Hoop Masters 13u win Hard Core Hoops tournament June 1, 2009
Posted by hoopmasters in 1.Tags: 13u age group, AAU, basketball, Hoop Masters, OBAMA, tournaments
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Hoop Masters 13u team wins Hard Core Hoops Championship
It is said that patience is quality that every person needs to learn. In the case of the Hoop Masters 13’s they have had that. There tough coach, John Fischer, has molded the team into a hard hitting, defensive pressuring team and they put that all together to win the Hard Core Hoops 13u basketball tournament. The team will try to repeat their achievement this coming weekend at the ACES tournament.
Review of Everyone Hates A Ballhog, But They Love a Scorer February 7, 2009
Posted by hoopmasters in Basketball Men's, General, http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping.Tags: 411hoops, coach Godwin, Hoop Masters, jumpstarthoops, learning to become a better shooter
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Jerome Green
The K.I.S.S (keep it Simple Stupid) principle has it’s place in the American culture and in his book “ Everyone Hates A Ball Hog, But They All Love A Scorer”, Coach Godwin breaks down the game of scoring into the simplest, most definable approach that I’ve ever read. The book is a one-hour read and is written in intelligent yet simple vocabulary. Like in the movie “Show Me The Money”, when Jerry’s girlfriend said “ Shut up, you had me at hello”. Coach Godwin had me on page three of his book when he said, “everyone knows what he or she wants to do in life; the problem is finding out how to do it.”
In the book Coach Godwin breaks down his approach to scoring with things like breaking the game down into quarters and halves and don’t think that scoring is all about how many jump shots you can make, but more so, were are your scoring opportunities, between offensive rebounds, steals, etc.
What I also like about the book is that is easily transferable to developing life-skills. In Chapter-15 (Using Basketball to Score in Life), Coach Godwin talks about key life skills that are needed to become a better player and person. His main points include the principles of Discipline, Communication, Responsibility, Teamwork, Hard Work, the Will to Succeed, Strategy, dealing with Adversity and Developing Friendships.
The entire book is filled with gems, some new, some revised and some borrowed, but if you want to read one book this year on how to become a better scorer this is the book. After reading this book, I felt that I might be able to play about 2 minutes on these worn down legs and score a point or two.
You can purchase the book on Amazon.com or on coach Godwin’s website
Are You Going To Finish Strong? Nick Vujicic January 20, 2009
Posted by hoopmasters in 1.Tags: basketball, conscience, Finishing strong, Hoop Masters, Nick Vujicic, recovery
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Man-Man December 8, 2008
Posted by hoopmasters in 1, learning.Tags: basketball, basketball Training, Brian McCormick, Hoop Masters, Inglewood High School, Paul Pierce
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“I don’t wanna play basketball, yea baby, ’cause I’m too small to hoop,”
–Rapper-Imajin
If you’ve ever been told that basketball is for people 6’0” or taller, or you believe you are too small to play basketball, I invite you to go down to Inglewood High School (home of Paul Pierce) in Inglewood, California and watch 5’0”, “Man-Man”, real name Gerald Evans, who is in the 11th grade. I first saw Man-Man last year when he was a sophomore, when his team played Santa Monica High School.
Man-Man caught the attention of several people in the stands and some were even laughing about how small he was. One person commented that he must be the team mascot, manager or coach’s son. But, I have scouted talent for over 30 years, and I knew he was a contributing member of the Inglewood team. This 5’ 0” had a swagger about him. Sure enough, four-minutes into the first quarter, this little bullet shot up off the bench and was at the scorers’ table. Prior to Man-Man coming in the game, Inglewood was playing pretty flat and Santa Monica was having their way with them. Well, in comes Man-Man, and like the movie “Gone in 60 seconds”, all of Santa Monica’s Mojo shifted to Inglewood. Inglewood went on to win the game as a result of Man-Man’s energy and Dashawn Gomez’ outstanding play down the stretch that sent them into overtime. But it was Man-Man that shifted the tide and the game with his infectious energy.
I don’t even know if Man-Man even thinks of himself as a small player. He plays big, plays every possession and never quits. The minute he comes in the game, you can see how much he lifts the spirits of his teammates and the fans. I have never seen him not make an impact. If you are a player on the short side, or the large variety, you need to see Man-Man play. Not only is he quick and fast, but he also knows how to take advantage of everything he’s been given. Imagine being an opposing guard with average handles and then having to deal with this guy who is up in you, giving you no breathing room, and here you are trying to run the offense. It’s a daunting experience! A year after seeing Man-Man have an impact in a big game, I got to see him, once again, bring verve with a resolute spirit and acuity of ability to the floor that very few players have.
Man-Man has a huge heart, some above average athletic ability and an “I won’t quit” attitude. I don’t know if Man-Man will play at the proverbial “next level” that we all talk about, but who cares?
There is so much focus on the “next level”, that I think we often forget about the level the players are at right now. There is a risk as a player, coach or parent of getting too far ahead of the moment.
Play hard, work hard, and bring your heart in each moment and let that determine what the future holds. The biggest trend in basketball is to go for size, and yes, the game is getting bigger and stronger. But if you really have a passion for the game, why not go as far as you can, for as long as you can? Basketball is an activity that can be played for a long time if you take care of your body, stay in shape and don’t have too many injuries. Who knows, the “next level” for you might just be the White House!
Tips To Make You A Better Player November 18, 2008
Posted by hoopmasters in TheCrossovermovement, learning.Tags: basketball tips, coaching tips, Hoop Masters, Verve
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Tips to make you a better Player
Jerome Green
To be a better player you don’t have to be the most athletic, the quickest or the tallest. You do have to have basketball IQ and what I call basketball V.E.R.V.E (Vision, Energy, Resiliency, Velocity of learning and Encouragement). All the great players like Jordan, Lisa Leslie, Kobe, and Lebron have it. Without V.E.R.V.E you will always have limitations to your game.
Vision
When you are on the court what do you do? Do you see a play ahead, see the next pass or communicate with your teammates? When you are on the bench what do you do? Do you just sit on the bench sort of day dreaming or do you pay attention to the game by watching the flow of the game, looking for weaknesses in the other team and specifically watching to see what the strengths and weaknesses are of the player(s) you might be guarding. Some of things you should be looking for are:
Are the players left handed or right handed? Can they dribble or shoot with their off hand?
What habits do the players on the other team have? Do they get back quickly on defense or walk back?
What do they like to do the most? Attack the basket or shoot the jumper?
Energy
When you are in the game or on the bench do you supply energy to your team? Are you vocal and encouraging? Can your teammates hear you on the floor or from the bench? Does your coach know you are on the team or are you real quite on and off the floor?
Resiliency
What do you do after a bad play or bad game? Do you sulk, go home and blame someone else, including yourself, or do you actually go back to the drawing board and work on your game? I can recall when Magic Johnson had a horrible NBA final against Boston in 1983. He had a ton of turnovers and just a sub-par playoff series. The fans where also a little down on him because they felt he got Paul Westhead fired. What Magic did was go back to Michigan that summer and work on his game. When he came back the next season, he had a better outside shot, and was a stronger all around player. If a player of Magic’s caliber can do back to the drawing board and do his homework what do you need to do?
Velocity
You have to have powerful spirit to play the game of basketball. It’s not a game for the meek. What you lack in foot speed needs to be made up in learning speed and skill development. The more proficient you can become at managing the ball, the more valuable you become to your team, no matter what your size or athletic ability. Do you play defense and get after it? There is always room for players who play hard and smart.
Encouragement
Encouragement may be one of the most overused words in the English language. Many players are always looking for external encouragement, but very few rarely look inside. Courage is a component to the word encouragement. Life itself requires a great deal of courage and focus to achieve anything you want. Without courage, it’s hard to encourage. You have to have the courage to make mistakes, learn from them and start over again. Luvv is another ingredient to en-courage-ment, without luvv it is very difficult to have the courage to face your next obstacle and you will find yourself becoming discouraged.
“Short memories lead to good defense after mistakes”-.
Mark Adams, an ESPN basketball color man, commenting on a Hawaii player who made an offense turnover and then got in the proper deny defense, got the steal and went down and scored.
To play any game, you have to have a short memory and great bounce back abilities.
Developing The Whole Athlete November 7, 2008
Posted by hoopmasters in 1, High School update.Tags: basketball, Hoop Masters, OSU, spirit and sports, TheCrossovermovement
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Jerome Green
More and more I am speaking to college coaches these days that are more concerned about GPA’s, players Characters than how athletic or gifted a player is. While the top players in the country will still get speculative nod when it comes to choosing their athletic abilities over other factors, others won’t. The other 7 players on that roster better bring more to the table than their basketball game. One of the rising stars in this whole person approach to basketball is Coach Greg Robinson of Oregon State University men’s basketball. I know that he and the university have gotten major press as a result of his speech at the Democratic National Convention and the fact that his sister is now the First Lady-Elect, but if you go to the OSU website at: http://www.osubeavers.com and read his resume, you’ll see how Coach Robinson and his staff stands on their own merit.
More parents are now realizing with tougher NCAA standards, higher test scores and GPA’s required mean choosing a high school for its ability to develop the whole person is more crucial than how many stated Championship teams they have. Finding the balance between athletic and academic excellence has become increasingly important.
IF your son or daughter is being recruited by a university at any level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA) you need to become an educated buyer. Don’t just get caught up in the fact that someone wants to offer you a scholarship, really take a look at what else they offer. Look at the staff, what is their background and how effectively will they be in developing the whole person. Not just the athlete. What else has the coaching staff done with their lives?
The NCAA has a commercial they run on television during all of their events. It s called-going pro is something other than. Players and parents need to pay very close attention to this commercial, because the simple fact is that most college athletes will be going pro is something other than. I sometimes have the opportunity to speak with a major GM of a major sports franchise and one of the things he always mentions first is the perspective draft picks character. Millions of dollars are invested in athletes; just ask the knicks about Stephon Marbury. The person that was cheated was Stephon, a long time ago his prodigy, was placed ahead of his development as a person. Stephon is a good man, he never was held accountable early on in his career. In discussing his current situation with the Knicks, he is quoted as saying:
“Looking back at the last two years, I kind of liked Larry Brown. I kind of liked Larry Brown. I’m like, ‘Man, I wish this guy was here to drill me now.”
Most young players today might resist the direction and correction, but so what. I would rather do what I felt was best that players overall life, than worry about wining a few AAU games. I have always been far more interested in the whole person than the athlete.
Quality teams combine both athletic talent and human talent. If you really look at most of the champions of sport, Bill Russell being one, their characters was impeccable and someone like Bill Russell had to also demonstrate a strong conscience and courage while he was winning championships.
Today’s young athlete needs to learn not just the fundamental skills that go along with being a great or good athlete in their sport. They also need to learn how to become a whole person and how to develop an ability to listen and follow conscience.
Alumni News October 28, 2008
Posted by hoopmasters in 1, Alumni News.Tags: DeAndre Bell, Georgia Tech, Hoop Masters, Palisades High School, sports Illustrated
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We wish DeAndre Bell, Hoop Masters class of 2000 and Palisades Grad, the best of luck on his upcoming back surgery. DeAndre was slated to be the Captain of this years Georgia Tech-Yellow Jacket team and will now red shirt for this season. Click here to read the story-index.html
