Basketball Tip

The Vowels of Ranking vs. Success

Lee Miller is Director of Nike Basketball Camps throughout the Southeast, including Nike Basketball Camp Greater Atlanta Christian School

Rankings vs. Success

Inevitably, each and every week, I have players contacting me about “getting ranked.”  The idea of being ranked is something that is getting more and more mainstream each and every season and the rankings keep getting for younger and younger players.  For every 50 players that reach out to me about getting ranked, I might have 1 player who contacts me and actually asks how they can become successful at basketball.  While I do not like ranking individual youth players 1 to whatever, I do like seeing where players rank in my Vowels of Success. While you can’t always control your height, athleticism, and sometimes even skill set, you can always control these 5 items.

Attitude-Every atom has a neutron (neutral charge), an electron (negative charge) and a proton (positive charge).  Just like an atom, basketball players bring one of these three charges with them every time they step on the floor.  Some players just go through the motions, lack excitement and are just filling a roster spot-they are the neutrons.  Other players never go full speed, do not compete and do not elevate their teammates play-those are the electrons.  The player you need to strive to be is the proton. These players bring energy everyday, push their teammates to be their best and are coaches on the floor.

Effort-Can you honestly say after each game and each practice that you gave your all regardless of whether you played the entire game or sat the bench? I have no doubt that Duke’s Grayson Allen went all out on every possession that he played.  I also know that no one is more into his team’s performance while he is sitting on the bench than the Atlanta Hawks Kent Bazemore.  Where do you stack up compared to these guys?

IQ-It might be great to have sick handles and a sweet jumper, but do you know how to read the defense and adjust to what they are giving you so that you can effectively use those skill sets?  Too many times I see a player’s athleticism and skill set fail at some point in their careers because they focused solely on those items and never work on the mental part of the game known as “Basketball IQ”.  Chris Paul, said that during the season he watches 15-20 hours of video per week of upcoming opponents to learn their tendencies. Players like Jason Kidd, Ray Allen and Manu Ginobili stayed in the NBA years after their athleticism and skills began deteriorating simply because they could outthink their opponents. Can you?

Opportunity-Do you make the most of any opportunity given to you? Maybe that’s taking the challenge in practice to guard your team’s best player or maybe that is 2 minutes of action for you coming off the bench. Either way, successful players make the absolute most out of each opportunity they receive no matter how big that opportunity is.

Urgency-A few years ago, Malcolm Gladwell published a book in which he mentioned the “10,000 hour rule.” Gladwell stated the case that almost every super successful individual in music, art, sports or academia did not become successful until they had spent some 10,000 hours working on their craft.  You can get there by training 15 minutes per day for 110 years or train 3 hours per day for 10 years.  The players that have a sense of urgency to get better right now are the ones that become successful long term.

Legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden said it best, “Success is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your very best.” If you did your very best, and I mean VERY BEST, then who cares where you’re ranked.

See more at www.EliteHoopsBasketball.com/RankingsVsSuccess

Lee Miller

Director of Elite Hoops and NIKE Basketball Camp Director

Innovate. Motivate. Perspirate.