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Old 12-16-2004, 04:22 AM   #18 (permalink)
Dostoevsky
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Location: Macon, GA
Ok, here we go...

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
1) Is it possible to get any sort of professional tryout without any high-school or college basketball experience? This question goes towards the NBA, ABA, CBL, ULEB, FIBA, and just about any other professional league.
Possible, yes.....Extremely difficult, yes. If you are a professional caliber player, then there is a team out there that would be willing to hire you. The problem is that without having played high-school and especially college ball, you haven't been able to make a name for yourself or get yourself noticed. Professional teams in America do hold open tryouts from what I understand. If you are serious about this I would begin to contact minor league teams, CBA, ABA and see if you can get one.

The other thing you can do that would be very helpful is to find an agent, which is difficult if you don't have a name. I'm not sure how you would go about doing this because I came up the orthodox way, high school, D-1 scholarship and success, accolades, graduation and agent signing. It's a lot harder to get to the top coming from the streets. I would suggest tying to get a minor league tryout. If you live near a major city than you might try to play with the professionals during the summer when they have open runs to stay in shape. Find out where they play and try to get in on the runs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
2) I'm 6'2", and often find myself being the big man on-court wherever I play. Because of this, I've been forced to play in the post, and haven't had much opportunity to fully develop my outside game. It gets frustrating, because everyone expects me to go inside, when I want to shoot outside shots and drive it in; not just stand there, take the bumps and put it up. Do you have any suggestions for how I can fully develop my overall game, rather than conforming to the games I currently play in? I know that if I were to play in a professional game, I would NOT be the big man.
Dude, you have to find some more competitive games to play in. There is no way you should be in the post at 6-2. If you are serious about playing professionally, you are going to be a 2 guard, possibly a 3 man if you are a tremendous athlete. You have to work on your perimeter skills CONSTANTLY. You should never play in the post again, I can't stress this enough.

Developing your overall game will take lots of hard work by yourself in the gym working on your perimeter skills like shooting and dribbling as well as finding better games to play in. Try to get involved in a really competitive men's league or something like that. Good competition will make you a better player.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
3) Would you recommend any well-standing, reputable training programs that would actually teach me what I need to know, rather than take me through a generic series of sessions that may or may not improve my overall game?
Ahhh, not really. I mean training programs can be helpful with giving you ideas and drills for what to work on I guess, but I think you'd be better served by finding competitive games and getting involved. If you see a player in those games who looks like he knows what he's doing, talk to him. Tell him that you noticed this or that and that you'd like to know how he does it and how he practiced it. Just strike up a conversation with another player, basketball players are normally more than happy to share experiences and ideas. That's the best way to learn to me. After you learn something new, practice, practice, practice. Just seeing something won't help you master it. You must beat it into your muscle memory through lots of repition work.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
4) When I work on one aspect of my game, such as driving it in, I often lose a little bit of what I don't work on. I often find myself having to choose between driving it in or shooting outside. Do you have any tips for keeping a balanced work-out to improve all aspects of my game, rather than just one?
Absolutely.....Work on both skills in the same workout. You have to be able to do both of these things at any given point in a game. For example, if you defender plays too close to you, you must be able to drive by him. If he gives you too much room, you shoot. One dimensional players are very easy to guard, so make yourself a threat to drive or shoot.

Take the ball on the perimeter and alternate between pump-faking and driving and shooting. Get comfortable out there. It's not easy, but it feels great when you have all your skills working at once. Also, playing lots of 1-1 against a good player will help you tremendously with this problem.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
5) I've been told that you should keep your hands as wide open as possible while handling the ball. I've tried this recently and it seems to give me more control and prevents me from palming the ball while dribbling. Are there any hazards that this may bring across my game, or is this really the way to go?
If by 'wide open' you mean keeping your fingers spread out, then yes, I agree that this is optimal because it gives you more control of the ball. Also, the ball shouldn't be touching your palm, only your fingertips when you dribble. No hazards to speak of, this is definitely the way to go. The ball shouldn't be in your palm when you shoot either for that matter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CityOfAngels
6) What do you think about autograph hunters? I, personally, love collecting autographs, but can't stand it when an athlete will only sign for a kid. I'm a Clipper fan, and when I took my little brother to a game, Marko Jaric and Melvin Ely signed for him. When I went only with my girlfriend, no one would sign for either of us. I met Amare Stoudemire at an In'N'Out Burger while he was in L.A. for his off-season knee surgery, and he looked PISSED when I asked him for an autograph, although he did sign the back of my receipt for me. The only one that has been really gracious with his autographs is Andre Miller (my favorite player); I sent him three of his rookie cards and told him to keep two as a gift, and asked if he could please sign one. He not only signed ALL THREE for me, but he threw on the extra postage to get them out to me.
Well, this is the thing you have to understand. NBA players often times get annoyed when approached by adults seeking autographs because lots of these people are professionals who turn around and sell the autographed merchandise, and that's kind of shitty. I mean basically, lots of people don't give a shit about the athletes and aren't even legitimately fans, they are just trying to turn an easy dollar by getting an NBA player to sign something, then turning around and selling it to real fans. Yes, I think these types of people are assholes and I can understand why players tell them to fuck off.

Athletes don't mind signing for 'real fans' most of the time. When a kid comes up and asks you for an autograph with a big smile on his face, you know that signing his hat or shirt is going to make his day and it makes you feel great. He'll wear that until it gets destroyed, not turn around and try to make $20 bucks off of your hard earned name. That's why kids always come first.

Your Andre Miller story kind of highlights my point. You sent the man 3 cards and a nice letter offering to let him keep two, which cleary signified that you weren't trying to turn a buck on him. As a token of his appreciation of your true 'fanship,' he not only sent all 3 back, but paid the fare as well. NBA guys aren't assholes, they just don't like getting played.

The Amare Stoudamire incident is another story altogether. Like you said, the man was out there to have knee surgery and you saw him in a restaurant. He was probably hungry, had shit on his mind and didn't want to be bothered at the moment. You gotta keep in mind, you're not the only person asking guys for autographs, they get this shit every day, everywhere they go. Sometimes dudes just want to be left alone. To his credit, it sounds like he was cool about it though.

Well I hope this post was thorough enough for you.... I'm off to lunch, holla.
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