Whenever I teach coaches or am speaking with a group of players, the first topic I will cover is philosophy.  I want everyone thinking that attitude, focus, communication and discipline determine so much of a team’s success.  Without these things, how can there be a coaching philosophy that will hold up to the test of having players who play at their best level, the team playing at its best together, or enjoying the best season you can have?

My Philosophy On Conducting My Life: The right thing to do is to do the right thing.

My Philosophy On Playing The game: The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win. Winning doesn’t just happen. You must set goals. You must prepare. You must be in condition and be
disciplined. You must be fundamentally sound and you must play good defense. With these things in place, only then will you be able to perform at your peak. That takes the right attitude and a determined focus. (Focus keeps you on the line and your goal in sight. Attitude determines your speed along the line in reaching your goal.)

You win, regardless of the score, when you play at your peak and execute those things well which you have been taught to do. No more can be asked than that you give your best in both practices and games. If the other team scores more points, and you have given your best, you have not lost. You have no control over how good or how well prepared the other players and teams are. You do have control over how you play and how well you prepare to play. It is a great test of character to have given your best effort and have lost the game.

EXPECTATIONS (From me…From you…)

•   I will give 100% of my teaching talents to you. In return, I expect 100% of your effort to learn what I am attempting to teach, and that you give your best at all times.

•   As I am a role model, so are you. Your teammates, your schoolmates, your friends, family and community look at you as representing my coaching, representing your team, your school, friends, family and community. Take responsibility for being the best role model you can be; that you will be admired as a varsity team player.

•   Take responsibility for being the best player you can be. Do not do yourself the disfavor of judging yourself against others. All players are not equal and each has his/her own growth curve in basketball, as in anything else. Attitude is the “mother” of skill. Judge if you are giving your fullest with the skills you have today. And ask yourself today if you are improved over yesterday. Ask that honestly of yourself every day. Ask that of your life. Are you growing, not only in the game but as a person as well?

•   I expect you to take responsibility for your actions and your attitudes. Your circumstances do not create your state of mind; rather, your state of mind creates your circumstances. You make choices. You get results. If the results are not acceptable to you, examine and change your choices.

•    It is my responsibility to teach you the kind of game I expect you to play. What I teach works. It is proven. We will not spend time and energy on things that do not work for us. Understand and believe in this and in doing so, then, please don’t question what the coaches are having you do when a new skill is given. Asking HOW is a good question. We want you to understand and to learn. Asking WHY during practice gets everyone out of focus and undermines discipline. If you must know why, ask after practice.

•     I expect you to embrace the continuous pressure, “wall-to-wall”, type of game I teach. You will be in excellent condition—better than your opponents. You will execute good fundamentals. You will play good, aggressive defense. You will play as a unit and you will always play with discipline and under control—in practice and in games.

•    You will be among the 10-12 best players in your school, and I expect you to humbly accept  that honor and responsibility.

Coach Ronn is an international spokesperson for youth sports being for the youth.He has spent fifty-five years in basketball, coaching youth basketball up through national teams, and as a player, lecturer, author, court-side commentator, and even refereeing. As an international consultant, Coach Ronn’s programs have reached hundreds of players and coaches around the world. He coached four national teams and has conducted national player camps. His website is www.top-basketball-coaching.com
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The biggest game in college basketball picks for the Big East this year takes place at the Carrier Dome on Saturday night at 9:00pm EST as fourth-ranked Syracuse hosts eight-ranked Villanova. ESPN will be doing the game and it should be wild with more than 34,000 fans expected at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse is 26-2 overall in college basketball betting odds and 13-2 in the conference while Villanova is 23-4 and 12-3. “We’re not really thinking about standings or polls or anything,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said, “We’re getting ready to play a team that I consider one of the top three or four teams in the country. That’s what we’re getting ready to play.” Syracuse is a -4.5 favorite against Villanova at online sportsbooks with a betting total of 156.5.

Syracuse can gain at least a tie for the Big East title with a win and probably secure a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If Villanova can pull off the upset in college basketball picks they would be right back in the discussion for a top seed. Both of these teams like to run up and down the court so it could be a high scoring came on Saturday night. “This team really likes to share the ball,” Syracuse guard Andy Rautins said. “When we’re sharing the ball, that’s when everybody’s doing what they can to help this team win.” Bet Syracuse -4.5 as home favorites in college basketball betting odds against Villanova with up to a $100 bonus and a 10% cash back in the casino for today only!

Villanova is second in the country in points per game at 83.8 while Syracuse is 7th at 81.2 points per game. One thing to watch in college basketball picks will be the status of Villanova guard Corey Stokes. He was cited for public urination early Thursday morning but coach Jay Wright has not decided if it will affect his status for Saturday’s game. “This was a simple mistake by a college student,” Wright said, “Corey regrets it and has apologized for it. We will now deal with it within our basketball family.” Stokes is averaging 9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this season. Bet Villanova +4.5 as road underdogs in college basketball betting odds against Syracuse for today’s game on ESPN.

The Wildcats are 2-5 in their last 7 games overall but they are 6-2 ATS in college basketball picks for their last 8 road games. The Wildcats are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings at Syracuse. The Orange are 26-9 in their last 35 games overall. The Orange are 19-8 in college basketball betting odds for their last 27 home games. The Over is 5-1 in the Wildcats last 6 road games but the Under is 4-0 in Syracuse’s last 4 home games. Vegas odds at the MGM Mirage sportsbook have the Syracuse Orange -4.5 favorites against the Villanova Wildcats with a betting total of 156.5.

Bishop Whitmore is Editor in Chief of VegasSportsOdds.com and has been in the sports entertainment industry for the past 10 years consulting for various media outlets and sportsbooks. View daily sports reviews, poker strategies and casino rooms from Bishop Whitmore at VegasSportsOdds.com.
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Basketball is a sport that takes an extremely large amount of time and hard work to excel in. The highest level of basketball, the NBA, attracts some of the best athletes in the world. These high caliber athletes excel in all areas, from strength, speed, and jumping, to finer skills like shooting and ball handling.

Being able to play at even a fraction of these players is a feat in itself. Very few players can play at the NBA level; however, basketball is a sport that draws many different levels of talent. This article will show you how to take you game, in terms of dribbling, to the next level, regardless of how you currently play.

Now lets get started: dribbling. Dribbling is a skill that you must have whether you are big or small, fast or slow, or white or blue. The key is it does’t matter who you are or what position you play, if you want to excel you have to be able to dribble. But how do you get good at dribbling? The key to dribbling is practice; but not just practice. You must practice with purpose. When you go out to practice, get down to business and practice each skill you wish to perfect. For example, practice hard dribbling with your left hand. Dribble in play until you feel extremely comfortable. Then walk and dribble until you feel comfortable, then run. After you have one hand done, move on to the other hand. In terms of dribbling, practicing equally with each hand is very important.

If you are past this point skill-wise, practice through the legs, get comfortable with each different way you can go through the legs. (Front to back, back to front, right to left, and all other combos) After this move on to dribbling behind your back. Perfect each skill until you are comfortable. You should practice dribbling like this every time you play. Most people just practice their shot. This is a mistake since dribbling is debatable more important that shooting, especially for point guards.

Once you are ready for more complicated ball handling, you should go to the Ball Handling at LiftedAthletics.com . You will find drills that perfect your skills, as well as specific dribbling combos that will take you game to the next level.

More On LiftedAthletics.com
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There is a big market place associated with increasing vertical jump. Not only are there a variety of programs but more significantly there is an amazing amount of equipment for sale, all of which claims to be the way to really grow a vertical. If only it were true.

Do not get the wrong idea. Just about anything that gets someone jumping more often or developing lower body strength is going to contribute to some degree of increase in vertical leap. There are all sorts of techniques as well as specialty equipment that will help virtually anyone become a better jumper.

But the fact is that there is no single secret item or product that is going to turn an average jumper into an amazing leaper. If that were the case, everyone would know it, everyone would use it and everyone would be jumping so high they would touch the sky, so to speak.

Take for instance what is often referred to as the power jump platform. This is a device upon which an athlete stands wearing a waist or shoulder harness that is attached to a platform beneath his feet with latex resistance tubes. The athlete jumps up in the air against the resistance provided by the tubes, thus developing lower body jumping muscle structure. An interesting contraption that has got to be helpful to some degree, not to mention expensive and cumbersome. But it is not necessary or required equipment.

Then there are the jump soles which are designed to be attached to athletes shoes. They are designed to force the development of the calf muscles and Achilles and they do so with measured efficiency. With proper use the targeted areas will get stronger and better trained, no doubt. These are also somewhat costly considering that they are made of rubber with Velcro straps and are one size fits all. Although not to the same degree as a power platform, these devices are cumbersome nonetheless. Also not a necessary or required item.

Most often made of metal or wood, there are also the sets of plyometric boxes that are often used in jump training. Regardless whether you buy them or make them, they are expensive, difficult to store and generally break down over time. These come in varying sizes and are used to jump onto, off of or both. Like the items already mentioned, these boxes are of value but as has also been the case so far, they are not necessary or required equipment.

Let’s not forget the specially designed strength development machines, of which there are an amazingly wide variety, that can be found in most good weight rooms and fitness facilities. In the case of these machines, we are talking significant cost, very cumbersome to move and generally useless for anything else. This stuff can help as well but there is no need to go that route.

The list goes on but the fact is that beyond the possible exception of a simple jump rope, there is no specialty equipment that will blow up a vertical jump. All of it can help, none of it will transform the user into a leaper all by itself. In other words, an athlete can spend a lot of money and devote a lot of time to these kinds of training aides and get very little return on such a large investment.

The dirty little secret as to what is required to grow vertical leap by at least ten inches or more is both simple and obvious. The only way to get there is to get involved in very comprehensive training that address all of the areas associated with jumping. Leave anything out, as the options noted above all do, and there is no way to reach ones full vertical leap potential. Inadequate training, although helpful, will generate only partial outcomes.

There is no magic pill or secret gimmick that will turn average, or even below average, jumpers into eye popping leapers outside of comprehensive vertical jump training. A link is provided below for your review to the type of program that is necessary to generate major results. It will give you an idea of the actual path to follow to become a big time jumper.

The way to develop better hops is primarily comprised of knowledge of proper training along with a willingness to do the work required. The expense of specialty equipment is only a market driven factor. It is not important to the journey to a much higher jump reach.

THE SIMPLE VERTICAL JUMP “SECRET”

I am a career entrepreneur currently involved in starting a franchising business, running a nonprofit, taking occasional contract assignments and building a work from home online business. START YOUR OWN BUSINESS
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The Lord of the Rings - the title that I think deserves to be given to the Los Angeles Lakers’ newly designed championship ring.

images are from nba.com

Wanna know  why?

• 15-Karat white & yellow gold
• ring is comprised of 15 diamonds with a total weight of 2.85 carats
• the ring mirrors the shape of the exterior of the Staples Center.
• The “roof” and “sides” of the court can be seen if the ring is viewed from the side
• each player’s face is laser-engraved in the ring
• a diamond-engraved L on each player’s ring and can only be seen using a high-powered   microscope
• each ring has a serial number stored in a database which only the lakers and jeweler can  access

images are from nba.com

Jason Arasheben – the man behind the masterpiece

On its 64th season the NBA will start the 2009 – 2010 season tomorrow, 27th of October 2009 (ET).

As always the NBA has been giving us great season opener. The 2008-2009 champs Boston Celtics against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The big 3, Kevin Garnette, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce will take on its eastern conference rival  Cavs led by their King Lebron James and the newly acquired big daddy-cool-diesel Shaq.

7:30 P ET

The Dirk’s Dallas Mavericks up against the Washington Wizards with Gilbert Arenas fully back into the roster.

8:30 P ET

Last year’s playoff contender Brandon Roy’s blazers will try to avenge their lost in the playoffs to the new Houston Rockets team.

10:00 P ET

And of course, the main event for los angeles and die hard laker fans, The Ring Ceremony for the defending Champs Kobe Bryant’ s Los Angeles Lakers.

10:30 P ET

2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men started last Thursday August 06, 2009 in Tianjin, China. And the Philippine team started strong with its 2 win – 0 loss card as they seek to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

They defeated Sri Lanka on a 115–31 lead and just recently gave the japanese its 2nd loss with a 69–78 margin.

They will be up against the koreans this saturday battling for the first spot in their Group.

It has been 3 decades since the Philippine Team made its mark in the World Championships

See the full schedule of the ongoing 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Men.

In 1984 NBA Draft have four players named among the 50 greatest players of all time.( Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Stockton) The four players accumulated seven MVP awards. Jordan has 5 MVP awards while Barkley and Olajuwon have one each. They all combined of 23 All NBA First Team appearances and 45 NBA All Star game selections. Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon are currently in the Basketball Hall of Fame and Michael Jordan and John Stockton are eligible in 2009.Many other solid players were drafted in 1984 including Kevin Willis, Sam Perkins, Otis Thorpe, Jerome Kersey, Alvin Robertson and Michael Cage.

In 1996 NBA Draft contained three players that won NBA MVP awards ( Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash) and seven other all stars ( Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jermaine O’neal, Peja Stojakovic, Antoine Walker ). The draft class also produced two NBA defensive Players of the year ( Ben Wallace and Marcus Camby).

In 2003 NBA Draft is known for having one of the most talented draft classes in draft history. 4 of the top 5 picks are NBA All Stars and ” Redeem Team” Olympic Gold Medalist. ( Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wayde, Chris Bosh ). Dwayne Wade was named NBA Finals MVP in 2006, Boris Diaw won the most improve player in 2006, Jason Kapono won the three point shootout back to back years in 2007 and 2008. Leandro Barbosa won sixth man player of the year in 2007. Other players drafted were all star David West, Josh Howard, TJ Ford and Kirk Hinrich.

From NBA.com

In 2008 NBA Draft , the No. 1 pick, Derrick Rose, had back-to-back 20-point, eight-assist games; the No. 1 pick from a year ago, Greg Oden, gave us a glimpse of what we’ve all been waiting for with a double-double against the Hornets and 22 and 10 against the Warriors; four other players hit for 25 points in a game in O.J. Mayo, Robin Lopez, Rudy Fernandez and Anthony Morrow (who scored 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting against the Clippers accounting for the most points ever for an undrafted free agent in his rookie season); Luc Mbah a Moute had a 19-point, 17-rebound game and he was a second-round draft pick; the Nets’ Ryan Anderson went 7-for-9 from three over four games; and the Kings’ Jason Thompson, who dominated for Ryder University at center in the mediocre-at-best Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, racked up 16 points and 11 rebounds in his first game starting at power forward. Other players that were contributing well in their respective teams are Heat’s Michael Beasley, Thunder’s Russell Westbrook , Timberwolves Kevin Love, Nets Brook Lopez(twin brother of Robin Lopez) , Bobcats DJ Augustin , Marc Gasol of Memphis.

It’s really hard to choose among ( 1984, 1996 and 2003 ) what’s the best draft class of all time. For 2008 it’s still too early but so far they look special and talented.

If I were to choose, I without doubt select the 1984 draft class as the best draft class in NBA Draft History.They had the superstars Jordan, Hakeem and Barkley, but you also had solid contributors down the line in John Stockton, Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis and Jerome Kersey.

The visiting Detriot Pistons defeated the previously unbeaten purple and gold (lakers) , 106 – 95. Lakers have never sustained any momentum throughout the game, defense of pistons was solid.

So after 7 solid games, the Lakers finally dropped a game, and fell to 7-1 on the season. They’ll have a long time to think about the loss before the Bulls come to town on Tuesday, which probably isn’t great news for Chicago.

Kobe scored 29 points and passes Larry Bird and Gary payton on the all time scoring list.

Congrats Kobe, your now 22nd on the NBA’s all time scoring charts.

Scottie Pippen may have been the most significant figure in the history of the NBA. Pippen may never have had a title without Jordan. But there’s a good chance Jordan would never have had a title without Pippen.

Growing up I’m a big fan of Pippen’s game. He do a lot of things in the court, score the basketball, directing traffic, talking on defense, rebound the ball, can handle the ball well, giving advice to younger players………

Pippen was that rare superstar talent who was willing to play second fiddle and sacrifice individual glory for the sake of his team.

Michael Jordan:

“When we went into battle, I knew I had someone to watch my back,” Michael Jordan said. “I love him like a brother. He pushed me to be the best basketball player every day in practice. And I pushed him to be the best Scottie Pippen he could be.”

Pippen’s Accomplishments: