Playing against strong talent is good, it forces you to play better. THAT is where you can transfer the skills you are working to the game situations.

I agree, I always loved a good challenge. You have your coach that you want to prove something to. I remember sending out my freshman coaches to scout a game.... I asked them how I could beat them? (there were an excellent team) One guy told me I couldn't so don't worry about them... I asked again and got the same answer...... ( I wanted to punch him ) I took the scouting report out of his hands and told him we will see about that. Yes, we won the game.... and you can bet I rubbed his face in that one. DON'T ever let someone tell you that you cant do something..... with enough work you CAN get it done. (within reason of course)

Your coach sounds a little like me, my principal said to me one day, "why do you have to be so honest with your players? " I told her that they will always believe in me when I do that, the minute I start lying I lose all credibility with them. Keep working on your game and keep PLAYING.

Coach S, you the man !!!

Appreciate the advice and the words of confidence.

All my life i've copped criticisim and I've kept working day in day out, trying to prove everyone wrong .

Although my coach may be my biggest fan, he has been part of the reason i've worked so hard for the last couple years .

I've always never been embarrassed to express my dreams no matter how far off i'am and how crap i was he would always be the one to tell me that i can't play in the nba . I've actually asked him so many times and now his sick of it i'm guessing and tells me i can now lol .

I want to play in the Nba , i'm not scared to say it , doesn't bother me if people laugh and tease me but i know that i have persistence and the will to not fail and i'll never give up on it no matter how long it will take .

I'll prove my coach wrong and everyone else wrong .

I like your dreams and far be it from me to rain on your parade.... just remember, they are the cream of the crop...... like any other sport.... it takes a lot of hard work to get to the top...... and a lot of luck along the way. AND... sometimes its WHO you know, not what you know.

The NBA is a big dream..... how about focusing on the D1 thing first...... THAT is going to tell you how far you can go in this game. Regardless of where you end up in college (what level) play like there is no tomorrow.... who knows what can happen then.

Hi Coach Sar, How you been pal?

One question. Ever since i've moved to Point my team is on a 5 game win streak knocking off every team on the top end of the ladder or so by 10 or more pts .

When i used to play the 2, i was scoring around 20ppg and we weren't winning as consistently .

Now as a Pg I'm avg around 10ppg and 5apg with 1 tpg . I'm making really smart decisions and were winning .

But i'm not satisfied because i'm not sure what sort of numbers a point guard needs to put up to be able to play at a high level in college ball . Like i could score 4pts and we come out with a win and i play really well yet the stat sheet probably doesn't show i'm that effective .

I just want to know what sort of numbers a pg should be putting up in a league like this . To give you a example a solid low to mid major d-1 player should be able to drop 20-30ppg as a 2 , but me as a 1 i'm in a different mind set.

I'm good mamba..... how are you?

Let me ask you this question (fair or not) how is a coach evaluated? Ws and Ls.... not always fair because we are limited by the talent we have to work with. I like to look at it this way.... how successful are the kids that graduate out of my program? Doctors, Lawyers, engineers or whatever field they end up in.

In your case, you are the QB / Coach on the floor..... and you are evaluated by how YOUR team plays (it is YOUR team now, you are the one running it) Would you rather score 20 and lose of score 10 and get the Ws? Simple answer.... get the W! That proves that you can run the team, get the offense started, control the tempo and protect the ball. It would be great IF you could score 20 and still do all those things... but when you have some talent around you, that isn't always the case. There is only ONE ball and FIVE players and since you are initiating the offense you are going to get less shots.... the IMPORTANT thing is this.... are you KNOCKING DOWN the shots you do get? Are you making the free throws in crunch time? Are you running the offense without turning the ball over - same when being pressed.

I've had point guards that scored a lot.... and that was by design.... only had a couple of shooters.... I had one point guard that rarely scored...(heck, he hardly ever shot) we had 2 great 3 point shooters and another kid that could shoot short range Js and take it to the hole. He didn't need to shoot. IF you are afraid that you are not going to be noticed, don't worry about that.... just make the shots you get - don't worry about the ones you aren't shooting... IF you start FORCING your shot... it WILL effect the team and believe me, things will go down hill quickly.

Good luck, keep up the good work with the team......

Hi Coach, Hows everything been? Whats news?

I've got a question on academics.

A friend of mine got a 52/100 on his overall mark for his senior year here on Australia . So in the U.s it would be similar to a D- .

He also scored a 1000 on his Sat's and know he is playing at a d-2 school in West virginia .

My grades have been terrible this year and i know you guys always stress that studies come first but i'm too lazy to study and never have the motivation to do so
that's why looking into a juco first would be my best option . I'm going to be taking my Sat's this Saturday so i'll see how i go . I always start the year off with A's and B's
average so i'm sure it's not a case of do i have enough ability to perform it's just a case of motivation and getting lazy .

Anyways my q's is how is my friend eligible to play with a D- and a low score on his S.a.t's?

Hi Mamba,

Things are pretty good here, fall weather with winter right around the corner. I am not crazy about winter except for Bball :-)

Lets talk about a few things.... we really cant control what others do, so why worry about what he can or cannot do.

IF he is putting all his eggs in a sports career he better be darned good because few people make it to the Pros - and right now he is on a road to disaster IF his dream doesn't come through..... He and YOU better have a Plan B. Your friend is a banana peel away from watching the games from the stands.

I don't want to come there and smack you upside the head to "get your attention" LOL - get your act together in the classroom so you have a Plan B in case things don't go the way you want them to.

Think about this... why should any college / university invest a lot of money in any player that is always on the bubble eligibility wise? I know I wouldn't! There is nothing wrong with going the JUCO route to get started - but you need to make grades there too. Do yourself a big favor..... sit down and WRITE DOWN your GOALS..... and HOW you are going to achieve them. There are NO shortcuts to success - NO easy roads..... it takes hard work and perserverance. SO - get yourself refocused academically - If I was looking at you as a player for my program - and saw your grades - I would be saying that I would be taking a real chance IF I wanted him to play for me....... IF he is NOT a hard worker in the classroom, where else in his life does he take the easy way out? On the FLOOR? In the community? Get the picture?

You seem to be a good kid, get your act together and do what YOU KNOW is the RIGHT THING TO DO. Don't waste all that hard work you have put forth to make yourself a good player by falliing apart in the classroom.

Hi Coach

I know i have to get my act together in the classroom because everyone tells me i need a backup plan and i agree with them but everytime i do try and get focused in the classroom i'll do so for a week and
then get right back of track . I'm lazy when it comes to school work because i'm so far behind everything i have no motivation to continue and i stress out . It might be too late for me to get good allround mark ( /100 ) but i can atleast try and pass . I think JUCO would be a good route to help me get into good study habits and also help me develop into a better player because i'm still lacking that experince . People always ask me what i'm going to do if something like an injury ( god forbid) happens to me in bball and i can;t see myself in an office or anything like that . I would follow a carrer of Law enforcment or personal training . Just something thats hands on i guess .

Everytime i try to study i start thinking about bball and next thing i know i'm back out on the courts again .

Mamba -

The reason you are losing track of your goals are probably because you don't have them written down..... and thats important....

Write them down.... ACADEMICS BEING #1 and Basketball being #2 and make several copies....

THEN - put a copy up where you can see it as soon as you get up..... bathroom mirror - mirror in your room etc. Tape a copy to your books.... front page inside cover - make sure that you can see it several times during the day. I love it that you have this dream ..... but you need to have your priorities in the right order, like you said, God forbid you get hurt and have to do something else.

I don't blame you about the office work etc. I did some of that for 15 years after I got out of high school.... even though I knew when I was 21 what I wanted to do.... Since I wasn't a good student I didn't think I could make it in College.... but once I decided to do it.... I MADE SURE I WAS SUCCESSFUL. This has to mean something to you.... good colleges don't want kids with bad grades... there are all kinds of guys that can play the game....... but cant make it in school....

I don't mean to be preaching to you... but I am telling you from my heart what is important.... Like I tell my little friend..... do the best you can every day.... (some days are better than others) thats all you can do. Don't worry if you have a bad day, we all have them - he told me he got a C and he was upset..... but he still has an A average and he doesn't like school. So, hang in there... dont get all stressed out over it.. just keep focused and things will be fine.

Mamba, I had to change my thinking when I was your age. There is always a reason to find an excuse.

The successful people in life just get it done on & OFF the court. They think of a solution to the problem, rather than an excuse not to do it.

Get it done!