Here’s a little secret that will help you GET you more playing time.

In fact, it’s so simple, you could see an impact TODAY!

Even if playing time isn’t a factor for you, this can take your game to the next level.

And it comes from arguably one of the most influential people on the great game of basketball.

If you’ve never heard of George Raveling…

He’s in his 80’s and has lived an incredible life - played at VillanovaFirst Black head coach in the history of the Pac-12. And that’s just scratching the surface. He also was a huge part in getting Michael Jordan to Nike (watch the movie Air to learn more) and he has the original copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. The guy has lived an incredible life.

Why You Should Study What Your Teammates Are NOT Good At

He recently published a book titled, “What You’re Made For” which talks about his life and shares lessons we can all benefit from.

In the book, he tells about his experience at Villanova. When he first arrived, he realized that he wasn’t going to be the leading scorer. He quickly figured out that to get on the court, he needed to find a different way to stand out:

“I started to look around at my teammates. I looked at what the starters excelled at. I looked at what areas of the game guys focused on improving. We had great shooters and great passers. We had guys who stayed after practice to work on their ball handling. . . But nobody seemed to be a great rebounder. No one was staying after practice to work on their rebounding. . .

So I decided to become a rebounding specialist. If I got great at rebounding, I thought, the coaches would play me. There’s not any way they’re not going to play the guy who secures more possessions for the team. And, of course, my shooting, ball handling, passing, and defending would continue to improve through the work of typical practices. . .

I started staying after practice to just work on rebounding. . . I created drills to improve my reaction time, footwork and body positioning. By my senior year, I had developed ten daily drills to refine my skills. . . And the work paid off on the court. I went on to set single-game and season rebounding records in my time at Villanova, still eleventh on the all-time list.

At the time, I wouldn’t have thought of it as a strategy, but that’s exactly what it was. And it’s a strategy that works in any field: find something that’s underappreciated, not being addressed, or being overlooked, and get really good at it.”

We recently wrote about some of the best role players in the NBA.

Guys like Payton Pritchard, Josh Hart, & Aaron Gordon.

Guys who don’t score 20 points per game but contribute to a much more important stat - winning.

And because they contribute to winning they consistently find themselves on the court.

As you enter your offseason, you probably want to play more.

Maybe the path to playing more is becoming a better shooter or dribbler. But have you considered that a more direct path might be taking the Raveling approach and finding something that coaches value but other players don’t work on?

So, take a look at your team. What did they struggle with this year? What were the common gripes of your coach (if you’re not sure or can’t remember, ask them)? And then go get great at those things!

If you do, you’ll be too valuable to take off the court.

In his book, Raveling conclude his story with this thought:

“If you can’t be the sun, be a star; Be the best of whatever you are!”

We Can Help You Get Better!

If you’d like to…

• Improve your skills

• Get more playing time

• Take your game to the next level

Check out one of our Breakthrough Basketball Camps!

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