Underreaction: Spurs vs Warriors

Last night the Spurs blew out the Warriors 129-100. The game was on the road, so Ohio State fans probably think the Spurs will win by 70 points when they face off again in San Antonio on March 11th. Yes, they don't play each other again for almost five months.

A strategy you'll see from a lot of NBA teams, is use their timeouts quickly against the Warriors and you'll see a lot of fouls on fast breaks to stop momentum. You see that a lot with European teams when facing the United States in international games. The faster, more potent athletes get limited if they're only playing in the halfcourt. 

LaMarcus Aldridge was solid with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard showed why he's considered a Top 5 player in the NBA with 35 points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Jonathon Simmons took advantage of a big opportunity with Danny Green out for three weeks due to injury, scoring 20 points on 8-14 shooting (although he started 6-6, then shot 2 for his next 8).

The Warriors were 7-33 from the 3 point line. Kevin Durant had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Steph Curry had 26 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Draymond Green had a complete game with 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Klay struggled a little with 11 points on 5 of 13 shooting, but shot better in the 2nd half going 4 for 6. No other player on the Warriors had more than five points, SIX different Warriors tied with two points.

A 29 point loss is a 29 point loss. Last night we saw fixable issues for the Warriors. The Spurs were +20 in 2nd chance points and +13 on the offensive boards. Spurs won almost every 50/50 loose ball, and if the Warriors want to play small ball, the bigger team can't be tougher and win the 50/50's. Defensive stops get your team going and in transition, that was rare last night with the Spurs constantly taking possessions away from the Warriors the entire game. Even still, the Warriors still cut 15-18 point defecits down to eight or nine points, and props to the Spurs for countering every time the Warriors clawed back in the game.

Warriors are a new team, dealing with new dynamics. The "death lineup" of Iggy, Steph, Klay, Green, and KD wasn't effective last night but that's one of the reasons why I like watching the NBA season. We'll get a chance to see how this team grows (or collapses) over the course of the next few months.

Becoming a Collegiate Athlete Tip #1

This is the first post in a series for those in high school, middle school, and elementary school who wish to compete athletically at the highest scholastic level.  This post is also for parents who want to learn more about the different methods/shortcuts your son or daughter can learn to have an edge on the competition and can find a way onto a college team in any sport they desire.

Tip #1: Grades

It's pretty simple, how you do in the classroom is huge.  Plus, getting your parents off of your back also feels good, it gives them one less thing to bring up when you get in trouble. I started this series with grades because it is the most important aspect, especially your freshman and sophomore years in high school where it really counts. 

Why your freshman and sophomore years? Think about it, these are going to be your easiest years in the classroom.  You want to REALLY attack these two years and boost your GPA.  It seems as though high schoolers nowadays are too focused into their social lives than anything else and then want to bust their butts their junior and senior years where classes are much harder and you also feel pressure with your last days being an athlete on the field.  I stress boosting your GPA early on because, if you are a talented athlete in your respective sport and colleges start to evaluate you, the first thing they want to know is "How are your grades?".  Due to how hard you worked, this question means nothing to you because it is something you will not have to worry about, and something the coaches will not worry about.  Then they can finally talk about your place in their program and tell you about the school. But if you answer that coach with a "errr uuuhhh, its uhhhhh, 2 something".  Red flag goes up, and that coach is now asking how you are going to get those grades up, there will be ZERO talk about the program, all focus will be on grades.

Pending on your sport, coaches usually are allowed to call you the summer of your Sophomore/Junior year.  If you follow my advice and really attack your first two years in school, you will not have an issue with this. 

A coach cannot and will not put all of his time and effort into an iffy situation that might turn around and become good.  You think a majority of coaches will risk their job for a kid who has shown inconsistency in the classroom? Maybe before, but not anymore due to new NCAA APR rules.

To put this into perspective, if this rule was established a few years ago, the national champion UConn basketball team would not have qualified for the NCAA tournament because their APR was too low.  Saying this, how do you think coaches earn bonuses? Making the tournament, advancing in the tournament.  Guess who doesn't get bonuses if their APR is too low? Coaches.  Guess who recruits smarter players now? Coaches.  Guess who recruits trustworthy players with a better academic record? Coaches.  Guess who gets fired if they can't succeed in the post season? Coaches.  Guess who doesn't find another job in this field because of the track record of being a program killer? Coaches.  Guess who's not going to get a chance if you treat high school like a playground and not a way to a better future? You.

When it comes to recruiting, coaches first look at what you do well, then try to knitpick at every little negative thing they can to see exactly who you are.  Like your parents, you'll be better off taking care of your business that you can control.  You can't always control being sacked, shot blocked, missed penalty kick, but you can control your effort in the classroom.  Coaches LOVE... I repeat, LOVE when their players are low maintenance.  So all they have to worry about is what goes on at practice and games.  Stay ahead of the game, stay ahead of competition.  Grades can be a deal breaker when coaches choose between recruits.  Which side will you be on?

Excuse the spelling errors, I wrote this somewhat quickly.

NCAA Athletes - Pay or Don't Pay

In my last post I said I wouldn't spew about this but I guess I lied.  Should the NCAA/Institutions pay NCAA student-athletes? There are plenty of articles that talk about this subject, but how many of those articles are from people who have lived it, and how many are from people who just peer in from the outside.  How many of those articles come from people who understand both or better yet, understands where this all this money goes.

The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar entity.  Guess what? They are rich for a reason, why would you want to stop being as rich just to pay some players while you get the exact same result, only to bring proffesionalism into college athletics.  We have enough divas in the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc.  Why would we need that in college.  Let's just give an 18 year old kid several grand because he goes to school and plays a sport. We already have enough issues with kids' maturity nowadays with drinking and driving, partying, drugs, etc.  Do we REALLY need to add money to that equation?  "Mo' money, mo' problems".  Literally.  I do think that the NCAA needs to look into it being OK that former AAU coaches or friends of the family can wire funds to a student-athlete WITHIN REASON.  I think all funds supplied to each player from family, friends, former coaches should be filed through the NCAA to make sure a kid can get maybe $200 and not 10 or 15 grand.  Because what college student REALLY needs that much money.

Sorry for the all-caps on some words.

Also, I've noticed a lot of people have not been informed about the checks full ride scholarship players receive each month. This is not to be confused with the Federal Pell Grant. Players already receive $1,300 per month. Those who qualify for the Pell Grant will receive a hefty check on top of the checks they already receive on a monthly basis.

Now we get to the paying of the student-athletes.  Who furnishes that money? the NCAA or the institution.  There is an issue. If the NCAA or the institution decides to pay their student-athletes, who gets paid what?  Do we pay the field hockey players the same as the football team? Do we pay the 2nd string scholarship punter the same salary of the starting quarterback?  People want to get paid more as an incentive.  What is the incentive of getting paid as much as someone who does half of your work? "Uuuuhhh can I get a raise"" will surely come up.  Will these players soon have agents working out deals with school officials or they leave to go somewhere else? Drama drama drama.

Speaking of field hockey, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, so on and so forth.  Those sports would not even exist on campus if football, basketball, hockey (some schools) did not rake in millions and millions of dollars every year just so those sports can stay active. Those sports lose money for the school every year they operate, main reason why the major sports are so big. The teams also put money back into the program in order to cover for travel/hotel/food for staff and players.  In football, one trip is a chartered jet, 2 or 3 buses, 50 rooms, and a crazy food bill.  Put it this way, one time I was drinking orange juice and a staff member told me to finish it because that pitcher was $35.  This was basketball so there were 8 tables, with 2 types of juice on each table.  That's just the juice! Haven't even talked about the food. Imagine a football team which is six to seven times bigger, just to put things into perspective.  But let's pay our players right?


There are three levels of the NCAA. You have Division 1, 2, and 3. Will we pay the Division 3 as much as 1? No. The real debate is Division 1 (it sucks, but that's all people really care about), will we pay Coppin State and Presbyterian players as much as Kansas and Florida basketball players.  Or better yet, will we pay Northwestern football players as much as Michigan football players.  Michigan football brings in millions of dollars more than Northwestern, so if a recruit was choosing between the two, and Northwestern offered $5,000 but Michigan offered $12,000, which one will the recruit choose? Duh. So from a recruiting advantage, it's almost unfair when you're not even able to compete with schools in your own conference.  Plus, could you imagine the snake coaches who will find loopholes, better yet, find a way to add a few grand to gain recruits or get guys to stay?  That's an ugly situation that the NCAA, as well as the coaches who do things the right way, want no part of.

Transferring/Leaving Early for the NBA - Part One

I could sit here and spew about how players should be paid because the NCAA is a multi billion dollar cash cow, or not be paid due to the money needed to fund smaller sports on campus, but there are enough articles about that subject to outlast Harry Potter scripts. 

If a player transfers, he leaves his institution for undisclosed reasons.  If a player jumps to the NBA he leaves for financial reasons and to take his game to the next level.  Blah blah blah, you have read or heard these statements multiple times every year.  I'm glad I got the cliche headlines out of the way.

When you hear a player is transferring, you automatically think about what your beloved team is losing.  That emotion quickly turns into "wait he was happy, right? but then there were those times he seemed out of it, right? But he loves his school, right?"  You keep going through scenarios why someone would transfer.

Before you read this, understand my background.  In high school, in 3 years, I lived with 6 NBA players, of those 6 (all 1st Round picks): one left out of high school, two were one and done, one was two and done, one was three and done, and one graduated from college.  In college, I was in every person's shoes.  There were times I was the leading scorer in big games, and there were times I didnt even sniff the court in terrible games.  I started some games, played minimum other games.  I was respected because my attitude never waivered despite the situation I was in.

When you commit to a school and sign your letter of intent, you commit to the coach and the program for four years.  When I was a senior in high school, my coach told me "Freshman want to play, Sophomores want to start, Juniors want to score, and Seniors want to win".  Never forgot this, and looked at what was most important, winning.  Too bad this logic doesn't apply to everyone.  In high school, you show your skills, you make good grades, and your family and close friends think you're the greatest thing to happen to basketball since Naismith.  Don't think that stops when you graduate out of high school.  If anything, it gets worse. Way worse.

Go to Las Vegas this Summer for the U17 Nike or Adidas tournament and you'll see the college stars of tomorrow.  These kids have played against each other for years.  They will all meet on the same stage called the NCAA (granted they qualify).  I will give you a scenario, two kids in this tournament are in a head to head matchup, they both scored over 30 points and 10 assists.  One goes to UConn, gets freshman of the year, the other goes to Kansas and hardly plays.  In his mind he's just as good as the other kid and instantly believes he is entitled to the same accolades although they are in different situations.  He's not the only person that sees this, so do his close friends and family.

"you destroyed him on the AAU circuit"

"Your coach does'nt know what he's doin'"

"Why don't you shoot more"

"You're letting the family down, we need you to make it"

"Here's what you need to do..."

"You should come closer to home"

"How is that kid playing more than you?"

"Do you need me to talk to your coach, don't worry I'm sending an email soon"

"(insert name) is killin at (insert school), when is it your turn?"

The outside influence from the people that are closest is so strong.  These are just a few of the quotes college kids go through on a daily basis.  You go through the stresses of college academics as well as maintaining a full-time job that requires mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical exertion.  You would think a player gets comfort from home, when in actuality it may be the most stressful aspect of it all.  This confusion can lead one to transfer easily to make sure they abide to everyone else's standards and it quickly starts to manipulate the way one thinks.

When it comes to recruiting, the coach has to build his team the best he can and upgrade each position to the best of his ability.  His goal every year is to win a championship, exceed expectations, and be better than a year ago.  If there are good players on the team, so what.  You make every position better with talent and depth. 

In high school, I was a wing forward.  Every year, the coach brought in All Americans at my position and I still found ways to start.  In nature, you either fight or flight.  No difference here.  Coach will bring in talent and you can see it as a disrespect and prove you are top dog at the position or fight for playing time as a back up and maybe learning multiple positions so you can fill in anywhere, earning more playing time. Other kids were coddled growing up, meaning they were always helped through adversities and never dealt with problems on their own.  These kids see a little adversity in college and see flight as the only option to leave.  Kids think they are better than they actually are, so the more in tune you are to how you view yourself, the more successful you will be.  False perceptions of your reality will doom you.

"In every aspect of our society today we r taught that its ok to do less and expect more.. when did that become acceptable"- Jeff Van Gundy

Part Two involving players leaving early for the NBA will be posted soon...

VideoPad Video Editor

Whats up everyone, it's been a while since I've done a blog post on here but I felt it was time after I finshed my latest video project.  I've been inquiring about finding someone to help me do a quick highlight video.  I am getting into the coaching profession so learning how to clip my own videos would be pretty neat.  I randomly chose VideoPad as the program to install without consulting google (which was dumb, I know) but it still paid off.  I downloaded it a few days ago and I was able to clips hours of footage, add effects, and add my own music within a matter of days.  When uploading it to youtube, I had problems with "copyright issues" so they muted my audio but there is a simple method to get around that. If you have any questions or anything, you can ask on twitter which is @itsantwright or simply live a comment. Also, if you haven't gotten a chance to see the final draft of my video, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBo_CrBoyio

I hope you enjoy the video, it's just a few clips of me playing basketball in college.  Check out my other posts, trust me, they're great reads.  I'll be back soon.

Controversy

This is my first controversial blog post.  This issue about homosexuals in the military is a touchy subject but I think I can shed a little light on it.  Whether you are for or against them being in the military, you have a solid argument.  I will speak a little from both sides, and then I will say what we can not do or history will repeat itself.

Being against homosexuals in the military have an argument saying that not all of the soldiers will be comfortable serving with them.  The military thinks war time is a time where the country needs its toughest soldiers, and because of the stereotype of homosexuals being feminine, they do not belong in that type of situation to defend their country.  The stereotypes surrounding homosexuals are ridiculous and I see that the people are surrounding their argument around gay men only.  I have yet to hear an argument about gay women who also have the manly stereotype.  We can not judge someone by stereotypes.  Then we as a people can not be homophobic to where we are "afraid" of being in the same existence as homosexuals.  The ignorance of some people amazes me.  The fact that gays WANT to fight in the military for their country should be enough.  A lot of straight men or women rather not take the risk of being shipped anywhere to fight.  We all want equal rights, but will gays in the military affect their group' concentration and compromise the execution of different onbjectives? 

THE LAST THING we need to do is accept gays into the military but put them into their own division.  If we are going to strike down the ban then totally do so, we can not restrict their involvement in the military.  We had something like this before, and it was called Jim Crow Laws, where it said "separate but equal".  At the time it might have seemed right, but now, we see the true impact of what it had. I think we need to change as a people.  The problem is not the gay movement, the problem lies within the people of power for being so ignorant with stereotypical ideas and letting that drive them to building insecurities.

Conversation

In this day in age, we have find ourselves surrounded by technology to a point where we can know someone without ever meeting them and never speaking to them.  Social networks are a great way to meet new people and make business connections.  But after this, what do we do? We text, text, text.... The most informal and also the most manipulating device right now is text messaging.  You can not let that be your only way of communication. 

Yes, I enjoy texting, who doesn't?  I like to have phone conversations or talk over lunch.  These formal conversations allow for there to be no confusion, and what you say is natural.  Through text, someone can message you and it can mean several different things, and however the person responds, thats what you go with.  When met with a controversial topic through text, what do you do? You read it, ponder, and write back within 30 minutes or so, or you just do not feel like talking about it and do not respond at all.  When meeting someone with a controversial topic in person, you get to see the person's first reaction and they have to respond relatively quickly. 

What does texting do for you in the long run?  If it is someone you know well, a text to confirm plans, that is fine.  But when it is someone you hardly know, that is when you don't know the person's intentions with you and they can hide behind a screen and be as blunt as possible and if you don't respond the way they want, then they can easily move on to someone else without addressing you.  Where will that benefit you in the long run? Being in a relationship with someone who you text all day and hangout at night while you are both on your computers? How is it going to be when you need to conversate about something serious and it is awkward because you rarely engage in face to face conversation?  If you question somebody's intentions with you, go somewhere where there are a lot of people around, turn your phones off, and enjoy each other's company, and ask questions that you need to be answered.

Leisure is Bittersweet

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things."

-Albert Einstein

Leisure- free time

This past weekend was a time for the opening of the NFL season and also the second week for College football.  It was also another weekend closer to the final teams chasing each other for their birth into the MLB playoffs.  Everyone sits down on their couch all day and night and watches.  A great time away from work, the classroom, and from your week-filled athletic schedule.

But in the end where does this benefit you??  I love the fact it gives us time to hang out with friends and socialize.  If we take a step back and realize where we are and what we are doing, have we reached OUR goals?? Are we not sitting on the couch watching people who have accomplished their goals at being professional athletes??  When I was a young teen, I was one of the best basketball players in the country. My Uncle Spencer told me that although I was good, there were 300 to 400 kids exactly like me.  If I stopped working hard, I will soon find myself in the back burner without a scholarship and in a tough spot later in life. Any day I could have stopped working and ended up fighting for something I could have controlled.

The kids out here looking to make their school Varsity or Junior Varsity team:  Did you spend more than enough time on your video games or facebook during times when you could be working on your athletic skill?? If you answer yes, look yourself in the mirror and ask if you are doing yourself a disservice.  This also applies to kids who are in middle school.  Do you want to represent your school but are unsure if this will happen for certain?? Then you can change that when you know others are sitting on their couch, you are working on your skill.  It is great to have  leisure time but get an hour or two of workouts in before you choose to have free time. One of the quotes I TRY to live by is "tomorrows 'coulda' 'woulda' 'shouldas', are being lived right now".  This does not apply to only athletics, it applies to every profession.  Those studying for your MCATS to get into Med school or the LSATS for Law school.  What did you find yourself doing this past weekend?? Were you partying to clear your mind or were you taking off a couple of hours at a time in between studying?  Those studying during times of leisure are the ones who have that quality free time when they have a satisfying score a few months later.  Are you able to sacrifice happiness now in order to guarantee success and happiness later??

"The important thing is this:  to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

-Charles Du Bos

I Change Myself, I Change the World

"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom.  One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life." -Sandra Carey

One thing we should learn is that knowledge is gained through learning, while wisdom is gained through experience.  I made a post on one of my social sites within the past couple months about one of my experiences.  I had to be able to find myself and find who I was throughout elementary school and middle.  Attending Sterling Elementary and Meadowland Elementary, I found that not everyone like you, and some people care a lot about you.  In some occasions, little kids can be cruel to each other and you can be on either end of the cruelty.  At Seneca Ridge Middle School, I still had to find myself, gaining few friends along the way.  I found myself picked on quite often, as if it was a teen high school movie with the different clique of friends.  I floated between groups but never established anything concrete off of the basketball court.  Often hearing "you will never be on TV", "why do you even try? nobody gets  noticed from this area".  I took these comments and kept living.  Throughout middle school, I sat with the same individual every day at lunch at our big table, his name was Brian Douts.  We would talk back and forth but that was about it.  Brian was fortunate to play football at Frostburg State University. Two of the four kids out of the whole school who pursued college athletics were at my table.  The other two were Casey Hartman who played baseball in college and Adrian Tracy who played football at Wlliam & Mary who worked hard enough to get drafted in the 6th Round by the New York Giants.  Casey and Adrian were both in my close group of friends.

I was never the "cool kid" in middle school.  I know some of those kids who were popular back then.  I go back home to Sterling and I see them doing nothing with their lives.  Some end up at NOVA community college, and others end up in the prison system.  One thing you have to take from this is that as long as you stay focused, nobody looks back at who you were in middle school.  Socially, it does not matter.  Once you leave for college, it is a whole new ball game.  You are able to meet a new group of friends and these are the friends you have bonds and ties with for the rest of your life.  Just focus on your life and your goals earlier on, even in high school, stay focused.  The more you worry about the social aspect in school, the more your life will go off track and you will lose sight of your goals.  Surround yourself with people who have similar goals and aspirations.  Be the one who is focused on your personal goals, and you all of a sudden see others following in your footsteps.

"I Change myself, I change the world." -Gloria Anzaldua