs for those who want to coach basketball rather than play, and many other types of blogs.
For this post I wanted spotlight a blog that I read on a weekly basis when I can find the time. The blog is on strongerteam.com and is authored by Alan Stein, a name you are probably familiar with as referenced him in a past post. As I mentioned in that post Alan is a well know and respected teacher of the game of basketball. Well turns out he is also a very insightful blogger on basketball as well.
Alan's blog is one of my all-time favorites because it does a really good job of hitting various different topics within the basketball world, whereas other blogs specialize in specific fields usually. Alan has blogged about things such as how players can get the most out of every practice, how coach's can gain the trust and respect of their players, and even Q&A's with NBA players, most recently with Chris Paul starting point guard of the Los Angeles Clippers!
If you are interested in learning more about basketball I highly suggest you give Alan Stein's blog a look. I provided the link above and it is also available here which will take you directly to the blog itself. I will tell you though, Alan has recently said he will be taking the summer off of blogging but I encourage you to read his previous posts until he returns to blogging in September!
For this post I wanted spotlight a blog that I read on a weekly basis when I can find the time. The blog is on strongerteam.com and is authored by Alan Stein, a name you are probably familiar with as referenced him in a past post. As I mentioned in that post Alan is a well know and respected teacher of the game of basketball. Well turns out he is also a very insightful blogger on basketball as well.
Alan's blog is one of my all-time favorites because it does a really good job of hitting various different topics within the basketball world, whereas other blogs specialize in specific fields usually. Alan has blogged about things such as how players can get the most out of every practice, how coach's can gain the trust and respect of their players, and even Q&A's with NBA players, most recently with Chris Paul starting point guard of the Los Angeles Clippers!
If you are interested in learning more about basketball I highly suggest you give Alan Stein's blog a look. I provided the link above and it is also available here which will take you directly to the blog itself. I will tell you though, Alan has recently said he will be taking the summer off of blogging but I encourage you to read his previous posts until he returns to blogging in September!
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