1. Play where you will get better. It is foolish to play for teams where you are going to sit the bench and not get the opportunity to improve. So make sure you are in a situation to see playing time that will help you get better. If you play open gym or pick-up ball, make sure you are focused on getting better and not just winning. That is a perfect time to practice a skill that you have been working on in a game-like atmosphere.

2. Play where you will get the most exposure. July has been constructed to allow for college coaches to use their open recruiting period to get out and see as many college prospects as possible. They will fly all over the country just to see potential recruits. You want them to see you. So make sure you communicate with your high school coach and to let him know when and where you plan to travel so that he does not expect you at summer league games, but also so that he may let coaches who call know where you are so they can keep an eye out.

3. Rest, but not too much. With all of the hectic traveling to and from tournaments, it is important that you take the time to rest and allow your body to recuperate from long weekends of numerous games. While it may seem relaxing, walking around the mall with your boys after a weekend of playing 6 games is not resting.Take resting seriously so that you can restore your energy in order to continue to work on improving your game.

4. Work on your individual game. Each player who is serious about pursuing an opportunity to play ball in college should be better by the end of the summer. You need to understand that there is still enough time to see marked improvement in your game. With focus and dedication, even the best players can see a dramatic improvement before school starts. Amidst all of the games, you should seek to find the time when you can work out on your own, with a coach, or with a teammate, and work on the things that you know will make you better.

5. Lift weights and keep your core strong. One thing that I dislike about the hectic nature of July is that it keeps players from continuing on strength training programs that they have been a part of throughout the summer. Since most of the hotels these players stay at do not have a weight room, coupled with the fact that they are tired from playing so many games, players tend to lose much of what they have worked so hard for in the weight room. But I strongly encourage you to find time for weight training and especially do exercises that will strengthen your core muscle groups. With all of the wear and tear on your body during July, you want your body to be able to withstand it so that you can stay healthy and playing in front of the coaches.

6. Eat well…when you can. It is thought by many that teenagers have steal-lined stomachs and can eat anything they want to and still be OK. Just like the rest of us, teenagers need the right things going in so that they can perform at their optimum level. So when you have the chance, eat healthy meals and snacks since much of you will eat on the road will be bad snacks and fast food because that is what is quickest and cheapest.

7. Contact coaches. If you have an idea of what level you can play at or the level you would like to play at, contact the coaches of schools so that they can plan to put you in their schedule. The recruiting process is not all about you waiting for schools to come to you. Be proactive and initiate the contact. It may just open a door to your recruitment that otherwise would not have been there.

8. Take a week or two to rest. After all of the summer leagues and tournaments are over, take a solid week (maybe more) and debrief from basketball. Burnout is real and it happens to players more often than you would think. Rest is both mentally and physically necessary after some much basketball. So take a week away from the court, the weights, the game, and allow yourself to be re-energized so that you can come back a week or two later with a renewed desire to work hard and continue to get better.

I was watching the highlights from the Lakers recent Championship Parade and Kobe Bryant said something during an interview that made me smile because it was right on with what I tell players of all levels all the time. Kobe was explaining that he was excited to win this championship for many reasons but he was happy because he was able to show his daughters that “Hard work pays off.”

As a person, I try to line my life up with what the Bible says. I use the invaluable principles that are in it to guide me through the variety of life’s circumstances. A couple of years ago I came upon a verse in the Bible while reading that would help solidify a thought that I had always had. Proverbs 14:23 in the Message Bible says, “Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.” There are many verses in the Bible that are applicable to our walk through life as that is the very purpose of the Bible. But this one particular verse would help me be able to relate better to players the importance of working hard in order to achieve their dreams.

Ask a teenager on a basketball team “Who wants to play basketball in college?” and see how many players put their hands up. Likely all of them have that desire, but we know that not everyone plays ball in college. Of course talent separates players from making it to the next level. But hard work is something that can elevate a player from mediocre status to quality; from quality to good; from good to great.The great thing that Proverbs 14:23 guarantees is that hard work always pays off. Not sometimes, but always. That is comforting and it is so very true. The great players are usually the ones who are both very talented but also hard workers. Kobe and LeBron are very talented players. But from what I read and hear, they are also the hardest workers in the NBA. We see their ability to play and many people just assume that it is all natural gifting. But look at their bodies. LeBron is not only big but very cut. Kobe has put on at least 20 pounds of muscle since entering the league 14 years ago. All of that requires working hard, and it has paid off.

Coaches: when you want to motivate your players, read them this scripture. Players: when you want to know what to do to make it to the next level, read Proverbs 14:23. God’s word never changes and never returns void. So whatever the Bible says, it will come to pass. So if you work hard, you will see a change and likely improvement in your game. Will you always make it to the next level, whether that’s high school to college, or college to the NBA? No, not always. But you will find yourself quite satisfied when you have put in the work and at the end of your playing career can say that you have worked hard and become the best player you can possibly be. Because just saying you want to be better isn’t going to produce anything unless you work hard to make it happen.

The Lakers and Celtics played a tough and gritty game Thursday night. Shots weren’t falling, which makes non-basketball lovers and those who otherwise just want to see offensive shootouts go crazy. I didn’t mind it though. It was a classic chess match between the coaches and a perfect example of the excitement and nerves that a game seven brings. To me, there are three things to be learned from Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals that coaches and players should remember.

First, let it be known that these coaches were well prepared and they prepared their players well both before and throughout the series. The offensive struggles of both teams in this game were not a mistake. Sure the height of this game in the classic Lakers-Celtics rivalry created nervous energy that could be felt even through the TV. But it wasn’t just the nerves of the players that caused those shots to be off-target. Kobe’s shooting performance was due in part to him trying too hard, but also the Celtics made him try harder because Doc Rivers probably knew Kobe was going to try to take control of this game early and so he sent 2 and sometimes 3 defenders at Kobe to make him either pass and trust his teammates or take tough, contested shots. He did both, but he did more of the latter throughout the course of the game.

On the other side, the Lakers knew they would have to crash the offensive and defensive glass hard in order to win since the team who won the rebounding battle won each game in the series. Players: just because a team is taller does not mean they should win the rebounding battle. Phil Jackson did a great job of getting his players to buy into something that both seems simple and common sense, but is very hard to get players to understand and do with fervor and energy throughout the course of a game – let alone Game 7 of the Finals.

Second, the team with more fouls ended up losing the game. As a coach, I tell my guys to play hard. But I also want them to play smart. The Celtics’ 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter began to diminish even more in the 4th quarter because of Celtic fouls which led to the Lakers being in the shooting bonus early in the quarter. By being in the bonus, essentially the Lakers were able to chip away at the lead with the clock stopped. Not only that, but it allowed players like Kobe and Pau Gasol to get a little confidence in a game where they were really struggling to score the ball from the field.

Celtic’s fans and Laker-haters can say that the Lakers got some calls because they were at home. But the reality is that the Celtics fouled the Lakers because they saw their lead beginning to shrink, the Lakers were playing with desperation, thus they were playing with a little more energy, and the Celtics were simply late in making the plays needed to secure the win. Had the Celtics not fouled early in the 4th, I truly believe they pull out the win because they were playing such good team defense that it would have been very tough for the Lakers to make enough field goals to come back and win.

Finally, let it be known that role players play big roles in big games. The superstars are the ones who get all of the attention,and deservedly so because they are typically the main reason(s) why the team wins the championship. But in the case of the Lakers, Kobe and Gasol don’t get their ring without huge contributions from Fisher, Artet, Bynum and Odom.

I dogged Odom in a previous post, and I haven’t changed my mind. Odom needed to be better on defense and if the Lakers plan to three-peat, he needs to be better. But he had two huge offensive rebounds and put-backs in the second half that really helped turn the momentum to the Lakers and even extend it. The first coming in transition and just simply beating Garnett to the front of the rim. The second coming in the midst of crowd where it appeared as though Odom came from nowhere to snag the ball and lay it in before any Celtic player knew what happened.

Those two plays were big and both were effort plays. But the Lakers got great scoring contributions in much-needed parts of the game from Artest as he did many things well that game. Fisher hit a huge three pointer despite a great contested shot by Rondo. And Odom had a big drive and lay-in in the 4th that gave the Lakers hope of a championship.All of these plays came from players who don’t get the same attention and recognition as Kobe and Gasol, but they have learned to accept their role on the Lakers and understand that they are just as important to the success of the team, especially in big games.

I always challenge my players to watch the game both from an entertainment viewpoint and as a student of the game. I want them to be able to learn from the games they play in , but also from the games they watch. I believe that is a valuable skill in becoming a good player and a necessary skill becoming a great player.

So watching the Lakers struggle against the Celtics the past 2 games of the NBA Finals got me to thinking about the old, and often overused sports cliche “Defense Wins Championships.” I am not sure who was the first player or coach to say it, but it has been proven time and time again since it was first uttered. And unfortunately for the Lakers, they seemingly have not yet fully bought in to it – well at least not during this particular series.

But I can’t really say that all of the Lakers don’t buy it. Fisher and Kobe do, that’s for sure. Artest does too. Vujacic is brought in for defensive purposes at times, so I would confer that he does. Gasol has come a long way in the past two years. And Bynum I think does to extent.

But the “X Factor” to the entire series was, and is, Lamar Odom. He may be the most physically and talent gifted player in the series. “What? Are you kidding me?” No, I’m not. Odom is 6″10 230 lbs, can handle the ball like a wing, and run the floor faster than most of his opponents. But the guy plays little to no defense on a regular occasion. And I think he does the latter more often than the former. If you watch him on defense he tries to get into position, but with less effort than I do – and I’m sitting on my couch with my legs kicked up.

Defense is about two things above all else: heart and anticipation. And unfortunately for Odom and my Lakers, he has little of both. Well at least in this series. His BPG (blocks per game) have steadily declined since the Jazz series and he is only averaging 0.2 bpg in the Finals. But beyond the blocks, he seems to constantly fail to stay in front of any Celtic player trying to get to the basket.

I think almost everyone who follows basketball would choose Odom over Big Baby Davis in a fantasy draft, or a pick-up game for that matter. But over the course of the series, Davis has repeatedly beaten Odom to the basket with moves that are not at all world-class. And when Rondo runs the pick and roll with a Celtic big and the Lakers switch, Odom almost always gets blown by.

I say all of that to ask this: What makes a player’s worth? Is it his ability to score? Is it his ability to lead and motivate his teammates verbally and by his actions? Is it his willingness to do the intangibles? What I know is that the commentators and media have been commenting on Odom’s lack of offense as the reason why the Lakers have not been successful in the three losses of the series. But as a coach, I look at his MIA status on defense as the reason why the Lakers have struggled. As a coach, you want the best players to play the hardest because it sets a chain reaction that causes the rest of the team to player hard. The problem for the Lakers, is that Odom has failed to realize that he is among the top three players on the Lakers despite being the 6th man.

Defense wins championships. I believe it. And hard work and anticipation are the main ingredients of good defense. But all of that is lost if a coach cannot get his most talented players to work hard and buy in to the team concept of defense. I have not always been able to get my best players to buy in at all times on the defensive end so I understand why Jackson has not been able to draw it out of Odom. But as Lakers fan I would like to see him be able to do it. And as a coach, I wonder if even the great Phil Jackson can do it. I mean, he has 10 championships and its not solely because of the Triangle Offense. But when he has lost 2 NBA Finals, its because of defense; swarming, team-oriented defense by the Pistons and Celtics.

The Celtics 2 losses in the Finals have been because of a lack of defense by the team who is now praised for great team defense. Somehow Doc Rivers has been able to get his players focused back on that which will most likely lead them to a championship: defense. I wonder if Doc Rivers could get Odom to play defense.

There is so much to talk about as it pertains to basketball. The game truly is a microcosm of life. It is a “team game” with many individual components. Life is a team game, where we must learn to communicate effectively, work together efficiently with others in order to make this life count. But like in basketball, where individual skills can help a player have an edge over an opponent, life requires the development of personal skills that enable us to be the best person we can. Some say God does not care about basketball. I won’t speak for God, but I know that many of life’s lessons and principles that help mold us into who we are can be learned through the game of basketball and that, I would suspect, God cares about.

Maybe my favorite coach of all time is John Wooden. With his passing recently, many people, especially coaches and players of basketball, have spent time to think about the way he coached and led young men. He seemed to do it despite not getting paid nearly what he deserved (or at least it seems that way to me.) He did it with more than winning the game on his mind. He made the game more about the mind and heart than about physical skills and attributes. Even though he won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, the way he coached makes it seem like anyone could do it yet not everyone will. His philosophies on life – from the Pyramid of Success to his numerous maxims – cross reference life and basketball so easily you would think that one was dependent of the other. But that is the beauty of the game of basketball, because to some their life is in basketball because basketball is in their life.

I have been blessed to see how the game of basketball can bring people together when seemingly little else would. We have been fortunate to have numerous student-athletes from around the globe come to our school to pursue an opportunity to earn a scholarship to play basketball in college. Since basketball is in their lives, they were given the opportunity to change the course of their lives. But I, along with all of the wonderful people that impact these young people’s lives, remind them that if basketball is their life they will ultimately fail. Basketball is simply a part of a person’s life that can be used to ultimately lead them to the destiny God has scripted for them.

Winning championships at UCLA was not John Wooden’s destiny, of that I am pretty certain. If it were, why did he continue to live after retiring following the last one in 1975? His life the last 35 years would then seem to be wasted because their was no NCAA championship involved. But I believe that winning those championships was only a part of his destiny which ultimately was comprised of each person he has impacted through the game of basketball. It is because of his ability to learn the lessons of basketball through life that he was able to teach the lessons of life through basketball – not only to his players, but to coaches, opponents, and people around the world and across generations.

What is your destiny? What is mine? I am not sure right now. But I do believe that God has blessed me with the opportunity to be faithful in the lives of the student-athletes that I am around, helping them not only fulfill their dreams in basketball but also teach them about life along the way.

Thanks for reading and I hope you come back to read more in the future.