Ask the professional athlete
 

After looking at a couple of the threads in the finance forum where professionals take time out to answer important questions other members have regarding their finances, I have decided to lend my first handknowledge of professional basketball to viewers of this forum.

I have worked out for a few NBA teams and I am currently employed by a Pro-B club in France. I would be happy to answer any questions pertaining to basketball, lifestyles, or whatever else you can think of. It doesn't even have to be serious stuff.

Hit me up...

What's the fastest way to get into playing shape?

I'm all duffed out from the college life and intramurals are soon coming. Last year me and my team, all 5 of us, played in the A league. Needless to say, have you ever seen 5 stoners trying to run the court for 40 mins?

Well, in regards to your first question, the answer is contigent upon just how out of shape if you are. If you're a few pounds overweight and in pretty bad cardiovascular shape, like most college guys get when they aren't exercising, I would suggest jogging, riding the stationary bike, swimming, and other stamina building activities. Save the sprints and speed type work until you re-introduce your muscles to exercise as this will prevent avoidable injuries :lol:

After a couple of weeks of alternating between these types of activities atleast every other day, I would start doing some sprint work like running suicides and baselines in the gym. Your muscles are going to get tired and fatigued, but they will build back up stronger.

Unfortunately, there is no magical cure to getting back into shape. It's going to take time and physical effort. From experience I would say that if you are willing to work out 5 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour a day on the types of activities I've listed above, you will see huge results in as little as 2-3 weeks. I hope you've left yourself enough time to condition a little.

And yes, I have had the pleasure of seeing 5 stoners go up and down the court before. I was a member of a fraternity in college and our intramural team was quite a sight. Probably not as competitive as yours is but thorougly entertaining.

Hope this helps and don't by shy about posting other questions,

Dostoevsky

What the hell is wrong with the reigning NBA champion Detroit Pistons lately???
After beating Dallas (14-8), they lost to Atlanta (4-16) and Memphis (9-13) back to back. They trailed Atlanta by 30 at halftime!

Areall players under 6 foot doomed to be point guards ( noet a bad thing) but can someone with insane talent be a Power Forward and be like 5 . 5

What's the best way to improve ball-handling skills?

I can dribble with my right, but have trouble taking anyone off of the dribble.

Also, will Karl Malone ever hook up with Vanessa Bryant?

To maintain your anonymity, I won't ask you what specific teams you tried out for.

Who are some players that you scrimmaged against (either attempting to make it from college or in the NBA now)? Do you have any thoughts/stories about it?

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of insight into NBA happenings right now. I don't even get the games over here in France. I will say this though, Detroit is going to be just fine down the stretch. Look for them to be solidly in the hunt for another title with the team they have. I mean damn, they returned their entire team and added McDyess for depth. They're tough and Larry Brown is a great coach. Maybe the brawl, losing Wallace for those games and Coach Brown going out with hip surgery has affected their chemistry a little. I'm not worried about the Pistons though, they'll get it rolling again.

You basically asked two questions here so I will answer in two short sections.

1. No, in very rare circumstances, a player under 6 feet can play the 2 guard spot. This is VERY rare though. It works kind of like this.... An NBA team drafts a guy who is 5-10 or 5-11 who played the 2 guard in college and wants to turn him into a point guard because he's too short to play the 2 guard in the NBA. If this doesn't work, and the player in question doesn't really develop into a point guard, the team has a couple of options. 1, they cut or trade the player. 2, they move the player to the two guard and bring in a taller point guard who can defend the opposition's 2 guard on the other end.

This is exactly what happened with Allen Iverson in Philly. He's about 5-11 and the Sixers wanted him to play the point. The only problem is that Iverson is not a point guard, he's a pure scorer who should be playing the two guard. The Sixers finally recognized that and moved him over while bringing in a taller point guard, Eric Snow to help with defense.

I say this happens very rarely because a player under 6 feet tall has to be a truly spectacular scorer in order for a team to bother keeping him if he can't play the point. Iverson is the only example I can think of off of the top of my head. Stephon Marbury has become a scoring point guard, but he still plays the one.

2. I can answer this question in one word....NO

This will never ever, ever, ever happen. You have to be very big, very strong, and very long to play the post in the NBA. Someone under 6-5 simply can't compete in the paint with those big strong monsters. It's impossible regardless of that players skills or abilities. You normally have to be atleast 6-8 to have any chance at playing the 4 in the NBA. The only exceptions to this rule are guys like Charles Barkley who are about 6-6 but unbelievably strong and athletic.

Being a big guy myself at 6-8 230, I've had similar challenges over the course of my career with ball handling. I worked really hard in college and I have to say that my ball handling has improved drastically with both hands.

The best way to work on your ball handling is to have a basketball in your hands as often as possible. Dribble that thing everywhere you go man. Buy a cheap rubber ball at Wal-Mart and just start dribbling that thing when you walk around outside. Also, make sure you're not looking at the ball when you dribble. Keep your eyes up, you have to see the court. If you have a problem with this, buy some training glasses that block your field of vision to the ground. They will look something like these:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/sm...i-1212701.html
These won't allow you to see the ball. Make sure you do dribbling drills with your right and left hands. If your left hand is considerably weaker, use it more. Also, do everyday things with your left hand to develop coordination. Brush you teeth lefty, use your mouse lefty, jerk off lefty, eat lefty. I did all these things and more to work on my left and after about a year, my left handed coordination is better than most people's right handed coordination.

That being said, the most important factor in beating your man off the dribble is foot work and coordination. Practice your 'jab step' series where you have the ball in 3 point position and jab at him. Try to get him off balance or leaning and attack his top foot. Work on your jump shot from this position also so that he has to respect it. If he gets too close, attack his top foot, get to the hole and finish. Working on foot speed and coordination drills will come in handy here.

As far as the Karl Malone thing goes.....Man I hope so!!!!

:lol:

I worked out with the Hawks, Bucks and Rockets this summer and saw a bunch of players on those teams. Also, just being around basketball at a high level has given me the opportunity to meet lots of guys in person. Kevin Garnett is the coolest guy in the NBA that I have met personally and the women go nuts of Wally Sczerbiak (sp?). I know and have spent a lot of time with Michael Curry who is a long time veteran and president of the NBA player's association right now I believe.

As far as guys trying to make it to the league right now. I now a few guys on the GA Tech squad personally, especially I'smhail Muhammad who is the younger brother of one of my former teammates. I also played on the same team with a young guy named Marko Tomas http://nbadraft.net/profiles/markotomas.asp
who has great potential before I was able to get the hell out of Croatia. I have played against Joey Graham from OK St a bunch of times. Louis Williams, the top high school player in the country right now lives near me in Georgia and played on my brother's AAU team so I know him too. He's something special.

Man, I know a lot of people in basketball and I'm leaving a bunch out but we would be here for a while otherwise. Those mentioned above are just guys who you can find out about with a quick google search if you like.

As far as stories go I will just say this. Professional basketball players are just ordinary guys with extraordinary means that allow them access to things ordinary people can't get. Women, houses, things, cars, you name it. These guys are able to do and afford the things that everyone else wants. It's a crazy lifestyle.

Sweet man, thanks for all the information. When I wrote stories, I meant game/scrimmage stories. Like memorable games that really stand out. I'm not pressed about it, I just wanted to clarify.

Ahh, I see, sorry about the mix-up. I have so many great memories that I could write for days in this space. A conference championship, winning road games against bigger schools like Auburn when I was a huge underdog, personal accolades like being voted a mid-major all america twice, first team all conference honors, and stuff like that. A few of the most thrilling on-court moments that really stand out for me are the game we beat Auburn on the road, the time I hit a buzzer beater to beat Florida Atlantic on the road, and the final seconds of the game we won to seal up my school's first regular season conference title (we finished 23-6 that year). It might sound kind of lame to non-athletes, but some of my best memories have come on a basketball court or as a result of basketball. This game has really been great to me.

What is your take on the NHL/Players Association mess? Who do you think is right? can you see a way to fix it? I know yor're not a hockey player, but the same principles involved are involved in all pro sports. Cash flow in vs. cash flow out. Who gets the money and who doesn't. Players vs. Owners vs. health of the league vs. the fans who pay for all of it!

Yes, a sticky question. Alright here is my opinion on the whole thing. Players and owners are both self interested, they want to make as much money as they can in their business. That being said, who can blame players for accepting the huge contracts that they are offered? Wouldn't you do the same? If anyone is to blame here, I think it's the owners for getting themselves into these situations. They are the ones who agree to pay players these ourtrageous salaries, then they bitch about losing money. Well hell, if you can't afford to pay the guys so damn much, then why do you offer such large contracts and get in ridiculous bidding wars over players. It's the owners who drive the prices up through these huge salaries, then they try to pass as much as they can onto the fans.

The fans aren't blameless in this either. Sure it's fucked up that ticket and concession prices continue to rise, but fans are the ones who truly hold the power. If you don't like the way things are, stop going to games and supporting teams. Watch how quickly things would change if that happened. When Arther Blank bought the Falcons he slashed ticket prices in the GA Dome big time and attendence soared, so did revenue. If fans in other professional markets quit going to games like the Falcon's fans did, what choice would owners have but to cut prices?

Another thing I would like to say is this. Anyone with enough money to own a professional franchise is a very successful business person with a TON of cash lying around. In order to become that successful in business you can't be an idiot. With that in mind, don't believe it when these rich business men bitch and complain about losing money on their teams, it's a huge crock of bullshit 95% of the time, don't pity those guys. They are still making plenty of money on their teams, they just want to make lots more by restricting salaries. Like I said before, they wouldn't be able to pay athletes exorbinant salaries if they weren't making money hand over fist. I'm not too familiar with the NHL situation, but owners of franchises in the other 3 major sports are making an absolute killing. So most of their complaining is just complete bullshit and I have no sympathy for them.

In final, athletes are trying to make as much money as possible and I don't think anyone can blame them for this. Owners have no grounds to complain about the salaries athletes make because they are the ones who offer the contracts. And most importantly, if fans don't like the prices they are being forced to pay for attending games, they should stop going. That is the power we have as fans and if we exercised it properly it would be devastatingly effective.

Hope this is what you were looking for, I don't know much about the NHL but this really applies across the board.

Man, how the heck did I miss this thread?

Basketball is one of my passions. I love it. The thing is, I got into it WAY too late. I didn't even start playing streetball until my sophomore year in high school, and I stupidly didn't try out for my high school team.
I have a few questions for you:
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.
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.
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?
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?
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?
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.

I have WAAY too many questions for you. Feel free to PM me if you want to hear more.

CoA, I will get to this post tomorrow, I promise. It's midnight over here right now and I'm spent. Feel free to ask any additional questions whenever you want. I have lots of spare time on my hands over here usually....

Ok, here we go...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You say that Kevin Garnett is really a cool person, what is your take on the incident where he punched Wally? And on another occassion he had punched a potential teammate during a practice

The same mindset that allows top flight athletes to dominate games can also cause them to do things they may or may not regret. Remember the time that Michael Jordan punched Steve Kerr in the face during a pick up game? Skinny ass little Steve Kerr?

Guys get pissed off and fight during practice all the time. It's one of the reasons NBA practices are closed. Practices are competitive, intense and often times pretty heated. Add in 12 aggressive alpha-males and expect a fight to occur from time to time. I've been involved with shit like this myself in the past and continued to be friends with the other guys. Shit that happens on the court has to be left there, that's just how it is.

If you doubt that Kevin Garnett is one of the highest quality guys in the NBA do a google search for all the community involvement he participates in. The man is just unbelievable. The guy just has a million dollar personality, I wish you could meet him.

In closing, Wally isn't exactly a gem as a teammate. Guys on the T-Wolves can't stand him for the most part. Selfish, arrogant, whiney, I've heard lots of things about him. I'm surprised a guy like KG doesn't smack the shit out of him more often, maybe he has and we just don't know it. I really don't know what happened with the Rick Rickert thing, shit happens when dudes get mad.

Perhaps, not as professional as all of the other questions in this thread, but I think this is one that many would like to know the answer to. ;)

How much tail do pro athlete's get? Is there any truth to the stories of athletes having different women in each city they visit?

If it's all true, maybe there's still time for me to work on my marbles game. I hear the marbles groupies are a real wild bunch. :)

Is coaching overrated in the NBA? Can a guy like Phil Jackson take a team like New Orleans and win a championship... or was he overrated as a coach since he had jordan, shaq, kobem, and pippen

whats it like playing overseas... ive heard horror stories of guys not getting paid?

im a big lakers fan.... whats your take on Kobe and other players in the nba's take on him.... is david rivers still the man overseas?

Alright, I've been gone for a little while and now I'm back. I apologize for not getting to these sooner.

Pro athlete's can pretty much get as much tail as they want as long as they don't look like tyrone hill. There are a few reasons for this and I am making broad generalizations that tend to hold true for the entire population:

1. Personality: We are a confident lot and we're not afraid to approach women. Sometimes we hear no, but more often then not, we here yes when asking for phone numbers and dates.

2. Pimp Juice: Being a pro athlete is a cool occupation and some chicks kind of get off on that by itself.

3. Darwinism: Being extremely athletic makes an average looking guy a little more attractive to a woman because she knows he has good genes.

4. $$$: Chicks love it and we have it.

5. Bodies: Even if a guy doesn't have a great looking face, there is no way you can run around 4 hours a day and mantain a pear shaped body. Girls like fit guys.

Yes, there are lots of guys in the NBA who have girls in each city they visit. As reported, most of those guys are dogs.

Marble groupies, haha, you're a funny dude....Girls like a sense of humor too!

Coaching is definitely not overrated in the League. It may not be quite as important that a coach knows his X's and O's, but they better find ways to motivate guys who make millions of dollars to play hard and together every game. That's why Phil Jackson is the greatest coach of this era, he understands psychology and has a knack for getting the most out of his stars.

Playing overseas is cool. The money is nice, the lifestyle is great, it can be a little lonely at times though. I miss America sometimes. You are right on target about guys not getting paid sometimes. That shit happens regularly. In fact, I was with a team in Croatia at the beginning of the season that still owes me $3000, fucking bastards. I've been in France for a few months now and this club pays me on time and in full, thankfully. Your agents is the one who should make sure he's not sending you to a team that doesn't pay. That's his job. My guy is still trying to get me the rest of my money from Croatia, I'm pissed...

Dudes in the league DO NOT like Kobe. From what I've heard, he's an even bigger asshole than he gets credit for. Just not a very cool guy to be around. I don't really have a personal take on Kobe being as I don't know him, but my opinion of him is VERY low based on first hand accounts I've had.

David Rivers...that name is familliar but I can't place it, sorry man.